She squealed and jumped up and down a couple of times. ‘Why would I mind? I’m delighted.’ She grabbed hold of him and kissed him.
He took her in his arms and kissed her back with such force she wondered if her lips would bruise – not that she cared if they did. He kissed so beautifully and she would happily spend the rest of her life wrapped in his arms with her lips pressed against his.
He let go of her and took hold of her hand. ‘I’m relieved you’re not angry with me for being so presumptuous,’ he said, as they ran up the stairs.
They slowed to a walk as they crossed the lawn and took the pathway towards his front door. ‘It’s open,’ he said, motioning for her to go inside. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’
‘I feel like Rapunzel,’ she giggled, as he poured them both a drink and showed her the way up to the roof terrace.
‘Well, I hope no one comes here to rescue you fromthisparticular tower,’ he teased, handing her a drink. ‘I want you all to myself tonight.’
She pretended to peek around looking for something. ‘No more nosy neighbours lurking anywhere then?’
‘Better not be,’ he said.
They sat down on the bench and Gabriel put one arm around Daisy’s shoulders. ‘I’ve imagined you sitting up here with me many times,’ he said.
‘I’ve imagined being with you, too,’ she admitted. ‘But it never occurred to me to picture us up on top of a granite tower staring out to sea like this.’
He bent down and kissed her. ‘I’m glad you came to work at the Encore.’
‘So am I.’
They leant back and slowly drank from their glasses, each lost in their own thoughts and memories.
‘Remember getting up really early and going to the river bank to sit and watch the boats go by?’ he asked eventually.
She didn’t like to admit that she thought about it far more than was probably good for her. She nodded. ‘I do.’ She shivered involuntarily and he mistook her reaction for the coolness of the evening.
‘It’s amazing how the temperature drops here when the sun goes in,’ he said.
Daisy nodded.
‘Shall we go inside? It’s more comfortable there anyway.’
‘OK.’ She let him take her glass so that she could climb back down the ladder to his room below. Somehow he managed to hold both glasses while following her down.
‘I also recall being on that train journey when you insisted we could fit in the same bunk together,’ she giggled. ‘I had a bruise on my hips for weeks from when I fell out.’
He winced. ‘Yes, I still feel guilty about not catching you that night.’ He glanced down at her hip. ‘Is it all right now?’ he asked, touching it lightly with the side of hisfinger, a glint in his dark eyes.
She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side. ‘If it isn’t then I’ve got a problem.’
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds and Daisy wasn’t sure where to look, especially as his double bed covered with its stark white sheets seemed like some sort of beacon.
‘Would you rather we go downstairs?’ he asked.
She thought about his offer, and realising that she’d waited for almost two years for this moment, shook her head. He seemed surprised by her reaction, then placing the glasses on his bedside table, he sat down on the bed.
She stared at him, not quite knowing what to do next.
He leaned towards her on the white sheets. ‘Are you going to join me?’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘If you’d rather not stay in the tower with me tonight I can always ask Nan if you can sleep in one of her spare rooms. She wouldn’t mind.’
‘Would you?’
‘What, mind?’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Of course not. I want you to be comfortable with me.’
She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed by his answer.
