Chapter Forty-Three
The next morning, Flora was glad to see her gran going to have a massage at the new spa that had opened on the high street.
She knew it would do her some good to get out and relax for a while and it would also give Flora a chance to have some time to start her investigations without Iris hovering around anxiously in the background.
Flora opened her laptop and flicked open her notepad to check the details that her gran had told her about the sister she’d never met.
She had her surname and place and date of birth but that was all they knew.
Flora chewed her lip and frowned as she started typing some details into different search engines, looking for anything that might offer a lead to get them started.
‘Hello?’ called Brodie.
She was so absorbed in her search that she jumped when she heard him downstairs.
She hadn’t seen him since their pizza on Saturday night and he had taken Sunday off to go and visit his sister and family in Crieff.
Her stomach flipped with excitement and nerves.
For all she knew, he could be a player. The thought that Brodie might actually be someone who said the right things but meant nothing, made her heart ache.
‘Hi, Brodie. I’m just upstairs,’ she called, a flutter of anxiety rushing through her.
‘I’ll be down in a sec.’ She closed the lid of her laptop and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror, her hands trembling slightly as she smoothed them over her hair.
She smiled uncertainly when she saw him standing by the back door, looking as handsome as ever. ‘Good morning.’
‘Morning, er, I just wanted to say hello,’ he stuttered, ‘and tell your gran that we’re finishing off the patio today.’
‘Gran’s not here just now but that sounds great.’ She felt shy now, very aware that he was here for work rather than to see her. It was so different to the dynamic they’d shared at the weekend and he looked nervous too, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. ‘Do you want to come in?’
Brodie’s shoulders dropped as he let out a breath.
‘I’d love to,’ he said looking very relieved by her invitation.
‘Especially when you’re looking so beautiful.
’ He walked towards her, biting his bottom lip before tentatively kissing her gently on the lips.
‘But I’ve got my pal Ross here today and I don’t think it would be very professional for me to abandon the site so I can play hooky . . . though I would love to. Honest.’
‘I’d like that too,’ she said lightly kissing him back.
He looked at her intently then reached out and curled his hand around her cheek, his thumb brushing just beneath her jaw. And then he kissed her slowly. He pulled back reluctantly. ‘Mm, I should really get back to work. But I can’t resist.’
‘Me too.’ She sighed louder than she meant to.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, his voice gentle.
‘Yes, I’m fine. Just busy focusing on some work stuff.’ She didn’t want to tell him the reason her gran had been so worried. It seemed a bit too soon to be sharing such a secret.
Brodie’s expression shifted to concern. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I’m sure.’ She waved her hand in a vague, dismissive gesture. ‘Totally fine. So, how was your day yesterday seeing your sister and the kids?’
His face broke into a wide smile. ‘It was brilliant, thanks. I’m so glad I went. Gregor and Lucy did my hair and make-up. I even had a tiara on for a while, which they insisted I wore when we played football. It definitely put me off my game.’
Flora chuckled. ‘And who won the football?’
‘Lucy, of course. She scored the most goals, closely followed by Gregor and then I was last. My sister and brother-in-law found it all very entertaining.’
‘I bet they did. Though I’m sure you looked lovely in the tiara.’
He grinned and kissed her again, turning when he heard Ross calling his name. ‘Sorry, but I’d better go. We’ve a lot to try and get done. Hopefully I’ll see you later on?’
He kissed her one last time then went back outside.
Flora went into the kitchen for a moment and filled the kettle to make herself a cup of tea.
She stared out the window, feeling oddly discombobulated.
Her body was warm and tingly from her encounter with Brodie but her mind was unsure as to what happened next for her gran.
She dearly wanted to give her the happy ending that she wanted.
Either way, this wasn’t going to be easy.
Then she reminded herself she could be talking about her gran as well as her own situation with Brodie.
The job interview in Aberdeen was approaching and she had done nothing to prepare for that either.
She reached into the cupboard for a mug and pulled out a chipped one with a picture of Snoop Dogg on the front.
She made her tea, the short ritual giving her some headspace to think before she went back to her computer.
She leaned against the worktop, took a sip of her tea and sighed.
She needed to stop overthinking things and just go with the flow.
Flora reminded herself she didn’t have to have everything all figured out today.
She sighed as she took one last look at Brodie working in the garden.
And smiled, remembering what it felt like to be kissed by him.