Chapter 12 #2
Kat hesitated for a moment before reminding herself she wasn’t a guest. This was her home now.
Taking a firm grip on the railing, she headed slowly towards the welcoming light of the open door.
A large mat covered the carpet just inside and, noting the shoe rack and a pair of slippers waiting next to it, she bent to unzip and remove her boots.
Harry’s heavier steps clanged up the stairs and he seemed to fill the entire hallway as he stepped on to the mat beside her and toed off his trainers.
She moved aside to give him room to close the door, still holding her boots.
Though she’d just reminded herself this was her home too, she couldn’t help feeling awkward as she wondered where to put them.
From what bit she could see of the flat, it looked immaculately tidy and it smelled wonderful too.
Something warm and inviting that made her want to curl up in a cosy corner with a book and a blanket and not move for the rest of the day.
Harry resolved the matter of her boots by taking them off her and putting them on the rack next to his newly discarded trainers.
‘I cleared a couple of hooks for you,’ he said, pointing to the row of them above the rack.
‘But let me know if you need more space. I’ve rather spread my stuff about since Carmel moved out so don’t be afraid to change things around. I want you to feel at home here.’
‘It’s fine,’ she assured him as she unzipped her thick coat and let out a little sigh as the warmth of the flat began to seep into her bones.
‘And honestly, you don’t have to change things around for me.
I’m just grateful to have a place to stay.
’ She shrugged her coat off her shoulders and he immediately held out a hand for it.
Laughing, she gently batted it away. ‘Stop that. I don’t expect you to wait on me.
’ He opened his mouth like he was about to argue, so she stuck a finger under his nose.
‘If you really want me to feel at home, stop treating me like a guest.’
Harry held up his hands with a grin of surrender as he stepped back. ‘Okay, okay, message received!’ One corner of his lopsided smile kicked up and his voice turned teasing. ‘Does that mean you don’t want a cup of tea or one of the croissants I’m making for breakfast?’
It was only then she properly registered that the welcoming, inviting scent filling the place was coming from the open door of the kitchen. ‘You made croissants? It’s not even 7 a.m. yet, how have you had the time?’
Harry shrugged as he led the way into the kitchen. ‘Easy. I had a batch already in the freezer so I took them out overnight to thaw and prove and I put them in the oven just before I went out to wait for you.’
‘Easy, he says,’ Kat muttered under her breath, making him chuckle.
‘It is when you’ve made as much pastry as I have.
’ He crossed the kitchen to the nearest cupboard.
‘Right, I’ll give you the tour of where everything is.
I know I said earlier that I was happy if you wanted to change things, but I’d like to keep the kitchen as it is, unless you have a real problem with anything.
’ He kept his back to her as he said it and she didn’t miss the slight rigidity in his shoulders.
Wondering if knowing where everything was helped with his dyslexia in some way, Kat decided then and there she would do her best to be the one that compromised.
She’d never been given a choice before anyway, other than with her bedroom, so she wasn’t about to start making demands now.
One day she’d have her own place and then she could do whatever she wanted with it.
‘I might need a step to reach if you’ve put anything on too high a shelf,’ she replied, keeping her tone as light and jokey as possible.
‘But other than that I am very happy to go with whatever system works for you. The kitchen is your domain, after all.’
She could tell she’d said the right thing from the way his shoulders relaxed just before he turned to smile at her. ‘I’m not a tyrant in here, I promise.’
Kat laughed. ‘I never thought you would be, but I’m a chop-a-few-things-up-and-throw-them-in-a-jar-of-sauce kind of cook, so as long as I can find a saucepan, a plate and some cutlery I’ll be fine.’
‘I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,’ Harry grumbled as he pulled a couple of mugs out of a cupboard and set them on the counter next to the kettle.
Not comfortable just standing around while he did everything, Kat stepped forward.
‘Here, I’ll do that.’ She picked up the kettle and carried it towards the sink.
Harry didn’t say anything as he moved out of the way to let her make the tea, but she didn’t miss the way he leaned forward as though he wanted to correct her when she opened the wrong drawer in search of a teaspoon.
It probably took her three times as long as it would’ve him, but eventually she set down two steaming mugs on the little round table under the window.
She lifted one of the slats on the blind and peeked out.
A gasp escaped her lips. The sun was just beginning to rise and the sky was a dozen glorious shades of red, orange and pink.
The view over the back yard wasn’t the prettiest, but the colourful display more than made up for it.
It was a beautiful start to the year and she took it as a good omen, no matter what the old saying warned about red skies in the morning.
The smell of hot, buttery pastry strengthened and Kat turned away from the window to see Harry bending down in front of the oven, one hand tucked into a protective glove as he pulled out a tray to check the croissants.
‘Gosh, they smell good.’
He shot her a quick smile before sliding the tray back in and shutting the door.
‘Another fifteen minutes, I reckon.’ He tossed the oven glove on to the counter then opened a cupboard to the right of his head and took out some plates.
Kat was about to go and help when he pointed at the chair in front of her. ‘I’ve got it. Sit and enjoy your tea.’
Kat subsided into the chair, pulling her phone out of her pocket to distract herself from the need to be doing something.
