‘I thought you’d be painting, although I’m not going to complain. You’ve done so much.’
‘I always thought that painting was what brought me the most joy, but now that I look back, it was the only thing I had,’ she told him. ‘It was the one thing in the world that was mine and mine alone, and I do still love holding a paintbrush or drawing.’
He turned to her with a wry grin. ‘But?’
She felt the sparkle in her eyes as she grinned straight back at him. ‘But I love this more.’
He laughed and shook his head, but she didn’t miss the proud smile he gave her. He’d somehow known she’d love it, and he’d been right.
‘Besides, you did say you wanted to be business partners, didn’t you?’ she asked, as he reached for the last few bottles that needed to be packaged into the next crate and passed them to her.
Gus stopped and met her gaze. ‘I want you by my side always,’ he said. ‘I’m so proud of you, Hope.’
Her heart felt like it had doubled in size in response to his praise, and she smiled to herself as she covered the last of the bottles in straw then stood with her hands on her hips.
‘Dinner?’ she asked, gesturing to the wicker basket that she’d packed earlier, full of cheese and fresh bread, pickles and even a bottle of wine.
Gus stepped towards her then and caught her around the waist, kissing her again, more fiercely this time. ‘I love you,’ he whispered, taking hold of her hands and pressing a kiss to them, too.
Hope slipped from his grasp, taking the basket and beckoning for him to follow. There was a window at the back of the building and she’d propped it open and already placed two overturned crates there so they could sit in the breeze. They were facing the countryside here, so there were no prying eyes to see them.
‘Hope, I’ve been thinking,’ Gus said.
She set the basket down, sitting on one of the crates and looking up at him.
‘I don’t like hiding you away, as if I’m not proud of you or that you’re somehow not good enough to be part of my world,’ he said. ‘I’ve been selfish.’
She blinked back at him, not sure whether she was relieved or terrified at what he might be about to say next.
‘I’d like you to meet my family. It’s time.’
He could have dropped a pin and she’d have heard it, the barn was suddenly so quiet.
Gus leaned forward, reaching for her hands. ‘What do you say? Could we go there for dinner together, so you can meet them? Should I arrange a night?’
Hope found herself nodding, because it was what she’d wanted all this time, even if the thought did make her nervous.
‘They’ll love you just like I do, I know it.’ He took out the bottle of wine and gave her the sweetest smile, it almost broke her heart. ‘How could they not?’
Hope prayed he was right, but something told her that making his parents like her wasn’t going to be easy.
20
Hope stood with Gus, staring at all the wooden crates loaded into the back of the truck. The driver was delivering crates of apples, which he was soon to pack and load all around their bottles, and Hope knew a sense of pride that she couldn’t ever remember having felt before. It felt better than when she’d completed her first painting, or even when she’d received her first paycheque in Paris, or leaving home and boarding the train on her own.Thiswas something. This was the culmination of the two of them working side by side to create a product that was in demand, a spirit that would make them a small fortune and give her the independence she’d always craved.
‘How do you feel?’ Gus asked, his eyes brighter than she’d ever seen them before.
‘I feel giddy with success,’ she said, grinning up at him. Strangely, despite her independence, she felt younger and more carefree than she ever had before. She felt alive.
Gus kissed her cheek and once the driver had disappeared down the dark lane, he reached for her and spun her in his arms. His mouth was quick to find hers, and Hope was breathless before she knew it, still wondering how she’d ever become so lucky to meet Gus, marvelling at just how different her life wouldbe if she hadn’t agreed to have a drink with him that night, so many months before. Or if she hadn’t been brave enough to go with him.
‘I have news,’ he said, when he finally let her go.
‘What kind of news?’
‘We’re going to my parents’ house tomorrow night,’ he said. ‘My mother was thrilled that she’ll be meeting you at last. She said she thought my absence from her dinner table was related to me courting a special lady, so the timing couldn’t have been better.’
Hope should have felt excited that she was finally being invited into that part of his life, but instead she felt dread in her stomach. In the beginning, she’d hated being hidden away, but she’d quickly come to realise how much she loved the little cocoon they’d created for themselves, tucked away from the rest of the world.
