Chapter 16

With her breathing shallow and her libido raging, their faces were mere centimetres apart when a deep, booming bark sliced through their moment.

Startled, Stella sat back, pressing her hand to her chest.

They both glanced across to see Fred looking at them. He was wagging his tail and looking inordinately pleased with himself. He barked again, his tail wagging even harder and thudding against the table.

‘Jeez, Fred, you scared the life out of me!' Stella said.

‘Fred! You little horror. Always have to be the centre of attention, don't you?' Alex gave the Labrador a stern look. Undeterred, Fred barked once more. ‘I think that's quite sufficient, don't you, young man? Unless you fancy a bit of time-out in your bed?'

At the tone in Alex's voice, Fred's ears flattened. He blinked, and looked away, aware his participation hadn't been well received.

Much as she was disappointed their moment had been ruined, Stella couldn't help but laugh at the Labrador's expressive face. Though it didn't stop her from wondering how it would feel to have Alex's lips pressed against hers, and if she'd get another chance to find out that night.

Just then, his mobile phone started ringing from the living room, sending her hopes of any further kisses scattering.

Alex clapped his hand to his forehead, rolling his eyes in disbelief. ‘You've gotta be kidding me!'

‘I think that's probably my cue to leave.' Stella gave a regretful smile. She drained her glass and went to push herself up.

‘There's really no need, you're more than welcome to stay for another glass, if you'd like, that is.' Alex looked at her hopefully.

She was about to ask if he was going to answer his phone when the ringing stopped. Checking her watch, she considered his suggestion – it wasn't that late – when he said, ‘In case you're wondering, I don't intend to return that call this evening and I'm going to turn my phone off. I should imagine it will have just been work-related; it's surprising how many clients struggle with the concept of me having a life outside of being an architect, or that I might actually choose to take some time off, and expect me to be at their beck and call twenty-four seven.'

‘I can empathise; sounds like the bar, and chambers to a lesser degree.'

‘The not-so-great side of being self-employed,' he said ruefully.

‘Have you considered getting a separate phone for work?'

‘I have, but it might be a good idea to move on from simply thinking about it and actually doing something about it. Anyway, back to the matter in hand, what do you think? Can I tempt you?'

Oh, you have no idea!‘Hmm. Yes, why not?' Stella's wayward musings made her cheeks burn with unfulfilled desire.

‘Great!' Alex grinned. He was clearly oblivious to the wicked thoughts running through her mind.

Back in their comfy chairs on the balcony, dusk had sneaked in further. The vintage streetlamps had flickered on, illuminating the road along the top prom. Lights from the pier stretched out into the sea and in the distance the odd light from ships punctuated the increasing darkness. A little cluster of lights nestled below Thorncliffe indicated the location of Old Micklewick, while the first stars started twinkling in the sky. It made for an achingly cosy sight.

Stella and Alex settled effortlessly back into their chat, their near-kiss almost forgotten – though not by Stella. It was still very firmly at the forefront of her mind and she couldn't stop wondering if they'd get back to it. Fred was curled up contentedly at their feet. Alex was interested to learn more about her; what her hobbies had been when she was younger, what had made her want to become a barrister? Had she been a swot at school, he'd asked jokingly? That question had made her laugh. ‘I suppose some of my classmates would have considered me a swot, yeah, but it wasn't as if I spent every night poring over my schoolbooks. Sure, I was keen to do well, and my mum certainly encouraged that, but I liked to enjoy myself too, and I was sporty as well as academic. I was fortunate enough to have a brain that seemed to retain relevant information, which made life easier for me and meant I could be a part of the sports clubs the school offered. I've always enjoyed being outdoors and I loved being part of a team.'

He nodded. ‘Which teams were you a part of?'

‘Hockey, athletics – running was a passion – and netball.' A smile spread over her face as she recalled days spent on the school sports field, winning medals and trophies for her achievements. She'd always loved the buzz of competition.

‘I'm guessing you were tall in your teens, so you'll have been a much-in-demand player on the netball team!' He grinned at her.

‘Yep, by the time I was twelve years old, I was already five-feet-eight and easily head and shoulders taller than all my friends, especially my pal Florrie who has the bookshop. She's always been a little scrap whereas I was so long and lanky; I felt like a giraffe!' she said with a giggle. ‘But you're right, it came in very handy playing netball, basketball too.'

