“I’ll let myself out. Today’s been lovely. Thank you.” Mattie brushed her lips over Nell’s and then she was gone.
Nell listened to the front door close. She dropped her head back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. The bedroom felt soempty. How ridiculously fanciful was she being? After their endeavours, she ought to be spent but instead, she felt invigorated and alive. Tonight had been beyond anything she could’ve imagined. The taste and feel of Mattie’s body had been so intoxicating, and the sensation of Mattie’s mouth on her hypersensitive nipples was like nothing she’d encountered before. Maybe a shower would calm her buzzing head. She got out of bed and trod on something soft and lumpy. Mattie’s wallet. It must have fallen out of her pocket. She’d need it back before she left for London in the morning. Nell quickly sent her a WhatsApp message.
You left your wallet here. You’re welcome to come round to collect it, or I can drop it off in the morning.
Much to Nell’s surprise, two blue ticks popped up instantly to show Mattie had already read it.
See, told you I was discombobulated.
Still?
Like you wouldn’t believe. Look, tell me to shut up if you like.
Nell laughed.Tempting...
I’m thinking about extending my holiday by a few days, but Angie’s fully booked so I was thinking of finding somewhere else fairly local. Join me?
Wow, that was unexpected. Nell cradled the phone in her hand. Only just now she’d been desperate to have more time with Mattie. Her phone buzzed with another text before she could respond.
Stupid idea?
Unexpected. I can’t take time off work.
Have dinner with me at least. No strings.
Would dinner lead to more sex? God, she hoped so, especially if it was anything like tonight’s. A few days, Mattie had said. Could Nell manage those and protect her heart? Because if there was any doubt, then she should say no. Yet...how could she possibly turn down the chance of a repeat? She sent a single-word answer:Yes.
Chapter 15
Mattie’s head was full of Nell. Sexy, drop-dead-gorgeous Nell, who she’d be seeing in about three hours’ time for dinner and hopefully bed and breakfast. It was Nell she’d thought about while she bought provisions from the supermarket, and then drove to the village to find the cottage she’d booked last minute. Blink, and she would’ve missed the place. It was quintessentially English: a village green, an ancient church with a steeple, a pub, and a small grocery shop that doubled up as a post office and was almost certainly closed more often than it was open. It continued to be Nell that Mattie thought of as she explored the cottage. Like many of its age, it opened directly into the living space. The rental listing called it cosy, but clearly, that was code for tiny. There was a reason why the place had been available for a last-minute booking, and this was it. The living room only had space for a wooden table with two chairs and a two-seater sofa facing a modest stone fireplace. More than two people in this room, and it’d feel crammed. The bedroom was no bigger. At least the bed was a queen, even if it did take up virtually the entire floor. She smiled, imagining a naked Nell clinging onto the iron headboard while Mattieexplored every inch of her body. With luck, that would become a reality tonight.
Mattie dragged her suitcase into the room and one of its wheels snagged on a waffle-weave rug spread across the stone floor. Impatient, she abandoned it and headed for the kitchen. She laughed as she took in the room—or lack of, to be more accurate. The fridge was full once she’d loaded it with her groceries and a bottle of French dry white.
That done, she checked the time again. It was still mid-afternoon and only twenty minutes on from the last time she’d looked. Tonight couldn’t come too soon. The idea to extend her stay had been a whim, but finding the cottage had happened so easily that it’d felt like it was meant to be. She frowned. What if the cold light of day had led to Nell having second thoughts? Should she text, just to check? No, Nell wasn’t the type to blow someone off. She’d let them know, if only in an incredibly formal way.
Having mostly quashed the flicker of doubt, Mattie tried to calm her over-excitable mind by exploring the sandy inlet below the cottage. Stone steps had been carved into the rock to the sheltered bay, which curved like a horseshoe. She’d have to keep an eye on the sea. The visitors’ guide at the cottage warned that it engulfed the cove at high tide and only rocks at the base of the steep cliffs were left exposed. She didn’t want to risk being cut off from the path. She’d written enough stories about ignorant holidaymakers needing to be rescued. No way did she want to become one of them.
It didn’t take long to walk from one end to the other. She sat on a rock and dangled her feet in the water. Birdsong filled the air. Nell would love it, she was sure. She took out her phone to capture its beauty, and it rang just as she was opening the camera app. Nell?
“Hey you,” said Shona.
“Hi.” Mattie hoped her disappointment at the caller not being Nell wasn’t obvious.
“Can you cat-sit Juno for us next week, please?” Shona asked. “No pressure, but it’s you or the cat hotel.”
“Don’t you dare.” Cat-sitting meant staying at Shona and Lisa’s comfy, terraced house in Balham, which had a sun-trap of a garden and no upstairs neighbours stomping around at all hours. And, of course, there was an ageing feline to love. No hardship at all.
“Thanks. I’ve booked a short break in Paris as a surprise. I want Lisa all to myself before she gears up for the start of the new school year.”
“You’re such a romantic,” Mattie said in a light-hearted tone, but there were times when she felt the tiniest bit jealous. Not of Paris, more that being devoted to her job left little time or inclination to find a partner of her own who could surprise her. “I’ll be back in London by Tuesday afternoon.”
“Thanks. Wait. Aren’t you on the train home right now? I know the rail service in this country is crap, but it shouldn’t take four days.”
Mattie splashed her feet in the sea. “I’m not on the train. I decided to stay here a little longer. I’m taking time to smell the roses, like you ordered me to.”
Shona squealed. “There are only two reasons why you’d extend your stay. Work or a woman. What’s her name? Wait, is it that hot chief inspector?”
Nell had been beyond hot last night. “Nell. And yes, it is.”
