6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Sheila
T his whole afternoon has been a write-off. It took another two hours for Kieran to have x-rays confirming the break, to have a cast fitted and to be issued crutches and a follow up appointment. Enough time for Peter to call Gregory, make him pack the boys’ bags and come to Keswick on the bus. They don’t need much when they stay with Nico and him because they each have a room in their house with games and computers. But I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have just driven back to Fellside together and collected Gregory from there. Instead they made Josh hang around to give me a lift.
Now they’ve all piled in Nico’s car: Peter in the back with Kieran’s leg on his lap and Gregory in the passenger seat in the front.
“Take it easy and let me know if it gets too much,” I plead again and I see that all four of them are ready to roll their eyes at me. I can’t help it though. He is my baby boy.
“Ready?” Josh asks from behind me.
“I really could have taken a bus,” I object again, although it’s pointless now.
“And I really didn’t mind hanging around.” He places a hand on my lower back and gently guides me towards his Range Rover. It feels protective and my whole body relaxes. I can’t remember the last time I felt protected and it is nice for once to let go.
Just as we buckle up my tummy makes a loud growling noise. I didn’t have a chance to grab lunch at work before the call about Kieran came in.
“Someone’s hungry. I know an amazing pub on the way back if you want to stop?” His eyes find mine and suddenly the car feels a lot smaller.
“Oh, I’m sure you have better things to do having already wasted the whole afternoon on your day off.” I object but pub food sounds amazing. Much nicer than the leftovers waiting for me at home.
“Actually, taking a beautiful woman out for dinner sounds just about perfect to me,” he winks. Okay, that was a cheesy line but it gave me butterflies nevertheless.
Josh whistles along to the song on the radio as we head out of Keswick towards Fellside. It’s raining, and the clouds make it appear darker than it should be at six in the evening in August. About halfway back to Fellside, Josh turns off the main road and follows a short winding lane into the hills to a small hamlet where he parks outside a pub called the King’s Boar.
“I’ve never been here.” I admire the charming pub with flower boxes and whitewashed walls.
“And you call yourself a local?” he chuckles. “To be honest, I only know about it because one of my brothers owns it. ”
Okay… he brought me to his family’s pub. I can’t help but wonder if it means anything. It probably doesn’t. Of course it doesn’t.
“He and his wife bought it three years ago and turned it into a local gem. Most tourists don’t know about it and he doesn’t mind, he gets enough business from the locals.” His hand lands on my back again as he guides me through the door and the simple touch causes thousands of butterflies in my tummy. Anyone who sees us could take us for a couple. Why does that idea make me feel all giddy?
Cheerful laughter greets us as we enter, and even this early in the evening the pub is almost full. The chunky oak tables, dark wooden beams and stone walls give it a cosy but nostalgic feel. It’s not one of these modern, clean gastro pubs; it has charm and history. Josh’s brother has done a great job in highlighting the old features of the building and giving it a new life. I especially love the massive fireplace. It looks dark and formidable now but I bet it’s an amazing sight during the winter with a roaring fire.
“Josh!” A tall blonde whizzing by with an empty plate in her hand, places a kiss on his cheek. “The family table is free,” she points towards the back of the pub where a round table with a sign saying “Madden” is empty.
“Thanks! Meg, this is my... friend Sheila. Sheila, this is my sister-in-law Megan,” he introduces us. I give her a smile and she grins back.
“About time you brought a friend round,” she giggles, “Nice to meet you, Sheila,” she welcomes me before heading off towards a door marked kitchen.
I slide onto the bench surrounding half of the round table and Josh slides in next to me. I relax when the warmth radiating from his body engulfs me. What is it that makes me feel so trusting and protected? I resist the urge to snuggle up to him and instead remind myself that I’m a bloody grown up and should behave like one.
“What are you having?” I ask as I pull the menu from the condiments tray in the centre of the table.
“I have no clue but also no choice,” he chuckles.
Before I can ask what he means a guy in chef’s whites carrying two large plates steps up to the table.
“Here you go.” He places the plates in front of us. I see juicy beef, chicken, something that looks like mac and cheese, chips and a healthy helping of vegetables.
“Hi I’m Jimmy, this one’s brother.” He holds out his hand to me. Now I can see the resemblance, although his eyes are blue and not brown like Josh’s. The brothers are also built differently. Josh is lean but with just the right amount of muscle, Jimmy has one of these hot dad bods that make woman go crazy. But they definitely have the same cheeky smile.
