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say things like that. I’m nothing special—I’m just a schoolteacher.”
    “A very sexy schoolteacher.”
    “I...” Something in that smile took all her words away. “I’m not sexy,” she protested weakly.
    He took her hand. “Clearly you’ve not looked in a mirror lately. Sweetheart, you were the prettiest girl at that party. By a long shot. Hence me smuggling you out before the other guys got a good look at you. Now come on, I’m hungry. We’ll eat hoki and chips on the beach and I’ll even treat you to a beer—how romantic’s that?”
    She laughed. His enthusiasm lifted her spirits, and besides, she didn’t want to go back to the party. Foolish it may be, but she liked being with him. She wanted to get to know him better.
     

Chapter Five
     
    So she let him buy her the battered hoki, and they went to the shop next door and bought a couple of beers. They took it all onto the beach and sat on a couple of rocks to eat it, burning their fingers on the hot flakes of white fish, and scattered the remains for the seagulls to pick up. Afterward, they walked slowly back along the beach and talked about everything under the sun—literature, films, music, anything that took their fancy.
    When they drew level with Bev’s house, Hamish led her up onto the road again. They skirted the house, rejoined the beach a few hundred yards later, and continued south along the sand as the sun set and turned the sea orange and pink. They walked slowly, still talking, while the music from the party echoed along the sand.
    It turned cool, so he helped her on with her jacket, and when he took her hand afterward she didn’t complain. His gentle, firm grip warmed hers, and she didn’t miss the brush of his thumb across her knuckles.
    When they reached her parents’ house, he stopped. “My folks’ house is just along there. Eamon’s on shift tomorrow, so my mum and dad are taking him back tonight. Want to come down for a glass of wine?”
    She hesitated, knowing what that meant. “I...shouldn’t.”
    He turned her to face him. “Just for a drink, honey. I won’t push anything. I didn’t ask you for a walk with the intention of talking you into bed the first night we met. It’s just...” He paused and glanced at the moon that had started to rise above the horizon. “I don’t want the day to end.”
    “I know,” she agreed shyly. “Me neither.”
    “Then come for a drink.”
    It was her turn to look at the moon. She didn’t want the lovely evening to finish. But it would be a mistake to go with him.
    And yet...she was tired of being sensible. Of taking the safe route, of being alone. He wasn’t offering love and marriage and forever, just companionship and conversation and today. And maybe, if things went the way she thought they might, a warm body to hold as the moon circled the sky. Was that really so terrible?
    It wasn’t terrible, but it was alien to her. She’d never had a one-night stand, never slept with anyone she hadn’t dated for at least a few months. Hamish had probably had lots of girlfriends and plenty of one-night stands. She supposed it should turn her off, make her wary of going anywhere near him. But something within her hungered for him, for a night where she could forget who she was, forget about Lee, and play the unfamiliar role of lover with abandonment. The thought excited her, made her heart pound and the blood race around her body.
    “Okay,” she said, surprising herself.
    Hamish met her gaze, his sexy smile returning, and then he took her hand and led her along the beach.
    By the time they reached his house, darkness shrouded the shore, the sand lit only by the full moon hanging in the sky like a thrown snowball. She shivered as he led her up the steps of the decking to the sliding doors, only then spotting the large, brown dog with his nose pressed up against the glass. “Oh!”
    “That’s Brandon.” Hamish unlocked the door. “Are you okay with dogs?”
    “Of course.”
    He