Chapter 14
14
There was something about his words that brought Sadie out of teaching mode and into the reality of the situation. She was sitting thigh to thigh all but holding hands with one of the most handsome men she had ever met in her life. And now he was telling her he liked her voice so much he could listen to her for hours! Though her insides tingled with an anticipation she hadn’t felt in a long time, Sadie forced herself to laugh it off. ‘You need to get your hearing checked, then.’
Dylan raised his head, his serious blue eyes seeming to see more deeply inside her than was comfortable. ‘Whoever taught you to deflect a compliment like that needs to go to hell.’
Sadie swallowed around a sudden lump in her throat. ‘It’s been a while. I’d rather forgotten what one was like.’
‘Well, I’ll just have to keep going until you’re used to it, because I can think of at least a dozen off the top of my head.’
She gave his hands a playful nudge. ‘Now you’re just being kind and that’s worse for my poor ego than no compliments at all.’
‘One, your voice is like warm silk.’ Dylan continued as though she hadn’t spoken. Sadie felt her cheeks heat. ‘Two, you have the prettiest flecks of green in amongst the brown of your eyes.’
‘Behave yourself,’ she muttered. ‘Stop looking at me and focus on your crochet.’
Dylan held her gaze for a moment longer then dipped his head back to the small patch of yarn between them. ‘Three,’ he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. ‘You have lovely, soft hands and a gentle touch.’ Sadie went to pull her hands away but quick as a flash he switched their position so his hands were on top of hers. His thumb grazed over the tops of her knuckles. ‘Four, you have a wonderful awareness of other people and do your best to put them at ease.’
‘A lesson you might try and learn some time,’ Sadie grumbled beneath her breath, even as she found herself leaning closer in hopes of catching the next compliment on his list.
‘Five, you’re funny as hell. Six, you’re patient and kind and a very good teacher.’
‘Now you’re cheating and rolling several different compliments into one,’ she protested with a half-laugh.
‘Seven,’ Dylan said in a firm tone that no respectable woman wanted to have addressed to her.
Maybe she wasn’t as respectable as she thought after all because her mind suddenly conjured an image of when she might like to hear him use it again. There must be something in the water because the idea of ever letting Pete boss her around in bed would’ve been about as sexy as getting trussed up in some of that awful underwear he’d given her as a particularly disastrous birthday present. A gift more for him than for her.
‘Hey, where did you go?’ Dylan stroked her knuckles again, startling her back into the present.
Not wanting to tell him she’d been thinking about a red lace thong and suspender set, Sadie shook her head. ‘Nowhere, I’m right here.’
‘Seven,’ he repeated in a thankfully more normal tone. ‘You’ve been wonderful to both my children, especially Avery. I know she gives a lot of attitude, but she’s quite shy underneath and her confidence is easily knocked.’
‘She’s a sweetheart,’ Sadie said, a note of desperation creeping into her voice. ‘They’re both absolutely delightful.’ Really, she needed to put a stop to this before she gave in to some of the very alarming and quite inappropriate thoughts she was starting to have about this man. Time to turn the tables. ‘They must get it from you.’
Dylan kept his head down but lifted his eyes up to meet hers, a wicked grin that did nothing to calm the growing turmoil inside her stretched across his mouth. ‘Thank you. See how easy it is to accept a compliment.’
She wanted to poke her tongue out at him, the bloody infuriating, lovely man. ‘Touché.’ She freed his grip and pushed the yarn and hook back into his hands. ‘Enough of that now, you’ve got chains to make.’
‘We’ll pick this conversation up later, because I have five more to share with you,’ Dylan said, easing back into the corner of the sofa and making space between them.
Not sure if that was a promise or a threat, Sadie made herself busy, picking up her own neglected piece of work and forcing herself to concentrate on the next couple of rows.
Avery returned and wanted to see how Dylan was getting on and Sadie was glad of the interruption as it gave her time to pull herself together. Only once her heart had stopped pounding and she’d completed half a dozen rows of stitches did she risk a look up.