“Sheila; nice to meet you,” I reply before looking back to the mountain of food in front of me.
“If you’re vegetarian, let me know and I’ll put you a plate together without meat,” he grins.
“Maybe she’d like to order from the menu,” Josh objects, but his smirk tells me he’s just teasing his brother.
“Nonsense, family get the family special,” Jimmy laughs. “Or would you like—”
“No absolutely not, this looks delicious.” I’m salivating and can’t wait to dig in.
“See,” Jimmy points at me triumphantly. “What can I get you to drink?” I order a glass of wine and Josh a shandy, probably because he’s driving.
“Coming up,” he replies before leaving us to our meal .
“I don’t know where to start. It all looks so good.” I take the first forkful of mac and cheese and moan. “Oh my god, your brother is a genius.” My praise makes Josh smile.
“Growing up Jimmy hated sports and he still sucks at football. He spent his time helping mum cook and never wanted to do anything else. He worked in France and Austria for a while, and then in some fancy-pants places in London and Edinburgh. After he got married, he came back here and bought this pub. His cooking is what keeps this place so busy despite it being out of the way.” Josh dips a chip in mayo.
“I’m happy to recommend it to our guests if he wants me to,” I offer.
“I can ask, but I think he likes mainly serving locals. And he’s already fully booked every evening. But thanks for the offer.” Josh’s eyes light up when he smiles at me. I could look at these eyes all day long.
We eat in silence aside from the occasional “this is so good” or a moaning sound. I didn’t think I could eat everything but I just can’t stop until the last morsel of meat is gone.
“I’m going to explode,” I announce, making Josh laugh. He wipes his mouth with a napkin and leans back patting his stomach.
“Guess we wait a bit before we have dessert.”
“I don’t think I can eat dessert,” I protest.
“We’ll see. So how come I don’t remember you growing up in Fellside?”
“I went to school in Windermere,” I smirk. There’s been an age-old rivalry between the school football teams from Fellside, Keswick, and Windermere to such a degree that you wouldn’t hang out with people from rival schools. “ We lived halfway between Windermere and Fellside and my mum worked in Windermere, so it was easier for us to go to school there. All my friends were from there as well.”
“But now you live in Fellside?” he asks, twirling his half empty pint glass in his hand.
“After I chose a career in tourism I always wanted to work for the Greenview Manor and never more than after Tommy took over. He’s made it the best hotel in the area. He hired me as an Operations Manager four years ago and so I moved the boys to Fellside. They actually prefer school here.”
“Because Fellside is better than Windermere,” he chuckles.
“You tell yourself that,” I retort with a grin. “I take it you have always lived here?”
“Born and bred. I did a short stint with the fire service in Carlisle when I was going through some further training but otherwise Fellside has always been my home. Much to the dismay of my ex-wife.”
“She didn’t like Fellside?” I ask and drain the rest of the wine from my glass. I know I shouldn’t judge, being divorced myself, but I immediately wonder what went wrong between them.
“Want another one?” he asks.
“Sure, please.” Josh raises his hand and waves at someone at the bar. I shouldn’t really, but I don’t have the boys tonight and no work tomorrow. It’s not like a second glass will get me drunk. Maybe a tiny bit tipsy.
“No, my ex wanted city life,” he answers my earlier question.
“Is that what caused the divorce?” I ask tentatively. Josh goes silent. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” I assure him even if I’m dying to find out what has happened.
“No, it’s fine,” he takes a sip of his beer, “She took a job in Manchester and we saw each other less and less. In the end I found out she was cheating on me. To be honest I think we’d grown apart before that so it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would,” he shrugs.
“My divorce hurt a lot. Even if I wasn’t angry with Nico. I mean, he realised he was gay. How could I be angry about that? And he has become a great friend. But the divorce caught me off guard.” I admit and it feels like our past experiences is bringing us closer together.
“So, I know you are a fantastic mother and a hard-working General Manager. Tell me something else about you?” He clearly doesn’t want to dwell on his divorce and neither do I, so I’m glad when he changes the subject.
“Like what?”
“Something nobody knows.” He leans closer and I can smell his cologne. Uh, there are the butterflies again.
“I don’t—”
“Should I go first?” His eyes are fixed on me.
“Okay,” I swallow hard.
“My deepest darkest secret is that I have two Bourbon biscuits and a pint of milk before bed almost every day.”
He looks serious before the corners of his lips lift into the biggest grin and I can’t help but laugh.
“Living the dangerous life there, Watch Manager,” I tease, and he winks at me.
“Now it’s your turn,” he challenges.
“Let me see,” I lean back. His closeness makes me feel woozy and it’s difficult to think. “I haven’t slept with a man since my divorce,” I whisper. My openness seems to take him by surprise and, frankly, I’m not sure why I’ve told him that. Maybe I just want to see his reaction or maybe I just want to see if I can get what I need. Girl power and all.
“Which was when?” he asks cautiously.
“Nine years ago.” Nine years, that does sound like a pretty long time when I say it out loud. Josh’s eyes turn dark and he moves closer.
“Nine years no orgasms?” he asks. I might be imagining it, but his voice seems to have dropped.
“Who said anything about no orgasms?” I laugh. “I have two hands and a BOB.”
“B... O... B?” He looks confused.
I put my mouth right next to his ear and whisper, “Battery operated boyfriend.”
Josh swears under his breath and drops his napkin in his lap.
“Sheila, you’re killing me. You’ve pushed me away for months—”
“I have done no such thing.”
He cups my chin and makes me look at him, “Yes you have, and you know it. And then you share something like this over dinner. You’re an enigma. I can’t read you. I don’t know if you’re flirting or just toying with me.” He studies me carefully.
“Josh.” I place my hand on his arm which is still holding my chin. “I don’t play games. Fuck, yes, I find you attractive. Who wouldn’t? But I’m a single mum with two teenage sons and a busy fulltime job. I don’t have time for a relationship.”
He lets his arm drop, disappointed .
“But I’m not too busy for a friend with benefits,” I reply and wiggle my eyebrows. You go, girl, you take what you need!
“What if I want… more?”
No, no, this is not how a guy is supposed to react. He is supposed to jump at the idea of a casual shag.
“I can’t give you that, Josh,” I’m adamant. He leans back and seems to think about what I have just said.
Okay, this is why women aren’t the ones who normally make the first move. This is awful. We are in for a mighty uncomfortable ride home if he declines my… request. I just asked this guy to fuck me, no strings attached. Bloody hell!
“Okay,” he finally agrees. I release the breath I had been holding.
Shit, he just said yes. What now?
“I think we should seal the deal with a kiss,” I whisper. Oh wow, I think I’ve officially gone insane. Josh hesitates for a second before leaning forward, sliding an arm around my waist and pulling me closer. My body collides with his as much as it’s possible to when sitting around a table.
His free hand slides to the back of my neck and into my hair and he leans his forehead against mine.
“Do you want me to stop?” His words are only meant for me. Do I?
“No,” I reply with a moan. His lips are so close to mine I can almost taste them.
“Good.” He gently presses a kiss on the corner of my mouth. His lips slide over my mouth until he fuses us in a proper kiss. His tongue strokes over mine and ignites a fire in me that courses through my veins until it strikes the target between my legs .
My fingers look for something to anchor me to him and grab hold of his T-shirt. I kiss him back with all the need and passion he’s stoked in me until a deep growl erupts from his chest. We break apart, panting.
“Holy fuck,” I whisper.
“That,” Josh confirms and leans back, pulling me against his chest.
“Sorry to interrupt, but would you and your friend like some dessert?” His sister-in-law has appeared out of nowhere with a shit-eating grin telling us that she saw everything.
“I... sure.” Dessert isn’t really what I want, but for now I just need some time to gather my thoughts.
“No problem, I’ll be back in a minute,” she says, scuttling off towards the kitchen.
“We can’t do this in Fellside.” I want to make sure we are on the same page.
“What do you mean?” Josh turns me so I have to look at him.
“Snog in public like randy teenagers. You know Fellside. People gossip. And I don’t want my sons to find out.”
“Sheila—”
“No Josh, that’s a dealbreaker.” Another one. I’m very demanding and I’m not sure I like it.
“Okay, fine,” he finally agrees but doesn’t look thrilled. Who can blame him? I basically asked him to be my dirty little secret but with all the drama with Gregory it doesn’t feel like the right time to introduce another complication in the mix. I also doubt the boys would understand the concept of a friend with benefits.
“I can’t believe I suggested … friends with benefits,” I shake my head .
“Why’s that?” Josh studies me.
“I’m not usually that daring.”
“I don’t usually do this either.”
“Maybe it’s too crazy.” I’m forty-two, shouldn’t I be over shagging random guys by now?
“Maybe. But what’s life without some craziness?” Josh winks.
Hm. Maybe he’s right. Yes, maybe that’s just what I need for a change.