Chapter 34
Nick switched on the TV. When a shadow appeared behind the bifold doors, he jumped out of his skin, grabbing the remote as if it would work as some sort of weapon. He crept towards the door, breathing a sigh of relief when he recognised the shape of the intruder.
The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and he stared at Kitty. ‘What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me.’ He studied her face, creased at the forehead. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Sorry,’ said Kitty. ‘I needed to speak to you. I wanted to come and apologise.’
‘Apologise?’ He frowned and folded his arms.
‘Yes.’ Kitty looked at her feet, and Nick was sorry he’d doubted her.
‘Come in.’ He stepped aside so she could come through the door.
‘Thank you.’ Kitty stood in the middle of the living room, wringing her hands.
‘Can I get you something to drink? I’ve got beer in the fridge.’
Kitty laughed. ‘Of course you do.’
‘Not like that.’ Nick’s hackles rose. ‘I haven’t been drinking while I’m looking after Emily.’
Kitty smiled. ‘I wasn’t suggesting you had. Calm down. I’m not here to have a go at you. I’m here to apologise, like I said.’
‘All right. Do you want a beer?’
‘Yeah, I’d love one.’
Nick walked through to the kitchen, strangely nervous that Kitty was in his living room. He grabbed two beers from the fridge and carried them to her.
‘Here you go,’ he said, handing her one.
‘Thanks.’
As he passed the beer across, their fingers brushed. Electricity zipped through his body, as though someone had tasered him. They sat on the sofa, Nick trying to look relaxed despite his tingling nerves.
‘So,’ he said, leaning back on the sofa, hoping he appeared casual, ‘what was that all about then, at the community centre? I was beginning to think you couldn’t stand the thought of being in a play with me.’
‘No.’ Kitty leaned forward, her hands clasped between her knees, the beer untouched on the floor beside her. ‘It had nothing to do with you. It was… my… my problem.’
‘I thought you used to love acting,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand what’s going on.’
‘It’s not about the acting,’ said Kitty, ‘and I can’t say too much, so I’m going to need you to trust me.’
‘Go on.’
Kitty let out a long breath through her pursed lips. She relaxed into the sofa, refusing to catch Nick’s eye. ‘I used to love acting. That isn’t the problem. The problem is the publicity.’
Nick frowned and took a swig of his beer. ‘You’ve lost me. I’ve no clue what you’re talking about.’
Kitty let out another long breath. ‘I can’t explain why, but there are people in my past who I’d rather didn’t know where I am. I came to Saffron Bay for a second chance. And if I’m suddenly plastered all over the internet for being in a play, it could ruin everything.’
‘So you’ve come here to hide?’ asked Nick, his eyebrows raised.
‘Not hide exactly. More like… to start again.’
Starting again. Yes. ‘I kind of get that,’ said Nick. ‘I guess that’s what Emily’s been for me – a second chance, in a way.’
Kitty smiled. ‘Thank you for understanding.’
Nick laughed. ‘I’m not sure I understand completely, but you asked me to trust you, and that’s what I’ll do.
’ His nerves had gone, replaced by sympathy for what this woman, who appeared so cool on the surface, was going through.
He didn’t want to make life worse for her, not at all.
‘Look,’ he said, ‘it’s totally cool if you don’t want to be in the play.
I’m sure we’ll be able to find someone else.
’ Not that he wanted anyone but her. The realisation shook him.
‘Actually…’ Kitty picked up her beer and took a sip. ‘I’ve been talking to Alice about it. She’s persuaded me to give it a go.’
‘What?’ Nick twisted to look at her. ‘You mean you’ll do it?’
Kitty turned to face him. ‘I’ll try,’ she said. ‘Although I’m rusty. I might be rubbish.’
Nick instinctively reached out a hand and squeezed Kitty’s. Her cheeks flushed, and he pulled his hand away, embarrassed. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s… great news, that’s all.’
‘It’s OK.’ Kitty took his hand in a gesture that seemed to surprise her as much as it did him.
They sat there, neither of them meeting the other’s eyes, neither of them pulling away.
The moment stretched, and on instinct, Nick shuffled closer.
