Chapter Twenty-one
Two hours later, the bottle of wine was empty and Lara was curled up on Flynn’s sofa, stifling her giggles while listening to anecdotes about his theme-park days.
‘You’re not serious,’ she said. ‘They didn’t really try to have sex on a Waltzer?’
‘They did. It was after we’d closed and they’d sneaked into the vintage fair. Apparently it had always been a fantasy for the woman and her boyfriend was keen to oblige.’
‘And you actually caught them?’ Lara asked, tears of laughter in her eyes. ‘In the actual Waltzer?’
‘Well, we knew they were there, so I suggested turning the ride on to … alert them, shall we say … and so all the lights started flashing and the organ stated playing.’
Lara let out a squeal of mirth. ‘The organ?’
‘Yes, it was a vintage ride with a huge organ.’
‘You can say that again! What happened to the couple?’
‘They were a bit shocked and very embarrassed, but, in the end, they were relieved not to get into any trouble.’ He smiled. ‘You must have caught visitors up to no good during the course of your job?’
She giggled. ‘Not actually having sex, though we did throw two people out for lying on a four-poster bed. They were only kissing, though.’
‘Only kissing?’ He waggled his eyebrows. ‘Are you sure? Were you watching?’
‘No, I wasn’t watching, but I did have to walk in on them. I could hear the noises so I started to … hum outside the door … to give them time to stop anything that they might be thinking of doing.’
‘What were you humming?’
‘The first thing I could think of – ‘The Birdie Song’. My dad is always whistling it when he’s doing DIY and it just popped into my head.’
‘That’d put anybody off!’ Flynn said.
She was laughing out loud, her sides almost hurting. ‘I – s-so w-wish you’d stop doing this.’
‘What?’
‘Making me laugh or get mad or do something I shouldn’t and that I’ll regret.’
‘I don’t mean to.’
‘R-really?’ She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, knowing her mascara must be smeared. She expected Flynn to make a teasing remark but instead he gave her that intense and serious look that made her melt inside.
‘I don’t want to be something you’ll regret.
I’m not the bastard lord of the manor. I’m not someone who makes promises he can’t keep.
I’m someone who cares about you and is ready for a new relationship against all his expectations and fears and plans.
I’m someone who just happened to come across you. And you happened to come across me.’
He’d switched the mood in an instant, from sexy banter to serious grown-up stuff. She could feel blood pulsing through her, making her body tingle from her scalp to the tips of her toes.
‘Have I overstepped the mark?’ he asked solemnly.
‘No. No, and let’s get this straight. You’re about as far from the lord of the manor as it’s possible to get.’
His mouth lifted at the corners and his eyes lit up.
‘But it doesn’t matter. It’s the being ready for a new relationship that’s holding me back from taking this – us – any further. You know I lost my job, my home, when I split with Rob. I don’t want that to happen again.’
‘If it did – and I hope it won’t – I’d be out of the door before you even had to think about asking me. I’d never put you in that position.’
Somehow, Flynn had picked up her hand and held it, as if to emphasise his point.
‘I – believe you. I truly do, but I also don’t want to be hurt again. After Rob, I couldn’t handle getting involved with someone who’s tied to anyone or anything else. I know I can’t predict or control the future but I’m only trying to protect myself.’
‘I do understand what it’s like to find out someone’s not what you thought they were, but I don’t have any skeletons in my cupboard.
’ He stroked the back of her hand and gazed into her eyes, making every nerve ending come alive.
‘And I also know there’s no true happiness in life without taking risks.
We both have no ties … us getting together may, possibly, be a disaster waiting to happen … ’
Lara found herself smiling and shaking her head, disagreeing with him – perversely – for some insane reason.
The insane reason being that she was wavering and she was tired of denying herself a chance of happiness and the chance to kiss him and be in his arms and know what it would be like to be close to that gorgeous body. To wake up next to him.
‘What if a disaster doesn’t happen?’ he asked, moving closer and resting his hand on her cheek. ‘What if this is a good thing and stays a good thing for … a very long time?’
Her skin turned molten under his touch. ‘Why do you always make me doubt myself?’ she murmured, uncurling her feet and turning to face him.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want you to doubt yourself.’ He withdrew his hand and she felt as if she’d turned her face away from the sun into shadow. ‘I want you to be sure. That you’re not just doing this because you’ve had half a bottle of wine.’
‘Half a bottle?’ She laughed. ‘That’s not enough to make me do something I don’t want to.’ She ran her hand along his arm, resting it on his bicep and squeezing gently.
‘And tomorrow?’ There was a raw edge to his voice. ‘What happens when we have to face each other in front of everyone? How will you feel about me then?’
‘I don’t want to think about tomorrow. This is now and I want to do something before I can change my mind.’
It was Lara who closed the space between them and knelt astride him.
