Chapter 22
Twenty-two
Kenzie opened her eyes to the sound of dogs barking and voices calling, and whistling somewhere in the distance.
A little closer was a chorus of magpies chortling a morning song, and Kenzie enjoyed the brief moment of solitude.
Her mind went back to the kiss the previous afternoon and she touched her fingertips to her lips, knowing it had to be her imagination that she could still feel them tingling.
When a simple kiss elicited that kind of reaction after all this time, how could she deny the attraction lingering between her and Ewan?
What would have happened if his phone hadn’t rung when it had?
If she was being completely honest, caught up in the moment the way she’d been, she wasn’t sure she would have wanted to stop at just a kiss.
Would they have ended up in bed? Good lord, right next door to her child and his mother!
What was happening to her common sense? Ewan had robbed her of it, stirring up something that had been dormant inside her, and she wasn’t quite sure what it meant.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet.
Then suddenly she realised it was too quiet.
By now, Poppy would usually be bursting through the door, looking for breakfast or a shoe—or both—but, so far, she hadn’t heard a peep from next door. Throwing the covers off, she climbed out of bed and walked to the connecting door, opening it quietly to find Poppy’s bed empty.
Her initial moment of panic was quickly tempered by the fact that there was a house full of adults. This wasn’t her apartment, where an unsupervised child could be a real concern. But still … where the hell was she?
Kenzie quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, pausing to stop in the bathroom to splash water on her face and try to restore some order to her bedhead hair. Then she retraced her steps from the night before and headed downstairs.
The house really was beautiful, she thought, taking in some of the details she hadn’t noticed the day before.
Ornately decorated pressed metal ceilings graced every room, as well as timber panelling on the walls.
Everywhere she looked, it was like stepping back in time.
She couldn’t help but think again how spectacular this would be for a wedding venue.
She could imagine a bride, dressed in a white flowing gown, poised at the top of the stairs, ready to sweep her way down in a grand entrance.
As she reached the bottom, Kenzie followed the hum of low voices, making her way past the sitting room they’d been in the afternoon before, through the grand entrance and along a hallway, through an open door and to a kitchen that stepped down into a glassed conservatory, which in turn opened up onto an immaculately manicured lawn and garden.
Peggy glanced up as she walked into the kitchen and smiled, nodding towards the three people seated at the breakfast table in the conservatory.
Kenzie took in the dark-haired little girl swinging her legs happily as she chatted while stabbing at some bacon on her plate.
Her gaze moved to the man beside her, and she bit the inside of her lip as she caught the tender look on his rugged face—a face so much like his daughter’s.
Looking on was Vera, coffee mug in hand, listening indulgently as the four-year-old prattled on. It was a heartwarming picture.
‘Can I get you a coffee?’ Peggy asked from beside her, drawing the other two adults’ attention as they looked up.
Kenzie turned to the woman and nodded, ‘Yes, please.’
‘Mummy!’
‘Good morning, Kenzie,’ Vera said as Kenzie took the few steps down and crossed to the table to hug her daughter to her waist, kissing the top of her head.
‘I’m sorry, I must have slept in. I usually get woken up by my own personal alarm clock here,’ she said, looking down at Poppy.
‘We thought we’d let you have a lie-in this morning,’ Vera said. ‘We’ve been having a lovely time.’
‘Thank you for taking care of her. I hope she hasn’t been talking your ear off too much.’ She felt a little awkward that she hadn’t been aware her child had got up, got dressed and eaten while she slept on obliviously right next door.
‘It’s our pleasure,’ Vera assured her.
‘Take a seat, love. Here’s your coffee, and I’ll bring your plate over in a sec,’ Peggy instructed, handing her a mug.
Kenzie didn’t have a chance to object, as Peggy had already turned away, leaving her standing there, so she pulled out a seat between Vera and Ewan.
She sent him a quick glance, her breath catching a little suddenly as she found him watching her, a small smile touching his lips.
She busied herself settling into her seat and averted her gaze.
His nearness was creating havoc with her ability to function like a grown adult.
It was just a kiss for goodness’ sake, she reminded herself firmly. Stop it.
‘We’ve just been discussing our plans for this morning,’ Vera said as Peggy reappeared with a plate of bacon, eggs, toast and fried tomato and placed it in front of Kenzie. ‘We thought maybe a walk in the garden?’
‘That sounds nice,’ Kenzie said, lifting her eyes from her enormous breakfast.
‘Can we go now?’ Poppy asked eagerly.
‘When everyone’s finished breakfast,’ Vera said.
‘And then we can go outside?’ Poppy asked.
‘Yes.’ Vera smiled fondly as she answered her granddaughter.
‘Sleep okay?’ Ewan asked.
Kenzie lifted her gaze to his briefly. ‘I did, thank you. It’s a beautiful room,’ she added, looking at his mother.
‘I’m glad you like it. Restoring this place has taken a long time. It’d been neglected for a number of years when we bought it.’
‘It’s stunning.’
‘I’m going to make a few calls. I’ll catch up when I’m done,’ Ewan said, sliding his chair out to stand up.
‘Okay, darling,’ Vera said, accepting his peck on the cheek as he passed. Despite the strained relationship he had with his father, he was certainly a devoted son.
‘Finished,’ Poppy announced, shoving the last forkful of egg into her mouth. ‘Can we go to the garden now?’
‘Wow, looks like I should use the garden for bargaining power from now on,’ Kenzie said impressed. ‘She’s usually a bit of a slow poke when it comes to mealtimes.’
‘It’s no ordinary garden,’ Peggy said, coming to clear some plates.
‘There’s fairies,’ Poppy whispered.
‘Fairies?’ Kenzie echoed.
‘Shh! You can’t say their name too loud or they’ll hide.’
‘Oh, I see. Sorry,’ Kenzie said, giving a small wince.
‘Hurry up, Mummy!’
‘How about we leave Mummy to finish her breakfast and we’ll go and find a hat and put on some sunscreen?’ When Kenzie went to protest, Vera held up a hand. ‘Sit and enjoy your breakfast in peace. We’ll meet you outside when you’re done.’
‘Okay,’ she said weakly, feeling at a bit of a loss. She wasn’t really used to having peace and quiet, or eating breakfast at a table rather than scoffing it while she handled three other jobs.
Unheard of, but if Vera insists …