Leo was getting the feeling that Mab would have liked to go with Nina for moral support, but eventually, after pacing around the living room for a while, she said that she was going to give the garden a final once-over and left him on the phone trying to get through to a real person rather than a recorded message.Leo signalled to her to wait – he really needed to sort out the delivery company who were not returning his calls but he was rapidly losing the will to live.She shrugged, smiled up at him rather distractedly and left the room.
Leo sighed and slammed the handset into its cradle.This was getting him nowhere; all he was getting was one automated voice after another, and now Mab had escaped again, just when he’d planned a bit of time on his own with her.He knew she wasn’t happy, but he never seemed to get Mab to himself these days.Could she be avoiding him, and if so, why would she?Leo was finding that he missed the easy banter that the two of them had enjoyed in the early days of their partnership.She hadn’t teased him for ages and he’d caught her looking at him with a rather sad droop to her pretty mouth that didn’t suit her at all.
He found Mab in the garden, standing on a wobbly footstool tying tendrils of clematis securely onto the trellis.Leo couldn’t help noticing that Mab was wearing much tighter jeans than usual.Her favourite ones were old and baggy, patched to within an inch of their lives, but this pair looked brand new; black and slim-legged, they hugged her bottom closely, and Leo thought that it was a bottom definitely worth hugging.He stood and admired the whole effect for a moment, and felt an urgent need to touch her as she reached above her head.The thin blue muslin shirt tied under her ribs revealed just a glimpse of smooth midriff as she carried on with her work, stretching up to the highest slats.Long curls of Mab’s chestnut hair were escaping from her untidy topknot, and Leo gazed, spellbound, deeply aware of her sensual femininity.He had always thought that she was pretty, but that was as far as he’d let his descriptive powers go.Now, the sight of her naked tummy and the faint scent of vanilla from the bubble bath that she loved caught him unawares, and he reached out a hand to steady her.
‘Bloody hell, Mab, be careful, pet.That stool’s about a hundred years old and it’s probably full of wood worm.You should let me do that job.I can reach without putting my life at risk.’
Mab grinned down at him, and Leo wondered if there was something seriously wrong with him.He felt light-headed, and his mouth was suddenly painfully dry.He took a deep breath to calm himself.What was all this about?It must be just withdrawal symptoms because he’d not seen Sophie for so long.Frustration could do funny things to a bloke, he reflected.His time with Sophie hadn’t helped in that respect, come to think of it.Somehow, her schoolgirl figure had begun to irritate him, and she spent far more time making herself beautiful than cuddling her fiancé these days.Mab put one hand on Leo’s shoulder as she teetered on the stool.He found himself wishing that he could just grab her by the waist, pull her down, and… she interrupted his chain of thoughts.
‘Oh, