30. Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty
A fter calling in to the farmhouse and confirming Bertie was asleep, I borrowed Harry’s Land Rover and drove as fast as I could down to the lake. I ran to Seb’s cabin, hammering on the door and peering through windows.
‘He’s not in,’ came a voice through the twilight.
‘Oh, Pat, you made me jump.’
‘Sorry. I heard all the banging. Is everything all right?’
‘Yes, I just need to speak to Seb. It’s quite urgent. Do you know where he is?’
‘Out on the lake, I think. I saw him heading down there with his fishing gear.’
Fishing? There was so much about Seb I didn’t know and couldn’t wait to discover. ‘Thanks, Pat. I’ll go and find him.’
‘Good, good. I need to get back to my chess set. I’m practising again for the first time in years. Your son is coming perilously close to beating me, and we can’t have that.’
I laughed, thanked Pat again, and ran down to the water’s edge. Squinting through the fading light, I could make out the rowing boat bobbing in the middle of the lake. Seb had his back to me, staring out at the water, a fishing rod in his hands.
‘Seb?’
He spun around, and the boat wobbled. I watched him raise his hand as though shielding his eyes from the sun which had long since set. My arms scooped through the air.
‘Liv?’
‘I need to talk to you.’
‘What?’
I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted as loud as I could. ‘I need to talk to you!’
‘OK. But I need to pack up here.’
I paced the jetty in frustration. Adrenaline coursed through me. My skin tingled like I’d fallen into stinging nettles, and I could feel the thump of my heart as it pumped blood through my veins. It was no use. As Seb took an age to carefully pack away his fishing gear, I felt like my body was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.
I kicked off my shoes and pulled my jumper up over my head. Hopping from foot to foot, I peeled off my tight jeans. When all that was left was my bra and knickers, I balanced on the edge of the jetty before plunging into the water below.
I emerged screaming and realised this was the first time I’d dunked my head. It was not an experience I’d repeat anytime soon, pain searing through my skull as my brain froze with cold. I trod water for a minute, waiting for the effects of the cold to flush through my body, then I began strong, fluid strokes, gaining ground on the boat.
Seb leaned over the edge of the boat and grabbed my hands. ‘What are you doing, Liv? You’re completely mad.’ He was laughing and struggled to pull me out of the water. I clung onto his hands, using my feet to push against the boat and gain some traction. With one last heave, I flopped into a heap on the wooden floor, my knee catching on the bench.
‘Ow,’ I said, rubbing my red skin.
‘You’re crazy,’ said Seb. ‘I’ve got no towel, no blankets. You’re going to catch your death.’ He removed his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. With the sleeve of his hoodie, he wiped the water from my face and smoothed back my hair.
‘Now you’re going to get cold too.’
‘I don’t mind. What’s happened, Liv? What couldn’t wait for me to get back to shore?’
‘This,’ I said, climbing up onto my hands and knees and leaning towards him. My kiss took him by surprise, and he had no time to protest. He pulled me towards him, my damp underwear soaking his clothes.
His kisses travelled to my neck, sending a whole different kind of shiver through me than the cold water had caused.
‘Liv, we said we wouldn’t do this.’
I rocked back onto the floor of the boat, crossing my legs and taking his hands. ‘No, what we said was that we’d wait until I’d sorted things out. Well, I’ve sorted things out.’
‘What do you mean, Liv?’ Seb reached forward and pushed a damp strand of hair away from my eyes.
‘I met up with Rob this evening.’
‘And?’
‘It went really well. He’s happy to go ahead with the divorce. I think it may have been the first honest conversation we’ve had since we got married. We still need to sort out the fine print, but I think we can make it work. I even think we can do it amicably, which will mean less suffering for Bertie.’
‘Wow. That’s amazing. So, you weren’t tempted to go back to him?’ Seb began planting kisses on my collarbone, moving up my neck, but stopping just short of my lips.
‘Seb, do you think I’d have jumped in a freezing lake wearing nothing but my underwear just to kiss you, if I was tempted to go back to Rob?’
‘Maybe you just fancied a swim?’ His kisses moved up to my ear, then back down, circling my mouth, before travelling back down towards my chest.
My fingers sunk into his hair, and I leaned back. Seb shifted his weight, leaning against me, kissing harder. I let out a giggle.
‘What?’
‘Seb… this is amazing, but there’s something poking into my back. Ow, God, that’s really painful.’
Seb pulled me forward. ‘Oh, it seems you were leaning against the rollick.’
‘Is that some sort of euphemism?’ I asked, looking behind me at the metal horseshoe that held the oar.
‘Hmm,’ said Seb, looking around the small boat. ‘I’m wondering if this is the best place for…’
‘For?’
‘For whatever is happening here.’
We both laughed, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. ‘Let’s get you back to my place. I’ll get a fire going, put the kettle on, and you can get warmed up.’
Seb lowered me down onto one of the bench seats, keeping his eyes fixed on mine as he picked up the oars and began rowing towards the shore.
‘I didn’t know you fished.’
‘There’s lots you don’t know about me.’
‘I want you to tell me everything. I want to know everything there is to know.’
Seb looked down at the bottom of the boat. ‘You might not like everything about me.’
‘Well, you won’t know that until you try me, will you? Seb, I think I’ve proved I’m serious about us, don’t you? I’m not in this for some fling. I’m in this for everything, good and bad.’
Seb stayed quiet, pulling on the oars. When we reached the jetty, he secured the boat to its mooring, jumped out, and held out a hand to me. I took it, noticing the callouses on his palm from holding the oars. Without a word, I gathered up the clothes strewn on the deck. I tucked them under my arm, taking his hand and letting him lead me home.