It was her choice to kiss him and push him back against the sofa.
If his lingering doubts were gone, she’d thrown hers to the winds.
His mouth was like warm velvet and he tasted of wine.
Sparks exploded inside her, and she gripped his shoulders, pushing against his mouth greedily.
She found herself lifted off the sofa, and wrapped her legs around his waist so he could carry her into the bedroom. Reckless joy filled her as Flynn lowered her onto the bed, kissing her again, over and over.
There was a moment when he stopped kissing her to strip off his shirt, but then he was next to her again, taking off her jumper and dropping soft kisses on her collarbone and chest.
Any thought of anything beyond giving herself up to Flynn and his body had vanished.
What a night; the best night. Lara thanked the Lakes’ long winter and the need to spend the dark hours huddled up together under his duvet, keeping each other warm.
And the warm glow that suffused her body when she woke to find he was beside her, his dark lashes against his cheek, one arm flung over the pillow, still fast asleep.
It hadn’t been a disaster. It had been a night of joyful, hot sex and, now, even the gloomy Lakeland morning seemed like a bright new dawn.
She was so glad she’d set her fears aside and taken that leap, but now she had to face reality.
She certainly wasn’t ready for her colleagues to know she was – what?
– seeing Flynn? Sleeping with him? Dating him?
Telling herself to live in the moment, she lifted the duvet off her, swung her legs out of bed, and fumbled for the clothes that were still scattered on the rug next to the bed. The room was pitch black and she’d no idea how she was going to get dressed.
‘Morning.’
The gravelly voice from behind her was accompanied by a warm hand trailing down her back.
Lara turned to find Flynn sitting up, his hair rumpled, and blinking in the lamp he’d just switched on.
Lara was dazzled too, and not only by the light.
Her desire kindled again at the sight of that honed torso with the sun tat on his right pec.
She’d kissed it last night and asked him where he got it.
She knew almost every inch of him now and she was way past blushing.
‘Do you have to go?’ he asked.
‘It’s half-six already. I ought to go back to mine before every man and his dog are up.’
‘Pity,’ he said, smiling up at her. ‘But I understand.’ Flynn lay back on the bed with a sigh, hands behind his head. ‘I’ll see you later?’
‘Bit difficult not to.’ She zipped up her jeans.
He watched as she found her bra and fastened it with his hot gaze raking over her. ‘How will I cope, knowing what I do now?’
OK. Maybe she could still blush, she thought, feeling her cheeks warm.
‘You’ll have to pretend nothing happened.
We still have to work together.’ She felt that she’d be wandering around Ravendale with a big sign on her back: Yes, I slept with Flynn and I can’t wait to do it again.
The thought made her want to laugh but was closely followed by a flutter of unease.
‘You won’t tell anyone?’ she asked, sitting down on the bed, holding her top.
Flynn pushed himself up. ‘Of course not. I’m not that guy, Lara. I’d happily shout about us from the rooftops if you want to, but we’re going at your pace.’ He took her hand and she kissed him, a heartbeat away from getting back into bed.
However, he ended the kiss and said, ‘I’ll get dressed and act as lookout for you.’
He threw off the covers and got out of bed completely naked. Lara reluctantly tore her eyes from his body and put her top on while he dressed.
She nodded. ‘I left the light on all night in my hallway. That’s unusual.’
He turned to her. ‘It’s hardly suspicious.’
‘No, but this is such a tiny community. The gossip is terrible.’ She now felt guilty at taking Jazz’s rumour even slightly seriously.
‘I can imagine. It was the same wherever I’ve worked.’
‘Has that been your fault?’ she asked jokingly.
‘Sometimes, maybe. Not as often as I’d have liked … I’m joking, by the way.’
Even the sneaking around – checking that no one was watching – had held a sexy frisson. She’d behaved like a nun for so long, obsessed with being the perfect employee. Rob had made her into a romantic recluse even after she’d begun to get over the broken heart. It was time she took a risk.
From his sitting room, Flynn peered round his curtains. ‘Coast is clear, though it’s so dark out there I’m half guessing. It’s icy too, so be careful or there really will be a drama to explain.’
‘I’ll be careful.’ She joined him by the front door for one final lingering kiss before he opened the door just enough for her slip out, hiding behind it himself.
‘See you later,’ he whispered, with a glint in his eye that almost trashed her resolve.
She answered with a nod, flitting out of the door, then gasping at the cold air and almost tripping over the boot scraper in her haste to get across the courtyard to her cottage.
A few seconds later she was safely inside, high on adrenaline, still not quite able to believe her daring.
The spectres of the past: lost loves, superstitious fears, and future music to be faced had receded into the shadows.
This bright new hope in her life – Flynn, moving forward, and leaving the past behind – was far more dazzling and joyful than any Christmas lights.