Chapter 57
CHAPTER 57
‘ Y ou scared me,’ I said sometime later when I turned with the hose and accidentally sprayed Rupert with water meant for the hydrangeas.
‘I didn’t mean to.’ Matthew was standing at the back door. ‘The grass is alive.’
‘Probably because it’s finally seeing sunlight.’ I nodded in the direction of the trimmed conifers.
I turned off the hose and walked toward him. He smiled. ‘I spoke with Lexi about Bugs. Five new rabbits, hey? And she’s passed the year?’
I nodded. ‘Amazing what can be achieved under pressure.’
He wrapped his arms around me. ‘I spoke with Mum. She and Dad are looking forward to the wedding.’
I raised my brows.
‘Yes, sure she was shocked.’
‘We all were.’ I exhaled. ‘You know I still haven’t forgiven her for giving me that book.’
‘Let it go. At least Mum remembered your birthday. So, how’d it go with Fern? ’
‘I wanted to finish today, but there are still a few loose ends. I’ll stay until Friday. Any remaining nativity spreads, I can file remotely. Now Simone’s back, the main reason for me being in the office is for access to their library of files. Plus…’ I gestured for Matthew to follow me inside. ‘Dana and I get on so well. I’ll miss her.’
I pulled out a roast lamb from the fridge courtesy of Dana.
‘Nice.’
‘Nice? It’s a succulent roast lamb with nutty pesto stuffing! To buy this, we’d have to take out a second mortgage.’
Matthew’s eyes widened. ‘And it hasn’t been artificially tampered with?’
I laughed. ‘Not that I’m aware.’
‘Even though I haven’t met her, I’ll miss Dana too!’ Without warning, Matthew kissed me. ‘You won’t miss Fern?’
I bit my inner cheek. ‘Yes, of course, but I’m sure we’ll still see each other.’
‘And the one Fern called a genius. Graeme…’
‘Grafton.’ Close to tears, I slid the lamb back into the fridge and stepped away from him.
‘Not so fast.’ Matthew caught hold of my arm. The touch of his fingers felt warm and strong. The way they had all those years ago. ‘Another five mouths to feed…’
‘We’re keeping them all,’ Angus shouted, galloping into the kitchen with Rupert. ‘Mum said so.’
Matthew grinned. ‘Did you?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, though I guess we have to keep them for a few weeks.’
Angus shrieked with joy and fell on the floor with Rupert.
Matthew brushed hair from my face, and I felt an intimacy between us I hadn’t experienced for a long time. ‘Katie, I know how much your photography means to you. ’
He pulled me close, enveloped his arms around me and hugged me. All at once I felt a longing for him. And love…
‘Hold whatever thought you’re having.’ Matthew pulled away and reached for a bag on the kitchen bench. ‘Your extraordinarily late birthday present,’ he said, passing it to me.
‘What?’ I peered inside, pulled out a small box and opened it. Chanel Allure. ‘My favourite. Thank you, sweetheart.’
‘You have no idea the effort I put into buying this. Women spraying me all over the place. I walked around for days smelling like a gardenia. I’m surprised you didn’t say anything.’
‘I’ve been a bit preoccupied.’ If only I had spoken up, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache.
‘Do tell.’
‘Actually,’ I said, spraying myself with the gorgeous scent, ‘there’s something I want to show you. We’ll need to drive though.’
‘I’m intrigued.’ His lips brushed mine.
Angus looked up; interest sparked. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Mum’s taking us on an adventure.’
‘Well, I’m not staying here on my own,’ Lexi chimed in from the living room.
I swear there’s no privacy in this house.
‘All right, everyone in the car,’ Matthew ordered. ‘Yes, you too, Rupert.’
‘Why don’t we come here more often?’ Matthew asked as we strolled down a narrow winding street looking at simple workers’ cottages housing potters, painters and sculptors. A suburb not far from our own but so different – a well-known artists’ enclave with galleries, cafés and clothing designers, some successful but most of them just starting out .
‘Great minds think alike,’ he continued. ‘I was here?—’
‘Let me show you something,’ I blurted.
We walked around the corner to one of the cottages, which had a For Lease sign plastered across its window. I peered through one of the windows. It was still a wreck as it had been several weeks ago when I first saw it, but in my mind, I could see a gallery of my portraits in the front room, an office to one side.
‘Imagine the possibilities, Matthew.’
‘You don’t have to imagine. Why don’t you lease it and build your dream studio here? I met with the real estate agent and?—’
Ah. The woman outside the café.
‘I almost rented it as a birthday surprise, but knew this was something you needed to do on your own.’
‘Really? I’d been thinking about it for months, then when Fern’s offer popped up…’
‘You decided to give corporate life another go. But now I reckon all you need is a nudge along, right, kids?’
‘But—’
‘Who knows what’s going to happen down the track? What do you say? Your own photography business? Being your own boss and taking control of the photos you want to create?’
‘Awesome, Mum,’ Lexi piped up.
Matthew chuckled. ‘See? Even Lexi thinks it’s a great idea.’
‘So do I,’ Angus chipped in.
‘It’s unanimous. What’s holding you back?’
‘Fear,’ I replied honestly.
‘Come on, life’s an adventure. Where did agonising over Sarah’s book get you? Nowhere. And it turns out she’s not so special. She had to stoop to stealing your work to get published. What does that tell you? If you want something badly enough, you have to go for it. Make it happen. Don’t worry about the process so much, or the mere thought of action will cripple you with anxiety. You can do this. ’
‘I could enrol in a Photoshop course, get up to speed with digital…’
‘That’s our girl!’ Matthew’s smile was wide. ‘Have faith in yourself. We do.’