Page 56 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

‘What if I want to keep you here — right here — and do this?’ He lowered his voice and dipped his head towards her, drew her closer in his arms and she couldn’t help it. She closed her eyes and felt his kiss burning against her lips. And there it was again — that sense of twin souls melding into one, finding each other just like before . . .

‘Theo,’ she murmured, after they’d eventually pulled apart. ‘Oh, what’s going to happen?’

‘I hope,’ he said, lowering her gently to the ground, ‘that we will happen.’ He leaned his forehead against hers and put his arms gently around her waist. Her own arms had never left his neck and she could feel the warmth of his skin, his blood pulsating around his body with every beat of his heart. ‘That’s what I want to happen. But I need to see my way clear with Poppy first. I just hope that somehow you can wait for me?’

‘We’ll just have to see,’ she said. Then she broke away gently and looked back at the bicycle. There was no question that she wanted the same thing — but here, in this magical place, it was easy to believe that reality could disappear and Lori could be wiped out of his history. And out of his present, somehow. She knew until the parenting situation was resolved, they were in limbo. But still part of her wanted to shout at him: I’ve waited a lifetime already — and Lori wasn’t even in the last one!

* * *

It was just as noisy and popular at the Spa as it had been when she left for lunch. On the way back, she’d swung by the Hall and restocked her ice-cream — it made more sense, she had told Cassie, for some to be there and it had certainly saved time. She would only be selling the ice-cream for another couple of hours, then that eerie, late afternoon peace would descend and it would feel like a completely different place as the Hall settled down and the crowds left.

Kate’s mind drifted a little as she watched the activity around her, and, in an effort to try and distract her thoughts from Theo and his kisses, she began to think more about Millie and the miniature of her, sitting unacknowledged in the dining room. Kate’s mission this weekend, she determined — apart from selling a glut of ice-cream and ensuring her museum didn’t crumble, of course — was to get back inside that house and see the picture. Ideally, her mission would involve sorting out things with Theo. But she had to put that thought aside, difficult as it might be.

As if on cue, her walkie-talkie crackled into life and Cassie’s voice came through: ‘Kate — may I prevail upon your good nature please?’ Her voice was wheedling and Kate knew she wanted her to do something for her.

‘What is it, Cassie? If you’re hungry, I’ve got some strawberry left — you can have a cone, if that’s what you’re after. There’s no clotted cream though.’

‘No cream?’ She sounded disappointed. ‘Oh, no! Have you got some for tomorrow?’

‘I have a big tub in my fridge.’

‘Thank goodness. No, it’s not ice-cream I’m after at the minute — which may surprise you — but it’s flowers.’

‘Flowers?’ Kate stared into the handset.

‘Yes. I want a big bunch of cottage garden stuff. Someone’s knocked the jug over in the dining room, and they’ve been trampled to death. I am staring at, literally, a puddle of green slime.’

‘I assume you mean the flowers have been trampled, not the person who knocked them over?’ Kate qualified. ‘But I suspect a trampled person might also make a puddle of green slime under the correct conditions.’

‘Exactly. On both accounts. Thing is, I know your garden has the best cottage garden stuff, so I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind bringing some tomorrow morning? I know it’s a big ask, because you’ll need to be here early to deliver them — but I would be forever grateful.’

‘No, that’s absolutely fine. I’ll bring them for you.’

‘Great. The doors will be open through the gift shop, just let yourself in. I’ll tell Brian to expect you. I think he’s scheduled in there tomorrow morning. Look, thanks for today. If I don’t catch up with you before you go, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’

‘Okay. Oops — customer. Best go.’

Kate disconnected the walkie talkie and looked at Theo.

He had loomed up in front of her. ‘Did I hear you say you had strawberry left?’

‘You did.’

‘Excellent. I’ll take one. Hughie’s fine, his shoe’s on and I’m happy that he’s happy. I’m going to take him back to the stables now. Can I persuade you to come with me?’ His smile was warm.

Kate looked over Theo’s shoulder and saw that Hughie had been liberated from his harness and was pulling at a nearby tree, chomping mechanically at the foliage he was ripping off the branches. ‘He’s definitely fine — I agree. You’d better take him back, before he eats the estate. I have to stay here though. I want to see if I can sell the rest of this ice-cream before people go home.’ She could see the top of a carrot sticking out of his pocket and it made her smile. ‘You won’t have a problem encouraging Hughie anywhere with a collection of vegetables around your person.’

Theo laughed and his eyes softened. ‘Yeah? Well perhaps it’s not Hughie I want to encourage anywhere.’

Their eyes locked for a moment, until Kate broke the connection and scooped a perfect, pink mound of ice-cream onto a sugar cone.

‘On the house.’ She didn’t want him to linger whilst he scrabbled around for change, because she would have done anything he asked her to do at that particular moment in time. He could have encouraged her to Timbuctoo, carrot notwithstanding.

‘Are you sure?’ His dark eyes burned into hers as she gazed up at him again. She had a feeling he wasn’t discussing the price of ice-cream and remembered again that feeling of being in his arms. ‘I meant what I said up at the tree. And I can’t wish that Poppy was never born, although it would make things so much easier right now. I need to know where I stand with that situation first.’

‘I’m quite sure.’ The tremble in her voice made a liar out of her. She really had to stop confusing this guy with Will Haddon. It was becoming dangerous. That was a good point, actually. Was it Will she wanted or Theo? It had been a very long day.

Theo Kent nodded and half-smiled, a little sadly. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I wish it was easier for us, I really do’. Then he turned and walked away.