Kitty did the same, finally turning and holding his gaze.
Nick’s heart hammered in his chest. Was this really going to happen? Did they even want it to happen? Their legs were touching, the smoothness of Kitty’s skin burning him and causing a reaction he was worried he wouldn’t be able to hide. Kitty leaned forward, and their lips met.
His body responded, and as their kiss grew deeper, Nick suspected there was no going back from this moment.
He pulled Kitty further into his arms, their limbs entangled as they fell against the sofa.
They rolled down onto the rug, Kitty climbing on top of him and placing a series of gentle kisses against his neck, her hands reaching down and slipping beneath his T-shirt.
Her fingers loosened the clasp of his belt, and he groaned.
‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ asked Nick.
‘Shut up,’ said Kitty. Her laughter tickled his skin as her kisses moved lower.
Nick couldn’t remember wanting someone so much, and he wasn’t sure anyone had ever fitted so neatly in his arms. It was as though their bodies had been designed to hold each other. He closed his eyes, sinking into the moment…
‘What on earth is going on in my living room?’
Kitty sprang off Nick, and onto her feet as though she’d been electrocuted. Nick fumbled with his T-shirt while scrambling upright. His face flamed as he took in the sight of his parents – suitcases by their feet, arms folded, scowls on their faces.
‘Nicholas,’ said his mother, in a voice both cold and shaky.
Her hair was unusually messy, the lines on her face deeper, and despite a suntan, her skin looked grey.
‘We’ve been travelling all day, it’s late, your father is ill, the cruise was…
well, the less said about that the better, and I come home to find…
to find… some hussy writhing around on my living-room floor!
All day I’ve been longing to sit down on my own sofa with a gin and tonic.
And now I find my house is being used as a brothel!
Just when I thought today couldn’t get any worse!
’ She slumped down into an armchair and put her head in her hands.
‘What are you doing home?’ Nick’s response to the outburst was far from adequate but, smothered in the fog of embarrassment, he couldn’t think straight.
‘This is our home and we can come and go as we please,’ said his father, before wincing and placing a hand on his stomach.
His mother looked up at him, and Nick squirmed beneath her gaze. ‘Your father got a dicky tummy halfway through the cruise, and we decided it would be for the best if we came home while he recuperates.’
‘Right,’ said Nick. ‘Perhaps you should have warned me you were coming back?’
‘Why should we have to warn you we’re coming to our own home?’ asked his mother.
Kitty tapped Nick’s arm. ‘I’d best go.’
‘That sounds like a very sensible idea, young lady,’ said Nick’s father, his stern tone in contrast to his approving gaze as he looked her up and down.
Nick shrivelled inside. He couldn’t believe this was happening. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he told Kitty.
She gave him a curt nod and left the way she’d come, through the bifold doors.
‘Well, Nicholas,’ said his father, ‘at least you’ve got good taste. That young lady was a significant improvement on some of the women we’ve met over the years.’
‘An improvement?’ spluttered his mother.
‘She barely said a word! It’s bad enough we’ve had to end our trip early thanks to you taking risks with local seafood, and now you’re eyeing up your son’s girlfriend?
This day just gets better and better. And as for you,’ she said, pointing at Nick, ‘I’d hoped you might have matured a little in our absence, but it seems you’ve been up to your old tricks.
When are you going to act like the grown man you are, Nicholas?
And the living-room floor? Is that what romance has come to these days?
I’m not sure my carpet will ever recover! ’
Nick put his head in his hands, surreptitiously taking some deep breaths.
If his mother was angry now, wait until she found out about the five-year-old girl sleeping in the spare room.
He’d hoped to be able to tell his parents about Emily in his own sweet time, but there was no chance of getting away from it now.
He peeped out between his fingers and spotted Emily’s backpack beside the coffee table. His mother must have been following his movements, for she got up, walked across the room, and picked up the bag.
‘Does this belong to the young woman who just fled the building?’ she asked. ‘How old is she exactly, as this looks like something a child would carry?’
‘No,’ said Nick. ‘It’s not Kitty’s. Listen. I’m going to put the kettle on. We could all do with a cup of tea. And then… there’s something I need to tell you.’