Stella had also been a keen swimmer – something she still enjoyed regularly today – passing all the levels in her swimming lessons, joining the local swimming club. ‘When I was old enough I enrolled for life guard training and, when I'd qualified, I managed to get myself a weekend job as a life guard down on the beach; I did more hours in the summer. I loved it, despite the sea being absolutely freezing cold!'

‘Sounds like you've always been driven, if you could fit that lot in as well as studying hard,' Alex had said.

Stella nodded. ‘My mum was my role model. I'd seen what she'd achieved by sheer determination and hard work and I wanted to be the same. I think if you get yourself in that mindset, you're halfway there.'

Alex nodded, absorbing her words. ‘And what does your mum do?'

When Stella had explained about her mum's cleaning company, it clicked that she had the contract for cleaning the communal areas of the apartment, having seen one of her vans parked around the corner.

‘Ah, this may sound like I'm telling tales out of school, but I think it was the lady who was cleaning the communal area who left the door open to the back entrance here.'

‘The door was left open?' Stella asked, surprised.

‘Yes, earlier today. I only know because Fred had managed to sneak out of my apartment door before I'd got his lead on and shot off downstairs.' Fred's ears twitched at mention of his name, his eyes opening briefly. ‘He's never one to miss an opportunity for mischief, spotted the door was open and made a break for it in the garden. It was another of the residents here who pointed me in the little monster's direction.'

Stella realised it could have been when Andrea had hung out her washing. Leaving the communal back door open was another reason for her not to have her laundry done there. The fact that visitors had to be "buzzed-in" would no doubt be something the residents of Fitzgilbert's Landing found reassuring, not that there was much in the way of crime in Micklewick Bay, but all the same… Plus, she didn't want such oversights to have a negative impact on her mum's business, especially with it being so easy for people to voice their complaints and niggles on the many rating sites the internet had to offer.

‘Thanks for the tip-off. I'll bring it to my mum's attention tomorrow; she won't want it to happen again. Anyway, I've told you loads about me, what about you? What made you want to become an architect?'

‘Ah, well…' Alex went on to explain how he'd wanted to be an architect as far back as he could remember. ‘I was always drawing buildings, creating elaborate affairs out of my toy building bricks and when I realised you could actually make a living out of designing buildings, then that was it. I never wavered, never wanted to be anything else. Helped that I loved maths.' He pulled an apologetic face.

‘Ooh, me too. I love the patterns.' Her smile morphed into a frown. ‘Hmm. I've just realised how geeky we sound. I mean, seriously? Who talks about loving maths over a glass of wine?' They both chuckled at that. ‘Moving quickly on, what about hobbies? I assume you're not too consumed with your work to allow yourself some time for those,' Stella asked, fiddling with the star-shaped diamond stud in her ear. The earrings were a twenty-first birthday present from her mum and Stella always wore them.

Alex told her how he liked nothing better than a run for a spot of head-clearing, especially if it was along the beach. He reminded her that they'd bumped into one another when they were both doing just that.

‘I remember,' she said, smiling. How could she forget? He'd looked so delicious even with sweat pouring down his face.

He'd gone on to say how he used to enjoy climbing until a shoulder injury had meant he'd had to avoid the sport for a while, and he was beginning to resurrect his love of surfing. ‘My skills are a little rusty, but it hasn't damped my enthusiasm. Yet.' He grinned at her.

The sound of voices and laughter drifted up from the beach where a small campfire had been lit. It was soon joined by the thud-thud of dance music, and the smell of woodsmoke wafting in the air. Stella and Alex looked on at the shadowy silhouettes eking every last bit out of the day. She smiled, recalling the days when she and her friends had enjoyed such summer evenings.

‘So,' Alex said, sitting back in his seat and swirling the remains of wine around his glass, ‘it would seem we have quite a bit in common. We're both driven professionally, we're both guilty of being secretly – or maybe not so secretly – geeky, and we like to switch off by being physically active.'

‘I think that's a fair assessment.' Stella pulled her eyes away from the beach, doing all she could to keep her mind off heading down a route of just how she'd like to get physically active with Alex. Her gaze rested on his arm, the muscle rippling beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt making her heart ping. She gave an inward sigh of longing.

‘And what about relationships? Ever had your heart broken?'