There was a message from Issy that she’d missed coming through somehow saying they were up and she could come and get her stuff whenever she was ready.
‘Looks like everyone’s up early,’ she said, tilting the screen towards Harry as he brought the plates and a couple of jars of jam over to the table.
The moment his brows furrowed, Kat realised her mistake.
‘So much for Issy and Liam’s lie-in, hey? ’ she added quickly.
Harry’s expression brightened. ‘Yeah. Tell them there’s plenty of food if they haven’t had breakfast yet.’
Kat quickly typed out a message to that effect. She’d barely set her phone down before it pinged. ‘They’re on their way over,’ she said with a laugh.
‘Of course they are.’ From anyone else the confidence would’ve sounded arrogant, but Harry had every right to be proud of his skills. Just look at the way he’d fed everyone last night from a handful of random ingredients.
While he put the kettle on again and checked the oven, Kat shoved her feet into her boots and hurried down the stairs to open the back gate.
Issy and Liam were already rounding the corner, a bag for life dangling from Liam’s left hand.
‘What have you got there?’ Kat asked after they’d exchanged quick hugs and wished each other happy new year.
‘I had some berries and crème fraiche in the fridge,’ Issy replied with a nonchalant shrug.
‘And a fresh loaf of bread, half a dozen eggs and a packet of smoked salmon,’ Liam added with a laugh as he handed the bag to Kat. ‘You know there’s no way she was going to show up empty-handed.’
‘Well, I’m sure we can put everything to good use! Come on up.’
Harry was just checking on the croissants when they entered the kitchen. ‘Issy brought supplies,’ Kat said, holding up a bag.
‘Not that we’re expecting you to cook for us,’ Issy added quickly as she rose on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek. ‘I’m more than happy to pitch in. Happy new year, Harry.’ Her eyes widened at the sight of the golden dough crescents lining the tray. ‘Wow, those smell amazing.’
‘A few more minutes.’ Harry shoved the tray back in and closed the oven door.
‘They do smell good.’ Liam threw an arm around Harry’s shoulders and gave him a hug. ‘I must say it’s very handy having you just over the road.’
‘Don’t get used to it,’ Harry told him with a laugh. ‘Now make yourself useful and pull the table out a bit.’
By the time they’d done that and set out everything Issy had brought over, the croissants were ready.
Harry tossed them in a basket lined with paper while Kat fetched extra plates, bowls and cutlery.
It was a bit of a squeeze but the four of them managed to perch around the little round table and just about avoided bumping elbows as they ploughed their way through several croissants and a bowl each of berries covered in crème fraiche and drizzled with honey Harry had produced from his well-stocked cupboards.
The conversation flowed, mostly bits of gossip and remembrances from the party.
A warm glow spread through Kat and not just from the comfort of having good food in her belly.
Her suitcase was still sitting by the front door, but the little flat was beginning to feel like home.
She could already picture the next Prosecco and pizza night with the girls when finally she’d get the chance to host them instead of relying on one of the others.
Harry would be at work so they wouldn’t be disturbing him and she could just see the four of them crowded around this very table, the room filled with laughter.
They were always begging her to show them some of her writing; maybe she’d actually have something to share if she got her head down and began to focus.
‘Hey, where did you go?’ Kat startled at the gentle nudge from Issy’s elbow and she blinked to find the others staring at her.
‘Oh, sorry, I was making plans to host one of our girls’ nights.’ She turned to look at Harry. ‘You don’t mind if I have them around sometime?’
‘You can do what you like, this is your place too. Although maybe avoid Mondays as that’s my night off. On second thoughts…’ He tilted his head to one side as though considering something. ‘If there’s going to be some good gossip maybe I’ll gatecrash.’
‘I tried that once,’ Liam said, shaking his head, all sad puppy eyes and hard-done-by pout. ‘But Issy turfed me out.’
‘I did not turf you out!’ she protested. ‘You went to the pub with Rick and had pie and chips! And several pints, I seem to recall.’
‘Drowning my sorrows, that’s all it was.’
‘Oh, poor baby.’ Issy reached out and cupped Liam’s face between her palms. ‘Was it really so hard to go a few hours without seeing me?’
‘You know it was.’ Liam edged closer and Kat blushed and looked away, having already borne witness to too many PDAs from those two. The last thing she needed was an excuse for her brain to start thinking about kissing…
Harry had no qualms about putting a stop to it. ‘Pack it in, you two, this kitchen is a snog-free zone!’ He grabbed the basket of croissants and thrust it at his brother. ‘If you need to do something with your mouth, have another one of these.’
Liam sat back in his seat with a grin as he reached for a croissant. ‘Don’t be jealous, little brother. Some woman will come along one day and take pity on you.’
Kat lowered her gaze and chased a few stray crumbs around her plate with her finger to avoid any possibility of making eye contact with Harry.
Again he seemed unfazed as he snorted a laugh. ‘The way Issy did with you, you mean?’
Before the two of them could really start bickering there was a loud thump-thump on the front door and a familiar voice called out. ‘Open up, Harry! Come on, mate, I’m hanging out my arse here and we’ve got no milk so I can’t even make a coffee.’
Harry scowled towards the noise. ‘How the bloody hell did he get up here?’