Dylan and Avery had returned to their own projects, both transfixed with what they were doing, but Tara was watching her with what could only be described as an amused expression. ‘Everything all right?’ Sadie asked, putting just a hint of challenge in her tone.
‘Everything’s fine with me,’ Tara replied, her smile only growing wider. ‘But you look a little warm, Sadie, shall I pour you a drink?’
‘That would be lovely, thank you.’ Again Sadie had to fight the urge to poke her tongue out. Leaning forward, Sadie helped herself to a piece of cake, popping it in her mouth before she could make a fool of herself. Honestly, what was the matter with her?
By the time they were ready to stop for lunch, Sadie was stitching a little face onto her first crocheted pear. Tara was more than halfway through the one she was making and Dylan had a huge length of chain stitches strung together. Avery had most of a wonky square made and looked down-hearted about it until Sadie assured her that a lot of people spent days, even weeks, just trying to get to grips with a basic chain stitch. They were just finishing the tidying up when Charlie, Anna and Jane walked into the orangery, their cheeks red and their eyes bright. ‘It’s glorious out there,’ Charlie said, nodding towards the clear blue sky through the window.
‘But absolutely freezing,’ Jane added, lifting her hands to cover her face. ‘I thought my nose was going to drop off at one point.’
‘Did you go far?’ Sadie asked.
Anna nodded. ‘We found a walking trail through the woods and, according to my phone, we’ve walked about six and a half kilometres.’
‘Wow, that’s good going. You’ll have earned your dessert tonight at dinner.’
Anna laughed. ‘Speaking of dinner, have you seen the costumes?’
‘Costumes? What are you talking about?’
‘They must mean for the actors,’ Dylan chipped in. ‘I was talking to Tasha earlier and she said they’ve got some joining us tonight to play various parts and lead the mystery storyline.’
‘Oh, okay. I’ve not been to one of these things before so I’ve no idea how it works,’ Sadie said.
‘There are costumes for us as well,’ Anna said, her tone clearly saying she was excited about the prospect of dressing up. ‘I haven’t cosplayed in ages. It’ll be fun.’
‘Cos-what?’ Sadie was grateful Dylan was as bemused as she was because she felt a little less like a dinosaur.
‘Cosplay,’ Anna repeated. ‘You know, when you dress up as a character from a film or a book.’ When they both stared blankly at her, she laughed. ‘It’s a thing, honestly, and there’s loads of different communities that meet up at conventions and stuff. That’s how the three of us met – we all love the same fantasy book series.’
‘I know my son’s been to a couple of conventions, but he never mentioned anything about dressing up.’
‘Maybe you should ask him,’ Anna said with a grin.
‘I might just do that!’ Sadie laughed, though she couldn’t help feeling a bit apprehensive. She’d never been one to put herself on show. Even walking up the aisle on her wedding day had been an excruciating experience because everyone had been staring at her and Sadie had hated the fussy mountain of lace and frills her mother had bullied her into choosing. ‘Is everyone going to dress up tonight?’
‘I want to!’ Avery exclaimed, tugging at Dylan’s arm. ‘Can we, Dad?’
Dylan shrugged. ‘I don’t see why not.’ He turned to Anna. ‘Where did you find out about the costumes?’
‘They’ve put some rails up in the lounge and there’s a table full of matching accessories to choose from as well. The theme is The Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby and that sort of thing.’
Sadie pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure I’ll make a very good flapper girl.’ The only things about her that flapped these days were her bingo wings, no matter how many sets of toning exercises she did.
Charlie came over and linked her arm through Sadie’s. ‘I’m going full flapper – the more sequins, the better, but there’s lots of other styles there too. Think Downtown Abbey and those elegant dinner gowns. Come on, at least come and have a look.’
Sadie hesitated, then gave in with a laugh. ‘I did promise myself I was going to try new things while I’m here.’
‘That’s the spirit! And remember, what happens at Juniper Meadows, stays at Juniper Meadows.’
