A Winter Sabbatical (Books We Love holiday romance) (2 page)

She noticed him watching, and momentarily
stared back, then quickly averted her eyes. She started stacking the shelves
again. Was she trying to avoid his gaze, or was it something else?

Marissa’s thoughts suddenly turned to
Jeremy – he had eyes she could lose herself in too. Sometimes she would just
sit and stare into Jeremy’s eyes; look into his heart, his soul.
She missed him so much.

“Well, how about it?”

She blinked self-consciously.
What had he been saying?

Travis sighed. “Did you hear anything I
said?” The question was rhetorical, and Marissa knew it.
“Dinner
at my place?
If we stay here, you’ll just want to keep working. And you
look worn out.”

He was right. She
would
want to keep working. Travis was such a nice person. He
barely knew her, and yet, here he was helping her out.

Before she knew what was happening, Travis
had squatted down before her, taking her hand. She felt the warmth travel
through her.

She looked at him and their eyes met. She
could see sincerity in those beautiful blue eyes, but wasn’t sure what to do.

Should she refuse his invitation? After
all, she hardly knew this guy. Still, he was a friend of Daniel’s.

She
was being stupid, of course she was.

Daniel had obviously known Travis for
years. And he would have warned her if he had any reservations about him. She
felt foolish even thinking there could be a problem. “Pizza does sound good,”
she said, suddenly feeling hungry.

The drive into town gave Marissa a chance
to look around, albeit in near darkness.

She stared out the window at the
silhouetted trees dancing gently in the breeze, the puffs of clouds as they
floated by, and the full, brilliant moon. It was relaxing to sit and watch.

From the little she saw, it was too bad she
would only be here for a short time. Melbourne
had nothing to compare with this.

“It would be nice to see all this in
daylight.” She sighed.
If it’s this
beautiful at night, what would it be like during the day?

Travis glanced at Marissa,
then
turned back to the road. “Haven’t you seen it before?”
he asked. “Surely you came up here to check out the house?”

Marissa stared hard at him. He’d think her
a fool.
“Actually, no.
I didn’t. I’m here for a kind
of sabbatical. You know, to get over, er... things, have a bit of a rest and
get my life back in order. And hopefully, get some work done at the same time.”

She stared into her lap self-consciously.
“Daniel will be gone at least six months, probably longer. He needed his house
looked after; I needed somewhere to sort, um, things out. It… it all made
perfect sense.”

Travis looked thoughtful. “Are you a
researcher, too?”
 

Marissa wasn’t sure how much Daniel had
told him; very little, by the sounds of things. “I’m an author. I’ve had one
novel published, and I’m about to start another one. I also write current
affairs, human interest and the like; whenever the opportunity arises.”

Travis’s eyes left the road momentarily.
“What sort of novels do you write?”

Marissa lowered her eyes nervously. Would
telling him change his opinion of her? Most people she told just
laughed,
thought it a huge joke. But it wasn’t – it was
serious, and it was her livelihood.

She mentally shook herself. Travis wasn’t
like that at all. Was he?

“Romance.”

Travis grinned knowingly.

Perhaps she was wrong about him after all.

***

“Well, here we are. Welcome to Maldon.”

Daniel had told her Maldon was a ‘quaint’
town, but she wasn’t prepared for what she found. It was as though she’d
stepped into a scene from the 1850’s. The town was still in its original state,
Travis explained, and had been preserved for future generations.

Maldon felt like home. Oh, she knew she’d
just arrived, and had only seen it for a short time, but it felt right,
comfortable. And what she’d seen so far she loved.

They stepped inside the pizza shop. It was
tiny; there were only four tables in the entire shop. Travis placed the order,
then
took Marissa by the hand. They were going to explore.

A river of excitement ran through her.

“Oh – it’s lovely! I didn’t realize it was
an Olde Worlde village here. Daniel told me it was a nice place, but nothing
like this!” Marissa ran across the road when she spotted an old fashioned sweet-shop.
She put her face against the glass and peered inside. “Oooohh, there’s a craft
shop too,” she said, looking around again. “And a pet shop. Look kittens! I
think I’m going to like it here.” She laughed, and it felt good.
Really good.

“I sure hope so, Marissa. I sure hope so.”

Travis put a friendly arm around Marissa,
and warmth flooded her. She felt her world light up.

Then he leaned forward, and she knew he was
about to kiss her. Trepidation and excitement invaded her.

He moved slowly, as though he understood she
couldn’t be rushed. She looked up at him, and he brushed the hair back from her
face. Then he kissed her gently on the forehead.

The sort of kiss you’d give your sister.
Or your mother.
Or aunt.

Marissa felt disappointment. But she wasn’t
sure why.

She looked up at him, and as she did,
Jeremy’s image flashed in front of her.

Was she ready for another relationship?
Marissa had to admit, she really didn’t know.

But she was jumping the gun – Travis wasn’t
offering anything but friendship.

“Come on, our pizzas should be ready,” he
said, pulling Marissa out of her private thoughts.

As they stepped into the pizza shop again,
the aroma assaulted Marissa’s senses and she breathed them in. “Mmmmm.... It’s
making me hungry.” She smiled and Travis smiled back, watching her, assessing
her every move.

The drive back to Travis’ house was mainly
in silence. Marissa looked out the car window, watching the views, wondering
whether she should be going to his house.

Okay,
it’s only pizza
, she thought,
but they were going to Travis’ house.
Those doubting thoughts crept
slowly into her mind again. What if he wasn’t the gentleman he appeared to be? What
if he tried to kiss her lips this time? What if
she
responded?

