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Dolly grinned and patted Fliss’s hand. “I taught her well, didn’t I?”
“You sure did.” My eyes fell on the beautiful redhead. Was there no end to her talents?
Fliss began to clear the dishes, and I stood to help her. Dolly went to protest.
“Why don’t you and Toby get started on the organisation? We’ve got this. I’ll bring coffee through when we’ve finished.”
Dolly glanced from her niece to me and hid a grin. There were a lot of suspicious glances and knowing looks going on. Weird.
We washed and dried up in silence. I noticed a laptop open on the kitchen table. Fliss glanced to where I was looking.
“I’ve got a few design ideas for the posters and flyers. Want to take a look?”
“Yeah. Great idea.”
She put the coffee on in an old-fashioned percolator, which hissed and spat like an angry cat. I laughed.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“I know, but my aunt won’t throw things out unless they’re completely useless. It does the job.”
“I don’t blame her.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t discarded me yet.”
I don’t think she realised I’d heard her. Playing the gentleman, I chose to ignore it. We sat close together at the table. My knee kept touching hers, and I noticed a slight tremor from her body. It obviously didn’t repulse her. Not the way Stella had when she touched me. Fliss kept her knee there.
“What do you think?”
I turned my attention to the laptop screen, amazed by what I saw.
“This is great, Fliss.”
There were brightly coloured fruit and veg around the border. In the main part of the document, there was a little shed with a wheelbarrow and tools outside, and a small garden with flowers in it. The wording was bright yellow, to complement the other colours.
“Thanks.” She blushed under my praise. “It didn’t take long to design, courtesy of this software package I have. I’ll print a copy out so my aunt and Toby can see it properly. If they like it, then I can print posters and A5 flyers.”
I watched while she began to print the document. My mind wandered back to what she’d said about being discarded. Was that really how she felt?
“You mentioned something about your aunt not discarding you just now. What did you mean?”
I’d turned my chair in towards hers. Her head dropped, and she folded her hands in her lap, looking intently at them like she hadn’t seen them before.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She sighed. “I didn’t realise you’d heard me.”
I couldn’t help it, I placed one of my hands over the top of hers. She trembled but didn’t make any move to withdraw hers. Her eyes were still fixed downwards.
“Look at me,” I murmured.
Her face turned. We were mere inches apart now. Her warm breath skittered over my skin. She moistened her lips with her tongue. Why was that such a turn-on? I leaned in closer. So did she.
“Do you need a hand with the coffee… Oh.”
We jumped away from each other. There was shock and a hell of a lot of other emotions in her expression. My heart was beating like a jackhammer. We’d almost kissed.
Toby stood in the doorway, looking between the two of us.
“It’s nearly ready. Luke, can you grab the poster from the printer, please? It’s next to the drinks cabinet in the dining room. Toby, I’ll see to the coffee. It won’t be long.” Her voice was high-pitched.
