“I mean it. Last night was incredible and I want to be clear. I’m staying here. I’m getting a dog. And I want you in my plans. For the sake of clarity, I want to be your girlfriend.” Saffron’s cheeks glowed red. She looked adorable. “Does that sound like something you might consider?”
A grin split Kirsty’s face as she shook her head. “You’re seriously asking me that question? As you’re lying beneath me with your perfect teeth, your golden skin, and your limbs that go on for miles?” Kirsty licked her lips, then placed a gentle kiss on Saffron’s lips. “I’m totally here for this. If you’re asking me to be yours, I’m in.” A ticker-tape parade of happiness marched through her.
“My girlfriend owns a wine shop. What a find!” Saffron punched the air.
Kirsty kissed her again, before shuffling down Saffron, parting her thighs and placing a hand over her core. “Mine just jacked in her job and she hasn’t got another one lined up. Luckily, she’s hot.” Kirsty slid a finger into Saffron’s heat, then groaned. “Also,seriouslywet for me.”
Saffron’s eyes blazed with desire. “You havenoidea.”
* * *
Kirsty wavedat Danny on the top road overlooking the sea. From this vista, you could see right down to Branton Bay on the right, and way beyond Sandy Cove to your left. However, the one view Kirsty still couldn’t get enough of was right in front of her.
Saffron Oliver.
Her girlfriend.
It was going to take some getting used to.
“Let me guess. Your old boyfriend?”
Danny was the fourth person Kirsty had greeted on the walk from her flat to Saffron’s place.
Kirsty shook her head. “His dad used to play cricket with my dad. We were always left in the pavilion together as kids. He’s very ticklish.”
Saffron’s phone pinged, distracting her.
“Let me guess.” Kirsty gripped Saffron’s hand as they walked down the diagonal path—lined with scorched grass—to the main promenade. “Ginger.”
Saffron let out a light chuckle. “She’s not giving up easily. She wants to meet us for lunch or a drink or dinner.” Saffron kissed Kirsty’s hand, before slowing down. “Can we give her something? She did get us together in a roundabout way.”
Kirsty nodded. Ginger had been instrumental. They’d shared their stories of Ginger’s intervention over the past couple of days, so they owed her. “Dinner later on? By then I might be ready to share you. For now, I want to walk along the beach with my girlfriend, get an ice cream, and then go back to hers for more hot sex.”
Saffron gave her a grin. “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’m sure it can be arranged.”
At the bottom of the hill they bought an ice cream from Nathan’s Ice Cream Hut. Kirsty chatted to him for a few moments, before presenting Saffron with her 99.
She licked the ice cream, then took a bite of the chocolate flake before glancing back at Nathan. “He was your boyfriend, if I remember correctly?”
Kirsty nodded. “We went steady for at least three weeks, aged seven. Can you cope?”
Saffron raised both eyebrows. “Is it possible to get retroactively jealous about something that happened years ago?”
Kirsty put an arm through hers as they strolled. Saffron was the model stroller, now. “Get used to it. This town is a living, breathing part of my history.”
“I’m getting that.”
Two teenage girls ran in front of them and shyly asked for a selfie with Saffron. She untangled herself from Kirsty, deposited her cone in Kirsty’s spare hand, then posed like the pro she was, making the girls giggle uncontrollably as they walked away.
Kirsty was going to have to get used to being stopped, too.
Saffron took back her ice cream and re-threaded her arm through Kirsty’s. “No matter how famous I am in the world, I’ll never top your fame in this town.”
As if to back up her point, Kirsty’s primary school teacher walked past.
“Hi, Mrs Warton!” Kirsty trilled, like she was still eight years old.
Mrs Warton shook her head. “How many times, dear? It’s Marion!”
