Gus grinned and took her hand, tugging her towards the bed. She went willingly, laughing as he pulled her down on top of him, his lips familiar and warm as they moved against hers. It felt like they’d been together forever, even though she’d only left the city to go with him a week earlier. She’d packed up her life in one afternoon, giving her housemates enough to cover the rent for the next month so they didn’t hate her for leaving, and since then she’d barely left Gus’s side.
‘No,’ he confessed when he finally let her go. ‘I haven’t told them yet. But only because I don’t want them to ruin what we have. I’m liking it being just the two of us.’
‘It’s fine.’ She stroked her fingers up and down his arm, trying not to feel hurt. ‘I just, I knew we were going to keep our work secret from them, I just didn’t know thatI’dbe a secret, too.’ She knew it wasn’t that he was embarrassed by her; he’d told her repeatedly how difficult they could be, but she’d still expected to meet them.
‘I was thinking you could meet my sister first,’ Gus said, drawing her up so she could lean against him, his arms looselyaround her. ‘She’s the most similar to me, and I think you’d like her.’
‘Can she keep a secret?’ Hope asked, as her heart ignited at the thought of meeting his sister.
‘If there’s one thing my sister is good at, it’s keeping secrets. She won’t tell them about you, I promise, although she will probably demand to be taken out for ice cream.’ Gus’s brows knitted together. ‘But she can’t know about our work secret, only about you. When she’s older we can tell her, but not yet.’
Hope liked the way he talked about his sister—it never failed to light up his face. Whereas when he talked about his parents, he became more reserved. She also liked how much he wanted to protect her. Her father had always told her he was protecting her and doing what was best for her, but with Gus, she actually felt that he wanted to look after her. Not to mention she couldn’t ever imagine him laying a hand on her.
‘But how about we talk less about my sister and more about how beautiful you look when you draw?’ he said, teasing her as he ran a hand lightly down her arm. ‘There’s something about seeing you deep in concentration.’
Hope stilled, her body reacting to his touch, butterflies releasing in her stomach. Since she’d moved with him, Gus had been the perfect gentleman. For their first few days here, he’d given her the bed and slept on a makeshift bed on the floor; he’d kissed her but never pushed for more. And as much as she wanted him to take that next step, she also liked that he didn’t want her to do any more than she was comfortable with.
The trouble was that shewantedmore, and she didn’t know how to tell him. She turned a little, reaching for him, swallowing as she fought for the right words, but before she could form them, Gus spoke. Her friends from Paris would have laughed at her predicament—it seemed that they were all happy to takedifferent lovers whenever they felt like it, which had always made her feel woefully inexperienced.
‘I’m going to the distillery tonight,’ he said. ‘Would you like to come with me?’
Hope’s heart began to race, and this time it had nothing to do with the proximity of Gus’s body next to hers. It might not be the night she’d thought they’d have together, but it wasn’t any less exciting.
‘Yes,’ she whispered, anticipation pooling in her belly as she imagined sneaking out in the dead of night with him and walking to the old building where he housed all his equipment and product.
Gus pulled her farther back into his arms and pressed his lips to hers, and all Hope could do was kiss him back and marvel at just how dull her life had been before he’d arrived and turned everything upside down. She’d fought for independence, had dreamed of a bigger life, and Gus had walked into her world and changed everything—for the better.
Hope didn’t know what to expect, and she wondered if Gus had felt this way when she’d taken him to her studio. Excitement grew inside her as they neared the building, and if it weren’t for the moonlight and the torch Gus was carrying, it would have been pitch-black.
Her pulse raced as they stood at the huge sliding timber door, and she glanced up at the crumbling brick facade, wondering how he’d managed to lease this building without anyone discovering what he was doing. He was hiding in plain sight, and she wasn’t sure if that was genius or terrifying. Or maybe both.
She stood close to him as he opened the door, the key rattling in the lock until he finally got it, and when they stepped in she couldn’t place the smell, other than thinking it smelt old. And musty. Hope inhaled, picturing a shabby interior as Gus left her in the dark, disappearing with the torch while she stood and breathed and waited. Then the first oil lamp was lit, the smell of the match tingeing the air with smoke, and within seconds he’d lit another.
Hope gasped; she couldn’t help it. What she’d expected would be ramshackle and disorderly was actually the mostorderlyproduction system she could have imagined. There were two benches covered in glass jars, and then large pieces of equipment that she guessed were for the distilling of the absinthe.
By the time Gus returned to her side, her eyes were wide and her smile even wider. This was much more impressive than she could ever have envisioned.
‘What do you think?’ he asked, an uncertain edge to his voice that she’d never heard before.
Hope shook her head. ‘I think,’ she said, ‘that I’m impressed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.’
Gus indicated for her to follow him, and she did, crossing the stone floor to the far bench. He gestured to the bottles and the herbs hanging from where he’d strung them.
‘Herbs are everything when it comes to making absinthe,’ he said, ‘which is why I have so many here. Wormwood is the most important, but I also use green anise, fennel, star anise, lemon balm and spearmint…’ He looked up at her and laughed. ‘Well, a lot of herbs. You’ll become familiar with them as we work.’
She moved slowly, lifting her hand to touch some of the hanging herbs, then inspecting the jars of others. Light from the oil lamps danced across her fingers when she looked at them, making everything seem just that bit more magical.
‘You can paint here while I distil, if you want. We could set up an easel and make a space for you, and?—’
She shook her head and reached for his hand. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I want to work side by side, here, with you. If we’re going to do this together, then let’s do thistogether.’
His blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he squeezed her hand back.
‘Now show me the finished product,’ Hope said. ‘I want to know everything and see every stage.’
Gus grinned and led her towards a large vat, taking the lid off and showing her the clear liquid. She peered in, wondering if her eyes were tricking her in the dancing light, but it was crystal clear.
‘But it’s not green,’ she said, confused. ‘Is this one gin?’
