Chapter 34
Frankie could hardly concentrate as she set to work on the bag of carrots Rachel had set in front of her.
She was so aware of the weight of the compass hanging around her neck it might as well have been made from lead rather than silver.
She should have gone straight home after the shoot had finished, like everyone else.
Put Halfmoon Quay in the rear-view mirror and never looked back.
Instead she’d hung around, letting all these people get further and further under her skin and allowing Ed to become an unexpected complication in her life.
No, not a complication, because that implied she harboured regrets over what had happened between them these past few days. What had he said to her that morning about her being a most delightful and unexpected gift? That was closer to the truth of how she felt about him too.
As she whittled at the skin of the carrot in her hand with the vegetable peeler Rachel had given her, her mind flashed back to that morning in bed when Ed had made love to her like a man possessed.
His eyes had blazed into hers, need and desire and something else she hadn’t dared to put a name to written large in them.
Damn Ed and his stupid, gorgeous face that couldn’t hide anything.
The peeler slipped in her hand and she dropped it on the board with a curse.
Blood dripped from the tip of her finger and she winced.
‘What’s the matter?’ Rachel hurried over. ‘Oh, you’ve cut yourself. Come here, let’s run it under the tap a minute. Helen, can you get the first-aid kit from the cupboard in the utility room?’
Frankie allowed herself to be led over to the sink where Rachel held her finger under the cold stream from the tap until her skin ached. Rachel pulled it free, frowning at the cut as she dabbed it dry with a bit of kitchen paper. ‘I think you’ll live,’ she said, pausing to give Frankie a smile.
This lovely woman fussing over her like she was one of her own was more than Frankie could bear. ‘Please, please don’t be nice to me,’ she choked out, her vision blurring as tears welled in her eyes.
‘Oh, darling, what’s the matter?’
Frankie tugged her hand free and turned away.
She needed to get out of there, needed to escape before it was too late.
She bolted for the sanctuary of the utility room, almost knocking Helen flying as they all but collided in the doorway.
‘Where are you going?’ Helen called after her in alarm.
Frankie didn’t pause to reply, she just made a dash for the white double-glazed back door and yanked it open.
She stumbled out into the garden and staggered over to the patio where she bent double, hands braced on her knees as she struggled to control her breathing.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t bloody cry. A hot, fat tear dripped off the end of her nose and splashed on the pale grey stones of the patio.
Damn it. A knock sounded close to her head and she raised it to find Ed and all the rest of his family staring at her through the double doors of the garden room.
Could her life possibly get any worse?
Apparently it could because the next thing she knew Ed had unlocked the patio door and flung it open. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing. Go away.’
Instead of doing what he was told for just once in his life, Ed stepped out to join her on the patio. ‘Frankie? Is this about the necklace? If you don’t want it, you can give it back.’
Her hand rose in a reflex action to cover the pendant.
He’d started them on this road. Did he honestly think they could turn back now and forget all about it?
The silly Hallmark fantasy she’d woven for them shredded into nothing as the reality of what was happening between them went off inside her like an atomic bomb. Edward Penrose was in love with her.
And, damn it all to hell, she was in love with him too.
‘This is all your fault!’ she yelled, jabbing a finger at him. ‘You and your stupid face and your stupid kisses and your stupid family and this stupid village!’
‘Did she just call us stupid?’ she heard Harry asking from somewhere behind Ed’s broad shoulders.
‘I think she was talking about you,’ Liam replied.
Anger flashed in Ed’s eyes and he rounded on his family. ‘Shut the bloody door!’
‘And miss all the fun? Not on your Nelly!’ Maud called out.
Frankie buried her face in her hands and told herself that screaming would only complete her utter humiliation.
‘Goal’s wide open, lad. Go for it!’
‘Jesus Christ on a motorbike,’ Ed muttered and then he made a gasping sound.
Frankie cracked her fingers and stared in amazement when she saw he was laughing. Something bubbled in her chest and she let out a giggle before she could stop herself. ‘We had a deal, Ed Penrose! Friends with benefits, that’s all this was ever supposed to be.’
He took a step towards her. ‘Situationally adjacent.’ He took another step closer and held out his hand to her. ‘Advantageously connected.’
She glared past his shoulder at his family, who were avidly watching them, their expressions a mixture of concern and affectionate amusement. ‘I’m not so sure your connections are advantageous,’ she told him.
Ed grinned as he reached for her hand. ‘Pretend they’re not there.’
There was no way in the world she could do that because they were part and parcel of the life of this man. And they’d be part and parcel of her life too if she let him carry on looking at her like that. ‘We had a deal,’ she said again, softer this time.
‘I think it’s time we renegotiated,’ Ed replied, reaching for her other hand.
‘You’re leaving the country in just over a week,’ she whispered.
‘I am. And you’ve got a film to make. But we can call each other every day.’ He pulled her hands around him until they were resting on his hips. ‘I’ve got a waterproof cover for my phone now so I can’t lose it.’
‘Will calling be enough for you?’
Ed put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close so he could whisper in her ear. ‘I’m up for a bit of sexting too, if you are?’
Frankie shook her head even as she smiled so wide it made her cheeks ache. ‘How on earth am I ever supposed to take you seriously when you say things like that?’
He cupped her face, his blue eyes shining as he stared into hers. ‘I love you, Frankie, and I promise you can take that very, very seriously.’
‘I love you too.’
He lowered his head to hers and the moment their lips met loud cheers sounded behind them.
Frankie laughed, and not simply from the sheer absurdity of it all.
Joy filled her from head to toe, so much of it she couldn’t hold it in.
Ed kissed her again, taking the sound into his mouth, turning it into something closer to a moan.
Frankie held on to Ed and everything faded away until there was nothing left, only him and her and the beating of their hearts.
‘Right!’ she heard Jago declare in a loud voice. ‘Enough of that. Everyone, it’s Trivial Pursuit time! Frankie, you’re on my team. I need someone who’ll be good at the entertainment questions.’
A burst of conversation broke out as everyone else decided which teams they were going to be on. Ed kissed her once, twice and then raised his head with a reluctant sigh. ‘I suppose we should go back in.’
‘I suppose we should.’
He hooked an arm around her shoulders and guided her towards the open patio door. ‘I should warn you that board games are a competitive sport in this family.’
She tilted her head back and grinned up at him. ‘Just as well I’m a quiz fiend, then, isn’t it?’
Ed’s eyes sparkled in amusement as he swooped her up into his arms and carried her over the threshold. ‘I have a feeling you’re going to fit in perfectly around here.’
Frankie leaned her head against his chest. For the first time in her life she felt like she would too.