Chapter 43
The next morning, Thea, unused to such a late night, ambled down from her room to find breakfast in full flow in the kitchen.
Lorelai, true to form, had risen early, had a pot of tea on the go and had made sure the children had eaten a decent breakfast. Dylan, noshing his way through an enormous bowl of porridge, glanced up at his mother before fixing his attention back on the TV series he was watching on his Kindle.
Cora, slightly less of a morning person, was staring at her phone and making slower progress with her bowl.
‘Morning!’ Lorelai chirped, handing Thea a cuppa. ‘How was last night.’
‘Great, thanks.’ Thea couldn’t quite meet her grandmother’s gaze, although she had nothing to be ashamed about.
After all of her protestations about seeing how things went with Nick, last night, in the cold light of day, felt like a bit of a leap.
She couldn’t quite believe they’d fallen into bed on literally their first ‘proper’ date, but then, she supposed, they had thirty years of friendship to set the groundwork.
And what a revelation last night had been!
Thea hadn’t enjoyed sex like that in years; in fact, if she was being honest, ever.
‘So, any gossip from the social event of the season?’ Lorelai asked as she placed a generous bowl of porridge, topped with cream and raspberries, in front of Thea.
Thea stared at it in confusion. She didn’t recall buying any of the ingredients in front of her that had gone into the delectable breakfast.
‘Oh, I brought this all over with me,’ Lorelai replied when Thea gave her a quizzical look. ‘I remember how you used to love a bowl of this after a night out, and the kids always request it when they come over to stay.’
Thea smiled at her grandmother. ‘Thanks, Gran, it’s just what the doctor ordered.’ She took a spoonful and instantly felt better. ‘I can’t think of anything too scandalous – except that Robert Saint was persuaded to buy a new dinner jacket, having sworn he’d never get into one again!’
‘Maggie got her way, then!’ Lorelai laughed. ‘It’s good to know they’re both up on their feet again – hopefully that’ll take some of the pressure off Annabelle and Nick in the new year.’
Thea nodded. The mention of Nick made her face feel hot, and she hoped her grandmother wasn’t going to press her for more details. She wanted to keep things to herself for now, to hug the memory of their wonderful night close for as long as she could.
‘So, what are your plans for today?’ Lorelai asked, breaking into her reverie.
‘Not sure yet,’ Thea glanced out of the window. ‘It’s a lovely, sunny day – perhaps we’ll go for a quick walk, blow away the cobwebs.’
Stereo groans from her two children greeted this suggestion, which made Thea even more determined to get them off screens and into the fresh air.
She hurried upstairs for a shower, making it clear that she expected them to be dressed and ready to go in twenty minutes.
Checking her phone before she went into the small ensuite shower room that adjoined her bedroom, she smiled to see that Nick had sent her a message:
Hope you got some sleep in the end… wish it could have been with me, though! x
Replying, she suggested they make another date after the Christmas rush.
She wanted to suggest something sooner, but it was three days until the big day now, and she still had a lot to organise, and she owed it to her children to be present for them now that the holidays had started for them all.
She and Nick had lots of time to spend together; Christmas needed to be spent with the other people in their lives.
All the same, she felt a sudden pang; she missed him.
As she got back out of the shower again, she couldn’t resist re-checking her phone to see if Nick had responded.
He had, and her smile turned to a grin. He’d sent her a shot of himself, towel strategically placed low on his waist, torso still wet from the shower, a suggestive half smile on his face. The message simply read:
Next time…
If saucy texts were about as close as she was going to get to him for the next three days, then she’d look forward to receiving more of them. Dithering about what to send back, since she herself was pink and dishevelled from her own shower, she made do with:
Nice view to keep me warm on these long, lonely nights.
Perhaps she’d send him something more ‘visual’ later on. Saturday night had unleashed Nick’s naughty side, it seemed. She’d have to make sure she kept her phone away from the kids, if this was going to be the way their communications were going.
A little later on, as Thea, Cora, Dylan and Lorelai wandered through the woodland between Thea’s house and Nightshade Cottage, Thea reflected that, even with the unsettling situation with Ed and his other son not yet resolved, things were looking up.
Annabelle had taken her aside between courses last night and offered her a few more hours at the farm shop, as well, which she definitely said she’d consider.
Although the money wouldn’t match her teaching salary, every little would help.
For the first time since she could remember, Thea felt optimistic about the future, and as she strolled along with her family on a bright, wintry Sunday morning’s walk, even the weather seemed to be celebrating.