*****
Aidan arrives on the dot of seven and I offer him a drink.He’s driving so he opts for coffee and we drink it in the living room, and whenI notice he has a smear of what looks like green paint on his cheek, the chatturns to his apparently disastrous attempts at decorating the cottage he boughtrecently in Torminster.
He smiles sheepishly. ‘I’m ashamed to say I’ve never painteda wall in my life. Stupidly, I thought it would be easy but the result of threehours’ work this afternoon isn’t exactly great.’
I chuckle. ‘Which room did you paint green?’
‘Oh, I only managed one wall. In the kitchen. And I thinkI’ve decided against green.’
I stare dubiously at the colour adorning his cheek. ‘Perhapsa lighter, pastel shade for the kitchen? That might work better.’
He nods. ‘You’re probably right. Can I employ you as mydecorating advisor?’ He grins. ‘I’m sure with your creative eye, you’d have theplace looking stylish in no time.’
‘Well, you know... my rates are quitehigh,’ I joke.
‘Hey, I forgot to tell you. The council has given us thego-ahead to hold a fete on Sunnybrook village green. Bank holiday. End of May.’
‘Wow, that’s fantastic. But it’s a huge thing to organiseand you haven’t got much time. Do you have lots of people to help?’
‘No, no. I’m planning to do it all myself.’ He shrugs. ‘Imean, how hard can it be?’
I gaze at him doubtfully.
‘I’m joking.’ His warm smile envelops me, and thebutterflies I’ve been feeling ever since he arrived intensify. ‘No, my mate’san event organiser so he’ll be in charge of it.’
‘Oh, great,’ I murmur, noticing the lovely way his eyescrinkle at the corners when he smiles like that. He carries on talking – ‘socialmedia marketing... insurance... got to makesure safety procedures are in place’ – but I’ve just drifted away and I’mstaring at his mouth. It’s the perfect bow shape, the bottom lip a littlefuller than the top.
Extremely kissable...
‘Kenzie?’
‘Sorry?’ I snap to, realising he must have asked me aquestion.
Pull yourself together!
‘I was just saying I can’t wait to see this workplace ofyours.’ He indicates the back of the house, and I recall in dismay hyping it upto him as my ‘potter’s studio’.
‘It’s actually a grotty old summerhouse,’ I confess with awry smile. ‘But it does the job.’
As we’re leaving the living room to head out into thegarden, Aidan stops suddenly and stares up at the ceiling. ‘Is that really Santain a hammock?’
‘What?’ I look up in horror.Oh, bugger! In the rush toclear away Christmas, I totally forgot he was up there!
‘So is this you preparing fornextChristmas? Or areyou just very late boxing him up?’
‘Erm, the latter. I keep meaning to take him down but...’I shrug, flushing awkwardly.
Aidan chuckles. ‘I like him. I’d leave him up there,’ hesays, as we go outside and cross the garden to my ‘studio’.
‘Hey, this is great.’ He glances around admiringly and goesover to peer into the kiln, and I try not to admire the way the mid-blue jeans he’swearing hug his bum so perfectly. With Aidan in the summerhouse with me, thespace has shrunk and the air seems charged with tension, making me feel alittle dizzy.
He turns and moves to look at the wheel and we get tangledup in the tight space. He laughs softly and I feel his hand on my side just fora moment as he brushes past me.
‘It’s... cosy in here,’ he murmurs.
I smile, a flush rising to my cheeks. ‘It’s probably notmeant for two.’
I look up at him and our eyes meet and hold, and a funnylittle shiver runs through me.
