Nell pulled back the duvet for her. “You’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”
She slipped into bed beside her. Nell switched off the bedside light, and they lay next to each other in the darkness.
Mattie squeezed Nell’s hand. “Not the height of romance, is it?”
Nell squeezed back. “It’s real life.”
“Yeah. Still. Sorry.”
“Stop apologising, Mattie.”
“Sorry.”
Nell rolled on to her left side and gently pulled Mattie against her so they were spooning. “Go to sleep.”
Their bodies fitted together like two perfectly sized jigsaw pieces. Being the little spoon felt unexpectedly comforting, especially when Nell kissed the back of her head and snuggled closer. Mattie closed her eyes. This wasn’t how she’d envisaged today would end, but it had a precious quality about it all the same.
“You were right about feeling better after a good night’s sleep,” she told Nell the next morning. “I hadn’t expected the bed to be so comfy we’d sleep through breakfast.” They’d rushed to the dining room in a forlorn hope that the kitchen would take pity on them. Catering staff had offered warm croissants and hot drinks in the hotel lounge instead. “More coffee?” She gestured to the cafetiere on the low table in front of them.
“Please.” Nell smiled. “My caffeine level is nowhere near high enough yet. I’m not a morning person, but that isn’t a problem when you live alone.”
Mattie picked a crumb of pastry off her jumper. “So you’re not up for a discussion about the state of the nation at seven a.m. then?”
Nell grunted.
“Noted. Maybe we should go back to bed for a ‘rest’?” Mattie put air quotes around her last word.
“That’d be an excellent idea, except they’ll be clattering around, servicing rooms all morning.” Nell leaned into her. “Not much chance for peace and quiet or, um, privacy.”
Mattie laughed under her breath. She drank more coffee and watched rain splatter against the wide windows, blurring the view of sodden streets. Nell picked up a handful of tourist leaflets scattered on the table and shared some with her. The first was the National Trust’s brochure for an eighteenth-century landscaped garden, which highlighted its renowned stately Palladian bridge and looked very idyllic and picturesque in the summer. In the first week of November, Mattie suspected it would be less so. “It isn’t exactly the weather for walking around Prior Park.”
“Somewhere indoors will be better,” said Nell. “We could hit the tourist trail instead?”
Eventually, they bundled up against the inclement weather and walked into the heart of the city. They visited Bath Abbey,a medieval building with stunning stained-glass windows and a fan-vaulted ceiling dating from the 1500s. It was an oasis of calm and stillness after the bustle of the city’s sodden streets. They strolled together, shoulders occasionally brushing, only exchanging comments in whispers so as not to ruin the tranquillity.
Nell pointed out the names inscribed on the flagstones beneath their feet. “I wonder about the people those names belonged to and the lives they led.”
“That language is so archaic,” said Mattie. “A servant of God and so on.”
“Grow up in a Catholic household, and it becomes second nature.” Nell stepped aside to make space for an elderly man in a wheelchair. “I haven’t been to Mass in years, but I can still recite by rote the prayers and responses.”
“There were three churches of different denominations in our town, but we didn’t go to any of them, except for school Christmas carol concerts.” Mattie smiled. “I liked some of the songs.”
“I adore the architecture of cathedrals and old churches. Imagine having the kind of vision to create something like that.” Nell tipped her head back to admire the ceiling. “It’s exquisite.”
As exquisite as you. It was all Mattie could do to stifle her gasp at Nell’s mesmerising pose, so similar to the first time they’d had sex, Nell’s head tossed back, offering her breasts in astonishing abandon. Mattie leaned into her. “If we weren’t in a place of worship right now, I would bury my lips in this beautiful curve right here.” She ran the tip of her index finger along Nell’s neck. “The shape of your throat reminds me of a swan, all grace and elegance.”
Nell shivered, and Mattie hoped it had little to do with the cool air of the abbey.
“You should be scandalised at how very ungodly my thoughts are right now,” Mattie murmured. “I’m imagining kissing every single one of your gorgeous freckles. My tongue is licking each nipple. Feather-light to start with, teasing until they’re nubs, and then I’m sucking them hard into my mouth.”
“Mattie!” Nell glanced around to see if people were watching them.
“I can’t help wanting you,” Mattie whispered. “And we did miss out last night.”
Nell dropped her head forward and closed her eyes. When she opened them again a few beats later, she held Mattie’s gaze. “Behave.”
Mattie’s blood thrummed at her husky tone. “If that was supposed to be an admonishment, it failed.”
