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“Hi, you must be Miss Connors,” she says wiping her hands on her apron and offering me one. “I’m Mrs Brown, the housekeeper.”
I walk towards her and shake her hand.
“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I reply nervously before taking my hand back.
“Oh, the pleasure is all mine! It’s so nice to finally meet you, I have heard so much about you from the O’Reilly’s,” she continues as she goes back to the stove and starts stirring whatever is in the pot.
“They’ve talked about me?” I ask wondering if that will ever stop shocking me.
Mrs Brown looks at me and rolls her eyes, the smile still plastered on her face.
“Only every single day. I’m glad you have finally joined them; it will be nice having another female around the place.” She turns to face the other counter where I can see some pecan plats on a cooling rack. “It’s beef stew and dumplings for dinner, I hear it’s one of your favourites,” she calls over her shoulder as she places a pastry on a paper napkin before turning around and holding it out to me. “I also hear these are your favourites, please let me know what you think.”
I take the pastry from her and lift it to my mouth. As soon as I take a bite my eyes close and I’m sucked into food heaven.
“Mmmm this is amazing,” I open my eyes and look back at Mrs Brown who’s grinning widely.
“I’m so glad you like them.” she turns around and grabs a pad of paper from the side. “Now I know you don’t like mushrooms, liver, kidneys, kidney beans or cauliflower. Is there anything else I should avoid?” I stare at her wide-eyed and shake my head slowly.
“How did you know?”
Mrs Brown laughs as she puts down the notebook. “The O’Reilly boys have made sure to let me know all your likes and dislikes. But please let me know if there is anything you fancy and I will happily make it for you.” She claps her hands together and looks around. “Now, is there a reason you came in here? Would you like a coffee? Tea? Anything at all?” she looks so happy that for a moment I forget why I’m here.
“Oh, I was umm looking for a way to get outside for some fresh air to clear my head,” I reply as I look around.
“Of course. Just through the door there dear and you will be in the garden. There are some benches dotted around which are always good to sit on and reflect.”
I nod as I turn to walk towards the door, quickly stopping to look at Mrs Brown.
“Thank you for the pastry, it was lovely.”
She looks at me with her bright green eyes and I can’t help feeling a little relaxed.
“You are more than welcome. Anything you need, anything at all just come and find me I will be here, or in my annexe behind the garage.” With that, she turns and walks away before I can say anything else. I turn back to the door she pointed to and walk out with the half-eaten pastry in my hand.
Opening the door, I find myself on what looks like a driveway that leads to a second garage. I slowly walk out and look around.
The grounds are beautiful, there are so many different flowers, trees and hedges planted. The guys must have a gardener because I can’t imagine them doing all this work themselves. They don’t seem the green-fingered type. There again they didn’t seem like the killing type either but guess I was wrong.
I follow the path down into the garden as I finish the amazing pastry from Mrs Brown and find a clearing. I look around and can’t see anyone. I’d half expected someone to follow me, or to find one of the security team behind me. I guess if I haven’t seen them already then they aren’t going to suddenly appear now.
I walk over to a bench and sit down before pulling off my trainers and socks. Placing my bare feet against the damp grass, I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of the blades between my toes as I wiggle them. I pick out a routine and listen to the music in my mind. As the music plays I stand up and slowly walk into the middle of the clearing as if walking onto the stage. I take the starting position and I start to dance.
Even on the grass, I perform as if on stage. With my eyes closed I picture the bright lights, scenery, and other dancers. I know the routine like I know my own body, each move practised to perfection, following smoothly on to the next. It all flows perfectly. Even with the restriction of my tight jeans and my missing pointe shoes, I’m still able to perform the majority of it. I adjust the moves accordingly and for a brief moment attempt to forget the chaos which has become my life. This is why I dance, I can pretend for a short while that the problems in my life no longer exist. It’s just me and the music as I escape into the world I’m dancing in.
As I move, I ignore all thoughts of the guys and how we all came together upstairs. I pretend that they haven’t been hiding things from me. Or that their father, who I thought cared, hasn’t been ripping me off. That last point hurts more than I’m willing to admit. I trusted Tommy, I trusted that he had my mother’s and my best interests at heart. I believed that he had accepted me into his family. But everything from the last few years has been a lie and I can’t forget that.
I force that last thought from my mind and continue to dance. However, I can feel the stray stones under my feet and miss my pointe shoes. I force myself to try and continue, but I nearly fall as I attempt a jump, thanks to the restriction of my jeans stopping me and I find myself huffing in defeat.
“I’m sure it would be easier on a harder floor.”
I spin around to find Sean sitting on the bench, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle and his hands resting beside him. I smile at the sight of him looking so relaxed and comfortable in jeans and a hoody.
“I wasn’t sure if any rooms in your mansion were big enough to practice,” I tease walking over. He stands and closes the distance between us. As soon as he’s within reach, his fingers thread into the hair at the top of my neck and his lips press against mine. I instantly melt into him as he wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me tighter against him. As his lips leave mine he smiles down at me.
“You have no idea how great it is to be able to kiss you freely at last,” he whispers. He looks into my eyes whilst tucking a stray section of hair behind my ear.
“How did you know where I was?” I ask. Sean smiles and points towards the side of the house where security cameras are pointing towards me. “Of course, there’s CCTV,” I sigh.
