Loving Georgia ✔️

Chapter 09

Birds chirped the next morning in the trees just outside the cottage, a happy tune compared to the dull rain all night. Georgia sipped her drink while leaning against the wooden balustrade. She pulled away, stopping short to untangle her floral silken skirt from the roses. She'd had to creep past a sleeping Jeremy to be outside in the early hour, but a groan had echoed from inside a short while ago.

'What are you doing?' Jeremy stumbled outside, wiping his eyes and yawning. 'It's so early.'

Georgia didn't reply. She simply smiled at him from where she'd sat down, feet tucked under her.

'It's nice.' He dropped into the loveseat next to her, taking the cup of coffee from her hand and helping himself to a large gulp. 'Mmm, so is that.'

'Help yourself.' Georgia shook her head good-naturedly, hands sheathed in her cream cardigan pockets.

Jeremy looked at her for a moment, taking in the early morning Georgia. She looked happy, at ease, like the Georgia he had first met all those weeks ago. He handed her back the cup of half-drunken coffee.

'Thanks. You can have the rest if you'd like.' She tried to offer it back to him, but his hands were busy untangling the light brown hair tie in her hair. It fell around her shoulders and framed her face in the early morning light. She cocked her head, eyebrow raised in amusement.

He nodded once, pulling the hair tie onto his wrist before claiming the cup of coffee once more. 'You look beautiful with your hair down.' He smiled at her.

Pink crept into her cheeks, paired with a soft glimmer in her green eyes. She looked so inviting curled up beside him, making life so much harder in that moment.

'Can I have that back?'

'The coffee or the hair tie?'

'Either.' She chuckled.

'Nope.' He downed the rest of the coffee. 'I'm afraid not.'

'And why is that?'

'Because I said so.' He grinned. 'And because I just finished it.'

She pursed her lips, watching him through narrowed eyes. This relaxed version of himself looked good in the cottage. A childlike .

'It's summer today,' she commented, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

'Don't do that,' he said, untucking the strand of hair.

'Why?' she asked, tucking the strand back again with a wild glint in her eye. Two could play this game.

'Because you are irresistible enough, I can't fight it when it's tucked.' He untucked it once more. 'It's making me want to kiss you.'

Georgia hid behind her hair, struggling to find the right words. She'd convinced herself that he wasn't interested in her, it was all just an arrangement to help June. But him saying that just confused her. 'Sorry,' she murmured, leaving the hair down and tucking her hands underneath her. 'I wasn't aware that was a bad thing.'

'It's not ...' Jeremy trailed off, eyes drifting down to her lips. 'Let's do something today.' He changed the topic.

'What would you like to do?'

'Is there a market today? It is a Monday so probably not. We could go to the beach.' He stood up and paced back and forth on the cobblestone porch. Ideas bounced off the stones, against the windows, out into the garden, but none stuck.

'We could go for a short hike,' she suggested, naming a few within close distance.

They settled on heading to the Ratapihipihi Scenic Reserve Walk with the idea of stopping for a swim at the waterfall. It had been a few years since Georgia had walked the trail, and over a decade for Jeremy.