Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) by Serenity Woods Read Free Book Online

up. “I haven’t seen that
for ages.”
    “That’s settled then.” He slapped Mateo on
the leg. “Come on, boyo. Let’s clean you up.”
    “Aw, Dad…”
    Aaron stood, picked the boy up in a
fireman’s lift, and tickled him as he carried him through to the shower.
Smiling, Bridget took the plates over to the kitchenette, scraped the scraps
into the rubbish, and washed the plates.
    Aaron came out after a few minutes and
dried up beside her. Singing emitted from the shower, the theme tune to Transformers ,
if she wasn’t mistaken. The two of them exchanged a smile.
    Bridget finished the last plate and wiped
her hands. “I am sorry for interrupting your day,” she said as she leaned
against the counter. “I’m guessing that your time with your son is precious,
and I’m sure the last thing you needed was to play knight in shining armor to
some hopeless woman on the quay.”
    “You’re not hopeless.” He dried the last
plate and hung the tea towel over the rail. “In fact I think you’re coping
well. It’s no small thing to have a relationship end, and the way it’s happened
to you is just… well…” He glanced at the bathroom door to make sure that Mateo
couldn’t hear him. “…fucking awful,” he finished.
    Her lips twisted. She scratched at a mark
on the counter. “Do you know the worst thing?”
    “What?”
    Normally she wouldn’t have said it out
loud, but she felt liberated by the fact that Aaron was a stranger and she’d be
unlikely to see him again.
    “I think I’m more upset by the humiliation
of being jilted than I am about actually losing Mal.” A weight lifted as she
said it, even though it was an awful thing to admit.
    Aaron didn’t say anything, and eventually
she lifted her gaze to his. His gray eyes studied her, interested, thoughtful.
    “Does that make me a terrible person?” she
whispered.
    He gave a short laugh. “It sounds as if you
had a lucky escape.”
    Lucky… A few hours ago it would have been
the last word she would have used to describe herself. Maybe he was right,
though.
    Aaron was still watching her. His gaze
dropped to her lips, and she wondered whether he was thinking what it might be
like to kiss her.
    Of course he wasn’t. Her cheeks warmed at
the irreverent thought. He must be desperate to get rid of her. He must be
cursing himself for walking up to her on the quay.
    “Dad!” A voice echoed from inside the
bathroom. “I’m done!”
    Aaron turned away. “I won’t be long.” He picked
up a pair of pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom. Soon, the sounds of a
boy being dried and dressed filtered through the door.
    Bridget walked back to the bed, stared at
the empty glass of wine on the bedside table, and then at the half-full bottle.
Sighing, she poured herself another glass. At the moment, she was living from
one minute to the next. It would soon become clear what she was supposed to do,
she was sure.
    Before long, Mateo emerged in his Transformers pajamas and, to her surprise, ran toward her and jumped onto the bed, moving up
next to where she sat with her back to the headboard. He flicked on the TV.
“Shrek’s started, Dad! Get the snacks.”
    “On my way.” Aaron rustled around in the
bag he’d been carrying when she’d seen him on the quay, produced a few packets,
then retrieved a tub of ice cream from the freezer before coming over to the
bed.
    He handed her the tub and a spoon. “Your
share of the chocolate fudge brownie.”
    She took the spoon from him and smiled.
“Thank you.”
    He went around the other side of the bed
and sat beside Mateo. The two of them opened the packets of popcorn and
chocolate buttons. Clearly, this was a recurring ritual.
    Bridget took the lid off the ice cream,
dipped the spoon in, and tasted the ice cream. The rich chocolatey taste filled
her mouth, and she knew then that it would always remind her of this moment,
sitting curled on the bed, with her life in tatters but somehow feeling that
everything was