“Come with me? I’m not ready to be apart from you just yet.”

“Okay. I’ll give Sia a call and see if she wants to meet me there. She can help me fend off your female groupies.” I remembered watching as every girl had ogled him last time I was there. At the time, he hadn’t been mine and I hadn’t known if he ever would be. This time would be different.

Leo took my hand and led me back to his Jeep.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Juliette

On the drive back to Leo’s apartment, I felt peaceful. I loved being with Leo. He was so easy to be around, not only because he was so easy on the eyes but because I could breathe around him. For the first time in my life, someone was really taking the time to get to know me without an agenda. Life had turned around for me in a relatively short period of time. It was just over a month ago that I had first laid eyes on the incredibly gorgeous, and seemingly untouchable, Leo Ashlar. The impact that moment had had on me was unforgettable and set in motion the end of my life as I knew it. I had barely been living. I glanced over to Leo, who appeared to be deep in thought himself as he drove.

Obviously sensing my gaze, he stole a quick glance and smiled before returning his eyes to the road. “What are you thinking about?”

“Honestly, I was just thinking about how much my life has changed since I met you.”

“I’m going to assume you mean for the better.”

“Absolutely for the better.” I suddenly felt emotional. “I was drowning and I didn’t care.”

He glanced at me again with a concerned expression but didn’t say anything. We were stopped at a T intersection. Turning left would take us to his home, but he went right and I knew where we were headed.

***

“Chocolate?” Leo guessed.

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t, but the way your eyes just lit up, I’m thinking I got it right.”

“Chocolate is the answer to the problems in the world that coffee can’t fix.”

“I thought alcohol would rate a mention too as a problem solver?” He handed the money over to the teenager working the ice cream cart.

“You make a good point. Chocolate, coffee and wine—solving the problems of the world, one guilty pleasure at a time.”

Once we had our ice creams, Leo took my hand and we walked along the St Kilda pier and stopped halfway along and leaned against the railing. It really was the most incredible view of Port Phillip, and the sunset was casting a peach glow over the Bay.

“It used to be all about the sunrise for me, but now I prefer the sunset.”

I managed to smudge ice cream on my face from laughing. “Leo Ashlar. You are a soppy romantic. How was it that you didn’t pick up on my reference to the Nicholas Sparks’ novel The Notebook back at the boathouse?

“Excuse me.” He smiled, but only briefly. “My reason isn’t romantic, I’m afraid.” He stared out across the water.

“I’m sorry for laughing.” I touched his arm and he placed his hand over mine, holding it in place. “Tell me why you love the sunset,” I whispered.

“Tell me first why you felt like you were drowning and didn’t care.”

I exhaled a long breath. I’d never talked about it before, and part of me was scared to verbalise the dark thoughts I’d always had. Leo, however, made me feel so safe, and I loved that he cared. I stepped up onto the bottom railing so I could lean over the top and peer down at the dark water below. “I use my mind and my body to escape.” The water swirled below and I closed my eyes, mentally imagining tipping myself forward and tumbling down until I splashed through the rough surface. “I imagine myself plunging into water and I enjoy the sensation of sinking into the darkness. It’s completely silent and I can shut out the voices.”

“That’s fucked up, Juliette.”

I snapped my eyes open and looked into the fearful eyes of Leo.

“I didn’t actually do it. Obviously,” I retorted, upset by his angry reaction “I just imagined it and I found it relaxed me.”

“You find it relaxing?” he asked, clenching his jaw.

I stepped down off the railing and started walking away. He grabbed my arm before I made it two steps. “Where are you going?”

“I just opened up to you with something very personal and you shot me down.” My eyes glazed with disappointment.

“Life isn’t something you throw away because it gets too hard.” He took my hand in his and brought me back to the railing. “When most people feel their hand is being forced, their instinct is either fight or flight. Mine is fight. With you, it’s both. You run towards danger to escape. Even your imagination is reckless and suicidal.” The intensity of his eyes made my pulse quicken. “Open your eyes, Juliette. Stop seeing the darkness as your way out.”

“You love the sunset. Isn’t that the prelude to darkness?”

“You can be quite depressing.” He chuckled lightly. “The night is lit up by a billion stars. If you focus on the black sky, you’re missing the light show.”

I looked up into the darkening sky and saw a few evening stars. I’d never noticed them before. “You’re a surprising man, Leo Ashlar.”

“Come on. I have to get changed for work, but tomorrow night I’m going to take you to a light show.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Leo

I desperately didn’t want to go to work. It had been a big day for us, and I wanted nothing more than to be alone with her. Instead, I had to work in a busy bar and sneak as many moments with her as I could.

“Give me fifteen minutes?” she asked, kissing me before disappearing towards her bedroom.

We’d stopped by her apartment on the way to the bar so she could get changed. While she was in the shower, I called Angus.

“Hey, mate. What’s up?”

“I’m taking Jules to the farm tomorrow night. Any chance we can crash at yours if it gets too late to drive home?”

“Course, mate. You know you’re always welcome and I know Bea will be stoked to have Jules here.”

I heard Bea in the background querying him.

“Leo?” Bea had taken the phone from her husband. “That girl is a very positive influence on you.”

“It’s not a big deal, Bea.”

“It’s a massive deal. For five years you barely set foot on the place, and since you met her—”

I cut her off. “No big deal.”

“I’m happy you found her, or maybe she found you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll talk to her about what happened.”

“No,” I snapped then immediately regretted my instinctive reaction. “Sorry, Bea.” I paused to swallow the lump in my throat. “I don’t need to talk about the past.”

“Okay.” There was silence for a few moments. “We’ll see you tomorrow night, then.”

I hung up with a knot in my stomach. I knew at some stage I would have to tell Juliette about what had happened, but we’d only just found our way to each other and she was dealing with her own dramas. I saw no reason to bring it up anytime soon.

She reappeared exactly fifteen minutes later in black skinny jeans and a black tank top that was loose on her. I was relieved she wasn’t in anything too revealing given I’d be stuck behind the bar most of the night and couldn’t lay my claim when the men swarmed. She sat down on the couch to put on strappy high heels, and when she leaned forward, I caught sight of her bare back.

“Your top appears to be missing the back section.” I was only half joking.

Juliette laughed and continued to do up her shoes. When she stood up, I grabbed her and pulled her close. My hands roamed her bare back and the front of my jeans tightened. She was so damn sexy. Her hands found their way up my back and her lips found mine. When our kiss deepened, I groaned. I was going to be late for work if we took this any further.

“How am I going to focus on making cocktails all night?”