Chapter Forty-Eight
By the time Rosie opened her eyes the following morning, the sun was streaming in through a gap in the curtains. She rubbed her eyes and turned her head to look at her bedside clock, and it dawned on her that she wasn’t at home.
‘Hello, Sleeping Beauty, you’re finally awake, are you?’
‘What time is it?’ She tried to sit, up but Connor pulled her back.
‘No spoilers, Florence.’
‘But I need to get my phone.’
‘In a minute.’
Rosie obediently lay down again with her head on his shoulder.
‘You smell all warm and sexy,’ she said, stroking her hand across his chest. ‘You do realise I’ll have at least three people sending frantic texts to me this morning, don’t you?
And two out of the three didn’t think I should have come at all. ’
Connor covered her hand with his. ‘So who is the lone friend that thinks I’m trustworthy then? I want to thank them.’
‘It’s Simon.’
Connor turned to look at her. ‘Simon? The bloke who works at Pennewicks?’
‘Yep.’ Rosie propped herself up on her elbow. ‘He even asked me to marry him two weeks ago.’
‘Now the penny drops. He was the one who told me you were engaged.’
‘I had to turn him down. Poor Simon. He’s a wonderful, dear friend but…’ Rosie leaned over and kissed his stubbly face. ‘Sometimes you just know, don’t you?’
She wanted to spend forever lying here with Connor, but already her head was buzzing with plans.
It wasn’t the only thing that was buzzing.
Connor muttered ‘what now’ as he leaned over the side of the bed to grab his phone, but his tone changed as soon as he saw the name on the screen.
‘Hi, Ryan, is everything okay?’ Connor gave Rosie a won’t-be-a-minute gesture, pulled on some clothes and trotted into the other room.
She wondered if this was the same Ryan she’d met at Malbury Hall – he seemed genuine and friendly.
Snippets of the conversation drifted back through the open door and she wondered what they were discussing:
‘Yes…no of course not… I totally understand… You have to do what’s right for both of you…’
There was a pause and then she heard a short sharp exclamation. ‘You’re kidding me! Really?… When?… Tell me more – I’m all ears.’
During another lengthier pause, curiosity finally got the better of her and Rosie joined him in the lounge.
‘Rosie’s here now, is it okay if I tell her too? We’ll meet up tomorrow and you can fill me in on the rest of the details.’
Standing behind him, Rosie looped her arms around Connor’s chest. ‘Good news?’
Connor turned round. ‘Possibly… It depends.’
‘On what?’
‘You.’
Rosie laughed. ‘I think we’ve had this conversation before. Have you been invited to another party?’
‘Better than that – I’ve been offered a job!’
‘That’s brilliant news!’ Rosie took his face in her hands and kissed him. ‘Tell me all. And why does this depend on me?’
‘Because it would involve some travelling – probably weeks not months – but I’m only taking the job if you’re happy with that.’ Connor stroked his hand along her cheek. ‘It’s taken me ages to find you – I’m not risking losing you again.’
‘No chance of that happening. And I’m not going to stand in the way of your career so come on, tell me about this fabulous job offer.’
While Connor made them both a coffee, he told Rosie how he’d persuaded his old friend to meet up for a drink after hearing about Ryan and Sarah’s sad news. He explained that they’d decided to postpone the wedding, and that Ryan had turned down a job in order to remain with his fiancée.
‘He sounds like a wonderful, caring person.’
‘The thing is, he didn’t want to leave the production company in the lurch, so he said he knew someone that might be able to step in at short notice.’
‘You!’
Connor nodded excitedly. ‘And this morning he rang to confirm that the producer is happy to go ahead.’
‘Woo-hoo! Congratulations, that’s fantastic! What’s the job? And, more importantly, does it involve any cooking?’
Connor grinned and prodded her playfully.
‘Ha ha. You’re nearly as funny as my nephew Brendan.
The job is co-presenter on a new food and drink programme, which they’re hoping to sell to one of the big networks.
I’ll be the resident wine expert, and in addition to the studio filming, there’ll be some location work in different European vineyards, hence the travel.
’ He looked at her with an anxious expression.
‘You’re sure you don’t mind me being away for a few weeks?
‘Very sure. It’s an amazing opportunity, and I’m proud of you.’
‘Only I don’t want a re-run of Operation Finding Rosie,’ Connor said, only half-joking.
Rosie pulled him towards her and gave him a long, lingering kiss. ‘That sequel will not be required.’