When they entered the lounge there were already a number of other guests browsing through the rails. Hope, Tasha and Lydia were there helping match accessories to costumes. As Charlie had promised, there was a vast array of choice, including a selection of tweed suits and waistcoats with flat caps for anyone who fancied themselves a Peaky Blinder. Charlie made a beeline for a silver sheath dress that dripped with so many strands of crystals it shimmered with a life of its own. It would look stunning with her chestnut curls and a feathered headdress.
Sadie sorted through the first rail, not feeling much enthusiasm for anything she saw. The dresses were all beautifully crafted but she couldn’t help zeroing in on the flaws, or rather her own flaws that would be put on display by the short sleeves and mid-calf hemlines. Oh, for a shapely ankle and not a pair of legs that seemed to go straight down from her knees to her feet without any noticeable definition. She slid the last hanger along with a sigh. Maybe dressing up wasn’t for her.
Lydia must have spotted her looking downcast because she bore down on Sadie with a brisk smile. ‘Everything all right?’
Sadie took in her gleaming, glossy mane of hair pulled back from her face with a black Alice band and found herself wondering if it was her trademark look. Her trim figure was shown off to perfection by a pair of cream trousers and a café-au-lait-coloured silk blouse with a pussycat bow at the neck. She looked every inch the country lady and her voice held the plummy tones of the very well brought-up. Sadie did her best to give her a smile, feeling her confidence melt away in the face of such breezy self-assurance. ‘I’m just not sure this is for me, that’s all.’
Lydia frowned at the rail of sequins and glitter. ‘Hmm, no, that won’t do at all.’ Before Sadie could crumple in on herself, Lydia took her hand and led her across to another rail. ‘Now then,’ she said, thumbing through the dresses with a brisk efficiency. ‘No, not plum, you’ll look ghastly and washed out. I would say black is always a winner, but it can be so dreary when everyone looks like a flock of crows.’
‘Have you thought about being a motivational trainer, Lyds?’ a warm, laughing voice said behind them. Sadie turned to find Tasha smiling sympathetically at her.
‘Why would I want to do that when I am already the best party-planner-slash-events-manager in the county, thanks to you?’ Lydia said, not even lifting her eyes from the rail.
Tasha rolled her eyes and winked at Sadie. ‘If I could bottle Lydia’s confidence, I’d make a fortune.’
‘I’d take some, for sure.’
‘Ah HA!’ Lydia exclaimed, turning to face them both with a grin of triumph. ‘I knew I’d seen the perfect thing for you.’ She thrust a hanger towards Tasha. ‘Hold onto this a minute, there’s a headband and a fan that’ll work perfectly.’ Lydia strode off without a backward glance.
‘She’s only trying to help,’ Tasha reassured Sadie. ‘Please don’t feel forced into wearing something you don’t want to.’
Sadie nodded, unable to speak as she took in the dress Tasha was holding. It was floor length, with long sleeves, both already big wins in Sadie’s eyes. But it was the colour that really spoke to her. The floaty dress was a rich aquamarine with a matching lacy overlay. The sleeves were also lace and, when Tasha lifted one up, Sadie gasped in delight at the extra swathes of material that connected the sleeves to the side of the dress. The neckline was cut high enough it would sit across her collarbones and the slight hourglass shape would flatter her curves. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘It is rather special,’ Tasha agreed. ‘And the colour will work well with your hair and eyes.’
Sadie raised a hand to her hair. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do about this nest. I meant to have it cut before I came but I never got around to it.’
‘There’s a salon in the spa. Let me see if I can make you an appointment.’ Tasha hooked the dress on the end of the rail, pulled out her phone and began to scroll. ‘We have a slot at two if you want it. And one of our beauticians is free so you could go the whole hog and treat yourself to a mani-pedi at the same time.’
‘I have been meaning to get it done,’ Sadie mused. ‘I suppose I could call it a Christmas present to myself.’
‘Sounds like a plan.’ Tasha grinned then tapped on her phone a couple of times. ‘Right, that’s you all booked in. Shall we go and find Lydia and see what she’s found to go with this beautiful dress?’
‘I’m in your capable hands.’