Chapter Twenty-Six
Sunday dawned bright and cheerful; Lucy was awoken by the chirruping birds tweeting from their high viewpoint on the leafy tree outside Rory’s bedroom window. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts and get her bearings, she turned over to find herself face to face with him, breathtakingly gorgeous in sleep, his stubble darker and thicker, his dark eyelashes curling from eyelids still heavy with dreams. She smiled contentedly to herself, stretching out her aching limbs, the post-coital glow still radiated from every cell in her body. Tucking herself near him, he rolled his arm over her, pulling her closer to him in his sleep, spooning the back of her body. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew something was different this time, that Rory was somehow different from any other man she had met. Blissfully happy, Lucy allowed herself to close her eyes, drifting back into a deep sleep.
She awoke a while later and turned over to find an empty bed. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and yawned, stretching once more like a starfish across the bed.
Lucy looked blearily around the room, spotting a cosy-looking tartan dressing gown hanging on the back of the door and wrapping herself in it. She went to the bathroom and borrowed Rory’s toothbrush to brush her teeth. Then she padded down the corridor, the lush carpet soft underneath her feet, and tiptoed down the stairs, listening for any noises from around the house. It was eerily quiet. She made her way to the kitchen, calling out ‘Rory?’ but there was no reply. Rufus was nowhere to be seen either. All of a sudden she heard the front door slam shut and the light patter of Rufus’s claws clattering against the tiles.
Rory called out ‘Lucy?’ in his deep voice.
She replied, ‘In here!’ from the kitchen.
He burst into the room with Rufus lapping around his ankles, bringing a blast of fresh air in with him. His cheeks were rosy from the chill outside and his eyes sparkled. The crow’s feet seemed deeper than ever as he beamed at her; in his hand he held two takeaway cups and a paper bag full to the brim with pastries.
‘Morning!’ he sang, coming over to Lucy and kissing her warmly on the lips, causing her stomach to lurch. His kiss lingered for a second or two, then he kissed her again. ‘You look gorgeous! My dressing gown really suits you!’ he smiled.
‘Why thank you, kind sir!’ Lucy replied, doing a little twirl and striking a pose. ‘I have rather a limited selection of clothing to choose from!’
‘We’ll have to get you home to get a change of clothes at some point,’ said Rory, putting the coffees and the paper bag onto the kitchen table. ‘But I’m not sure I’m going to be able to let you out of my sight,’ he muttered, looking at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her again. ‘I got you a cappuccino, I’m afraid there were no chai lattes at the local cafe, but they do serve excellent coffee.’
‘I love coffee in the morning, that’s perfect. Thank you so much. Is that breakfast you’ve got there?’ asked Lucy, feeling hungry after their late night activities.
‘Rufus needed to go out so I took him for a run around the park, hence the tracksuit,’ he said gesturing to his grey joggers, ‘we stopped off to buy croissants on the way back. They’re still warm!’
‘Yum!’ said Lucy. ‘My favourite.’ Her tummy was rumbling at the thought.
He popped back to the front door to collect the paper, which had been delivered, and they sat at the kitchen table, sipping their coffee, eating their croissants with generous lashings of black cherry jam, and reading theSunday Times. Lucy was more interested in the magazine supplements than anything else, but Rory filled her in on the headlines. Rufus snuffled around underneath the table, hoovering up any crumbs or flakes of pastry that made their way down to him. Lucy couldn’t believe how at ease she felt in Rory’s presence. It was as if she had known him all her life, she couldn’t understand how it was possible to feel so comfortable with a virtual stranger but she did.
When breakfast was over, Lucy said, ‘Do you mind if I have a shower?’
‘I think that is a fantastic idea,’ said Rory, leaning closer to her and kissing her on the lips. ‘Do you mind if I join you?’ he asked, resulting in another hour or two back in bed.
Lucy had never felt so completely and utterly satisfied by a man; he was amazing… such stamina! Her lips stung from being kissed so much and her muscles ached even more. Her phone was buzzing manically with voicemails from Claudia, her mum, and Tor. All of them rightly assumed that she would be available on a Sunday morning for their weekly catch-ups. Only Claudia was suspicious, wanting to know exactly what reason Lucy had for not answering her phone.
Having finally wrenched themselves apart and out of bed, Lucy insisted that it was about time she went home to get a change of clothes. It was already way past midday and the sun was still shining, Rory clipped the lead on Rufus and they set off towards Baron’s Court. They held hands as they squinted in the bright sunshine, their spirits sky-high, laughing and stopping for the odd kiss as they went, not a care in the world.
Lucy had sent a cryptic text to Claudia and Tor, saying something about being otherwise engaged and promising to fill them in as soon as possible. This had resulted in another barrage of texts from Claudia, the detective, determined not to be left out of any potential gossip. Tor had merely sent back a cheery:
Sounds interesting! No rush...Enjoy!xx.
Lucy had also sent her mother a message saying she was busy and promising to call in the week.
As they rounded the corner towards Baron’s Court, Lucy pointed out all her favourite local spots to Rory. The whole of London looked infinitely more attractive and charming in the bright light of a sunny day, and Lucy found herself feeling incredibly fond of where she lived. They turned onto Mayfield Road and sauntered up the street, two lovebirds beaming from ear to ear. Rufus sniffed happily at tree stumps and lamp posts as he went.
At number 13, Lucy announced that they had arrived at their destination, unlocking the front door and picking up some post that had arrived yesterday from the communal letter box as she went in. She led Rufus and Rory up the three flights of steps to her flat, letting them in and saying, ‘Welcome to my humble abode!’ As Rory took a step inside and looked around, Lucy felt proud of her little flat; it was at its best with the beams of light streaming through the big bay window by the window seat, illuminating everything with a warm glow.
‘I love it!’ declared Rory. ‘It’s so cute! Such a homely feel to it…’ he said, as he wondered around the sitting room, looking at the higgledy-piggledy books stacked on the shelves. ‘You’ve done a great job. All the distressed furniture is such a great look.’
‘Thanks! I distressed it myself,’ said Lucy.
Rory raised an eyebrow in admiration before asking, ‘Where shall I put Rufus?’
‘Good question!’ said Lucy, ‘I hadn’t really thought of that. Is he okay in the corner on the rug for now?’
‘He’s grand anywhere,’ said Rory. ‘Aren’t you, boy? So long as it’s okay with you.’ Rufus wagged his tail obligingly and settled, as directed, on the stripy rug in the corner of the room, under a free-standing lamp.
Lucy offered Rory a drink, pouring him a glass of elderflower cordial from the fridge, before popping into her bedroom to change her clothes, leaving Rory skimming through a magazine from the pile on the coffee table.
Alone in her bedroom, Lucy pondered what to change into. She wasn’t sure if they would be spending the night with each other, but she certainly hoped they would; she didn’t want to spend a second without him if at all possible. She changed her underwear, choosing her best matching set, a pretty shade of coral silk, and pulled on a stretchy jumper dress in black and white stripes, and a pair of black tights. She applied some make-up for the first time since yesterday morning, only a little so as not to be too much of a contrast to her nude appearance of the last twenty-four hours, and subtly straightened her fringe. Spritzing herself with her Chanel no.5, she flung open the bedroom door and went back into the sitting room, eliciting a long, drawn-out wolf whistle from Rory followed by an approving ‘Woof’ from Rufus, which made them both chuckle.
