Chapter Eighteen
Z ac pulled up outside her cottage and turned off the ignition. ‘Well, that was a successful trip.’
‘Now that’s an understatement!’ Lynsey grinned. ‘I can’t believe we got so much. That’s literally my whole kitchen fitted out. Plus, the blanket box you found. It’s gorgeous.’
‘It sure is. It’s all going to look perfect.’ Zac opened his van door.
Jumping out of the van and joining him around the back, Lynsey stepped back as Zac pulled the two van doors open, revealing the intricately carved oak blanket box, two bottom halves of dark stained sideboards and three small pine shelving units. Once she’d sanded them all down and stained them to match, her kitchen was going to feel like a proper old-fashioned farmhouse kitchen. She grinned. ‘Where shall we start?’
Zac stepped up inside and shifted the blanket box towards the edge because he began to pull one of the sideboards towards the door. ‘I reckon we start with the heaviest and work our way down. That way we’ll feel we’ve got the worst out of the way before we start to flag.’
‘I like your thinking.’ Lynsey walked forwards and gripped the edge of the sideboard, shifting her hands into a better position. She watched as Zac picked up the other end, bracing herself to take some of the weight as they shifted it out of the van.
‘That’s it.’ Stepping carefully down from the bed of the van, Zac indicated her to lower it to the ground before taking hold of it and nodding at her. ‘Ready?’
‘Yep.’ As they lifted, Zac pivoted the sideboard, so he was the walking backwards.
As they carried it slowly through the front garden and into the cottage, Lynsey smiled as she looked around. Just clearing the plaster from the floor had made the place look so much better, had made the tasks ahead appear so much more achievable and as Zac kicked the door into the newly made kitchen/diner, light flooded through from the windows. Yes, she’d made the right decision to knock through.
‘Shall we pop it down in the corner there and leave the kitchen free to give me space to take out the old bits?’ Zac nodded to the back corner of the dining area.
‘Good idea.’ Twisting, Lynsey hauled her end of the sideboard towards the corner, being sure to inch back carefully until she felt the wall behind her. Just as she began to lower the sideboard, the drawer on her end rolled open, revealing a huge bundle of spider webs and one gigantic spider. Screeching, she let go of her grasp, the sideboard dropping the inch or two to the floor with a loud bang as she backed into the wall, knocking her head against the half-covered brickwork.
After carefully lowering his end, Zac looked inside the drawer before chuckling and shaking his head. ‘It’s long gone. It’s not moving at all.’
‘Right. Of course.’ Tentatively, she peered into the drawer, and sure enough, the webs had that feathery look they took on after being abandoned for months or years, and the spider definitely wasn’t moving. She caught Zac’s eye as he continued to chuckle. ‘I don’t know why you’re laughing. You were the one who was petrified of that spider hanging from the doorway the first time you came here.’
‘Ah, that was different. It was alive, for one thing. Besides, it was full on trying to attack me. Did you notice how it leapt from its web straight onto my clipboard?’ Zac grimaced, his eyes crinkling as he fought back laughter.
‘Haha, no it didn’t. You were the one who disturbed the poor little thing.’ She squeezed through the gap between the back of the sideboard and the wall before quickly pushing the door shut. Yes, the spider looked dead, but that didn’t mean there weren’t others or that it was just lulling them into a false sense of security before it made its attack.
‘Little? It was the size of a dinner plate.’ Zac widened his eyes in mock-shock.
‘Only if you eat like a borrower.’ Lynsey laughed.
‘Fair point.’ Stepping towards her, he reached out his hand towards her face, gently brushing his fingers against her hair before holding up a swathe of old webbing. ‘There must have been more spiders than we realised at the reclamation yard.’
‘Yuck.’ She shuddered as though she could feel a million of the eight-legged creatures running across her skin. She ran her fingers through her hair. ‘Are there any on me?’
Holding his hand up against her hair again, he gently tucked it behind her ear. ‘No, you're all good.’
She could feel his fingers against her hair still. ‘Let’s hope we’ve not brought anymore back with us.’
‘No, let’s hope not.’ He spoke softly, his eyes still fixed on hers.
‘Let’s hope.’ She whispered quietly as she brought her hand up to cover his against the side of her face. The seconds stretched out and not once did either of them blink or move a muscle. Taking a quick breath in, she leaned forward just as he closed the tiny gap between them, and their lips touched. As she closed her eyes, she felt his other hand cup her other cheek as he kissed her gently. He really did feel the connection, too.
Leaning back, he grinned. ‘I’ll protect you from the spiders.’
Smiling, she reached up and looped her arms around him, resting her hands on the nape of his neck as they drew close again. This felt better than anything she’d experienced before. And definitely better than the quick pecks on the lips Ross had always given her. When she felt Zac’s lips against hers, she felt something. She felt that elusive spark she’d always read about in soppy romance books.
Leaning back again, Zac held her around her waist. ‘I’ve waited a long time to do that.’
‘A long time? We’ve only known each other a few days!’ Lynsey laughed. She knew exactly what he meant, though. They may not have known each other long and they may have gotten off on the wrong foot together, but you couldn’t make this up. This connection was real. ‘And we’ve spent half of that time arguing.’
‘That just means we have a lot to catch up on.’ He pulled her towards him again, this time raking his fingers through her hair until he was cupping the back of her head as they kissed again.