‘Jump where?’ she murmured.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, sending first a tingle up and down her spine, and then a shock-wave of exhilarating desire through her body. ‘Into the unknown,’ he said, ‘the two of us together.’
Without another word exchanged, she kissed him, and she kept on kissing him, hurling herself headlong into the unknown.
‘Would it be ungallant of me to say that was worth the wait?’ he asked, when at last they parted so they could catch their breath.
‘Oh, horribly ungallant.’
‘In that case,’ he said, wrapping his arms around her. ‘I’d better not tell you that you had me at “That’s the way to do it.”’
She laughed at his Mr Punch voice. ‘You’re joking.’
‘I’m not. The moment I saw you playing with those puppets, I wanted to know everything about you. And I meaneverything.’
She pulled a face. ‘I hope that doesn’t mean you have some sort of peculiar thing going on for Mr Punch.’
‘I assure you I don’t. The only thing I have going on is my total susceptibility when it comes to you.’ He kissed her lightly on the lips. And again.
It felt so natural between them, his kissing her and standing here in his embrace. It was as if they were already an established couple.
‘When can I see you again?’ he asked, trailing a finger along the length of her jaw, all the way to her ear, and setting off a seismic reaction deep inside her.
‘Hopefully very soon,’ she murmured.
He smiled at that. ‘Tomorrow?’
‘Tomorrow evening Rachel and I are going back to London, what about you?’
‘I leave first thing in the morning. I have a client meeting at three o’clock, and being the new boy, I need to toe the line. Are you free the day after when you’ve finished work?’
‘Busy, I’m afraid.’
His brow creased with a frown. ‘Oh.’
She smiled at the disappointment in his voice and tapped his chest with a finger. ‘Busy seeing you for dinner, I hope.’
His face instantly brightened. ‘Brilliant! I’ll let you decide where we eat. Hey, I nearly forgot. You’ll never believe it, but my mother’s thinking of buying the Mill.’
‘Really? How wonderful!’
‘Well, she’s made an offer to the owners, which they’re considering. So if all goes to plan, it’ll mean I’ll have the chance to visit here a lot more often. And maybe,’ he added with a tilt of his head, ‘when you just happen to be here.’
‘I think that’s likely to happen quite frequently,’ she said happily. She kissed him once more before sliding round within the circle of his embrace to look across the river to the house she’d loved all her life – Linston End. Who knew what the future held for it, and for herself?
Maybe Blake would be a part of that future, or maybe he wouldn’t. But for now, with his arms around her, his chin resting on the top of her head, she was content to enjoy the moment, to let it be whatever it was destined to be.
Chapter Sixty-Six
They felt it was the right thing to do late that night, and before going their separate ways tomorrow.
It was nearly midnight and they were in the pavilion at the end of the garden; all around them flickering candles caused shadows to dance on the wooden walls. On the table were seven champagne flutes and a bottle of Alastair’s prized Dom Perignon from his wine cellar. Danny didn’t like to think how much it had cost, but he was sure Alastair wouldn’t begrudge them drinking it.
With the greatest of care, Danny began pouring out the champagne, while Frankie passed the glasses round in the subdued silence. He had wondered whether to suggest to Jenna that Blake and his mother should join them, seeing as she had returned from the Mill with a definite spring in her step, and a radiant sparkle in her eyes, the like of which he couldn’t recall seeing before. But he’d decided not to. There would be plenty of occasions in the future when they could do that. In fairness to Alastair, this was his night.
And in fairness to the woman Alastair had loved, Danny had contacted Valentina to let her know when and where the funeral would take place. When he’d known the details himself, Danny had driven over to Norfolk and using his key – years ago Alastair had given both him and Simon keys for Linston End – he had accessed Alastair’s laptop. Knowing of old the password – Getz1927 – he’d found Valentina’s email address and had switched off the computer straightaway. Not for anything would he have invaded his friend’s privacy by reading any of the emails that had been exchanged between the lovers.
That evening, and back at Simon and Sorrel’s, where he and Frankie were still staying, he had emailed Valentina. He received a reply the next morning, the terseness of which bristled with formality and brevity. She thanked him for contacting her, but she would not be attending the funeral.