She shook her head, holding his gaze. ‘Never been in love, never had a long-term relationship, and never had my heart broken. Which is just the way I like it.' She figured she might as well be honest, she wasn't ashamed of feeling this way.

‘Wow!' His eyebrows shot up. ‘You've never had a long-term relationship?'

‘Nope.' She gave an amused smile. ‘I've never wanted to get involved with anyone.' Until now, said a little voice at the back of her mind. You'd very much like to get involved with delicious Alex Bainbridge, wouldn't you? ‘How about you?'

‘Well, I've had two long-term relationships. The first one was in my early twenties; lasted a year-and-a-half, I hadn't been long out of university when it started and just sort of fizzled out. Ended amicably, which was good, so no hearts broken there. Erin and I are still in touch from time-to-time actually. She's married now to a great guy called Jacques, has a couple of kids; they live in France.' He sucked in a slow breath. ‘And as you already know, I've not long since broken up with someone. Cerys…' He drew in another deep breath, making Stella wonder if he was still hurting from the break-up. ‘We'd been together for just over four years and had been going through a bit of a rough patch for a good few months. If I'm honest, it had never been the easiest of relationships, but, against my better judgement, I kept telling myself everything would work itself out. We'd been on the point of breaking up when we agreed to give the relationship another go with the proviso that if at any point either of us felt it wasn't working, then we'd call it a day.' He gazed out to sea, his expression inscrutable in the soft glow cast by the discreet uplighters either side of the balcony doors. ‘A week later, Zara spotted her getting up-close and personal with another bloke. And despite Cerys saying it meant nothing, that she still wanted to give us another go, there was no way I could ever trust her again. So, that was the end of it.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that.' Stella didn't know what else to say.

‘Don't be. It was the right thing to do, just a bit of a shock at the time. We should've just broken up when we first talked about it, instead of dragging things out. Cerys cheating was proof of that. And I wouldn't say my heart was broken as a result, more a little bit bruised.' He turned, flashing his familiar smile. ‘Anyway, that's been quite an information-packed few hours. I think I've learnt more about you tonight than I did about my ex in a whole year!'

‘Yep, can't argue, it's been a bit of an info-splurge.' Stella laughed too. ‘Apologies if you feel I've overshared.'

‘On the contrary, I've enjoyed talking to you, finding out about you. You're a fascinating woman, Stella Hutton. And you know what?'

‘What?' she asked. He looked impossibly handsome, dark-stubble peppering his strong jaw.

‘I'd pretty much decided that, the first moment I saw you walking towards me in the street last Friday, with that confident, kick-ass spring in your step.'

‘You did?' Her heart looped-the-loop as happiness flooded her chest.

‘I did. Couldn't take my eyes off you, and not just because you're incredibly attractive, by the way. It was like "boom", who is this woman? You were giving off this aura of…' He glanced around him, as if looking for the word. ‘Oh, I don't even know how to describe it, but I felt drawn to you, compelled to get to know you. I've never felt that way before.' He turned to her. ‘Imagine how pleased I was when we kept bumping into one another. I was even undeterred when you'd gone frosty on me. Just made you all the more intriguing.' A smile spread across his face, lighting up his bright-blue eyes. ‘And you've got to admit, fate must be playing a part here, putting us in the same apartment building, on the same floor.'

Stella could barely believe what she'd just heard. She swallowed. ‘What you've described is something similar to what I felt when I first saw you.'

‘You felt the same?' His smile grew wider.

She nodded. ‘Mm-hm. I was instantly attracted to you, but on a much deeper level than I've ever experienced.' She felt suddenly vulnerable at revealing this part of herself. She'd never done anything like it before, never felt anything like this before. She hesitated, considering whether to go on. Don't forget, Alex has just bared his soul to you. ‘I… um… Oh!' Before she knew it, Alex was standing before her, offering his hand. Looking up at him, she took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

‘Stella,' he said, his voice husky as he cupped her face in his hands, stars twinkling in the inky-blue sky above.

‘Alex,' she said in a whisper. In the next moment, his mouth was on hers, all hot and sensual. She closed her eyes as a groan escaped her lips, a bolt of electricity shooting through to her core with such an intensity it took her breath away. She pushed her fingers into his hair, their kiss deepening, growing more urgent by the minute as he pulled her closer to him. Fireworks started going off down at the beach, but they were no match for the ones currently exploding in her heart.