‘I said did you fancy doing a jigsaw?’
‘A jigsaw?’
‘Yes, those funny little wooden things that all fit together.’
‘I know what a jigsaw is, Conor.’ She laughed. ‘I didn’t have you down as a jigsaw sort of person.’
‘Oh you can have a lot of fun with a jigsaw.’ He waggled his eyebrows in a ridiculously lascivious way that had her laughing.
‘I’ll take your word for it. I haven’t done one in years.’
‘They’re curiously addictive. I always put one in every cottage and you’d be surprised how often people do them.’
He got to his feet and crossed to one of the wooden cupboards built in on either side of the pretty Victorian fireplace and pulled out a box with a quaint harbour scene on the front.
‘That’s sweet.’
He opened the box and pulled out a purple drawstring bag.
‘And posh.’
‘This is a Wentworth puzzle; they’re made of wood. Smell.’
Surprisingly, there was the smell of freshly cut wood and as the pieces spilled from the bag, she spotted various shapes – a piece like an anchor, a beach hut, a fish, and even a pair of sunglasses.
‘It’s gorgeous.’ She laughed, picking up another piece shaped like a turtle.
It was also fiendishly difficult, she discovered, as they started with finding the edge pieces. Despite sifting carefully through the box, there didn’t seem to be any corner ones.
Once they started, she realised that it really was rather soothing and completely addictive… and that Conor was up to no good. It took her a while to notice that as he reached across her to place a piece, he’d casually skim a hand across her stomach, under her breast, across her breast.
Seduction by jigsaw was definitely a new one on her but she wasn’t complaining.
Chapter Twenty
She was convinced the hens were pleased to see her on Monday morning as they came rushing out of the hen coop.
‘Did you miss me, girls?’ she asked, as they fussed around her feet, Attila already pecking at her toes as if to say,get a move on. Hannah scattered a few scraps to save her feet. ‘How are you today? Have you had a good weekend?’ She gave herself a little shiver, thinking about just how good her weekend had been. This morning her whole body felt soft and pliable. She’d never look at another jigsaw in quite the same way again, that was for sure.
‘Good morning, Hannah.’ Adrienne appeared, as if from nowhere in that spooky habit she had.
‘Hi.’ Hannah’s voice squeaked with a touch of guilt, blushing as she thought of waking up with Conor in her bed this morning and the long, slow, lovely kiss he’d greeted her with as she was worrying about her breath. He’d made her coffee and they’d sat at the little patio table, even though it was a little chilly, looking out at the sea, pearl-grey today under a flat sky. It was possibly the best start to any day she’d ever had.
‘You look refreshed. Obviously a good weekend,’ observed Adrienne, interrupting her wayward thoughts.
‘Yes. Yes, it was. Erm… Conor took me to Dingle. To see the dolphin. Kayaking. I had no idea there was a dolphin. We went to the fish place. The family one. It was good. And… yes, Dingle. It’s lovely.’ The words tumbled out in guilty haste, providing quick bullets of more information than was required while avoiding spitting out the other facts.We had sex. Several times. Who knew a jigsaw could be sexy? And did you know, that shower is big enough for two?
‘Flannery’s Fish Box. That’s a grand place. What did you eat?’
Hannah was relieved and amused. Of course Adrienne was only interested in the food.
‘I had the prawn stir fry. I love seafood and it was really good.’
‘There’s nothing quite like really fresh fish. It’ll spoil you for anything else. You’ll never want to leave.’ Her eyes met Hannah’s, guileless and open, but her words held a certain weight about them, as if she were declaring a truth. They pricked at Hannah, reminding her of the careless thought of Saturday night – what if she stayed?
‘We’ll be cooking with fish one week. It’s one of my favourite weeks. If the weather’s fine, we’ll go out on John Malley’s fishing boat to see a catch. A day trip.’ Hannah could have predicted her next words.
‘As you know I like my students to see where food comes from. We’re plenty blessed here with an abundance of seafood. Now, I must leave you; we’ve another busy week.’