She turned to look at him.
Travis and his luscious lips.
Travis and his wavy hair, his—

Whoa!
Where did that come from?

Annoyed with herself, and her inner devil,
Marissa turned back to look out the window. She really did need to learn to
control her mind better.

Travis’s voice broke into her reverie.
“Nearly there,” he said, as though he knew she needed the distraction.

Her heart began to beat faster. What if she
really was in danger? She was helpless, totally under his control. They were
miles from Daniel’s place, and even if she tried, it was too far to walk. Or
run. And she would put herself in more danger by walking at this hour of the
night anyway.

Marissa mentally slapped herself.
Travis is a friend of Daniel’s. He is no
danger to you,
she told herself aggressively. If she kept saying or
thinking it, it might come true, she decided.

“Hey, look! A kangaroo!” she said, thrilled
by her discovery. She had to get her mind off all this.

“The first of many, I’m sure.” Travis pulled
into the driveway of a large property.

Marissa sat glued to the seat as she looked
about.

The red brick house was large and rambling,
and had a veranda that ran around the building. Marissa was in awe, and slowly
got out of the vehicle, where she stood staring at the house.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I love it. In fact, I absolutely adore it.
Is it yours?” she asked. “I can’t wait to see inside.”

Travis walked around to her, carrying the
pizza. “I can see that. It’s not easy for you to hide your emotions, is it?”

Marissa stared down at the ground, kicking
the dirt around with her shoe.

“That’s good,” he added hastily. “I like
that!”

“Really?”
Marissa smiled, and this time the hesitancy had gone.

“So tell me about the house,” she said.
“It’s not your ordinary run of the mill home. It’s huge. I mean, it’s more like
a mansion.”

Travis looked at Marissa. How much should
he tell her? “It
was
the Eaglehawk
Hotel, and was built in 1906 after the original weatherboard one burned down,
presumably not long before that. Maldon was a rich gold-mining town back in the
1800’s, and the Eaglehawk was the first pub in the area.”

He suddenly stopped talking. Marissa was
probably bored out of her brain by now.

“Come on – tell me the rest!” she demanded.

He shrugged his shoulders.
Maybe not.
“My
grandfather bought the building and renovated it to live in after the pub
closed down several years earlier. When he died a few years ago, I inherited
it.”

He opened the door, motioning her inside.
“Jonah simply loves visitors.”

Marissa looked quite puzzled. “You share
the house?”

“Oh yes,” Travis laughed, “but this
housemate is very lazy, and won’t even help with the chores!”

Walking through the laundry, Travis looked
about. “Jonah, where are you?” Stopping in his tracks, and looking toward the
far wall, he spoke again. “Oh, there you are. Come and meet Marissa.”

He was laughing. Couldn’t help
himself
. It was so easy to tease Marissa, and she was such a
good sport about it. And it wasn’t as though she couldn’t use some fun and
laughter.

Looking around for the mysterious
housemate, Marissa finally spotted him.
“A cat?
Jonah’s a cat!” She had her hands on her hips, but she was laughing. Lucky for
him!

“He’s really beautiful, Travis. In case you
hadn’t noticed, I love cats!” Marissa squatted down and patted Jonah.

Travis stood and watched as Marissa stroked
Jonah’s fluffy white fur. The affectionate feline rubbed
himself
against Marissa’s legs. Leave it to Jonah, he knew a cat person when he met
one.

“Can I hold him? Will he mind?” Sucked in,
that’s what she was.
Jonah and his big eyes.
He could
turn his purring on and off as it pleased him. And it usually got him
everything he wanted. Lucky guy!

“Mind?
No way, he’ll lap it up; spoilt rotten, that’s what he is. You play
with Jonah while I get some plates for the pizza.” Travis sat the box on a
nearby counter. “Are you hungry? You seem more interested in my cat than the
pizza.”

Marissa pulled a face as Travis walked
away. “Well, he’s beautiful. And I’ll bet
you
don’t spoil him.”

“He gets enough attention,” Travis
answered. “What’s more, he demands it.”

Travis reached out to pat Jonah, but got
more than he bargained for. His fingers touched Marissa’s. Skin met skin, and
they looked up in unison. She pulled her hand back and averted her eyes as
though she had no intention of acknowledging what happened.

So he reached out and touched her again. She
felt it too, he was sure she did.

What was it about this woman? Why did she
affect him like this?

“I—” She began to speak, but he covered her
lips with his fingers and leaned in closer.

He pulled himself up without a moment to
spare. This was wrong, totally wrong.

She’d been hurt, and was still hurting. It
was obvious she was running from something or someone.

Until she sorted it out, Travis needed to
keep his distance.

Marissa barely touched her food, and she
reflected
,
that had been the pattern since that last
night with Jeremy.

“...mainly stocks and
bonds – investments.
Occasionally, very
occasionally, I dish out financial advice.” Her head snapped up – she’d been
off in a dream-world again.

What was it going to take to get her life
back on track?

“Marissa? Are you with me?” He reached
across the table, and covered her hand.

It was warm, comforting, inviting. Why did
she feel so damned guilty when she felt this way?

She looked down at their hands. In some
ways it was as though his was burning her skin. Travis quickly pulled it away,
apparently aware of what his touch was doing to her. But he had no idea. He
couldn’t have.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was a million
miles away.”

She looked around the room as Travis
continued to eat. She felt comfortable in this room with its tastefully
decorated period furniture. An antique sideboard stood not far from the
mahogany table where they now sat; a beautiful jug and bowl taking pride of
place on its top.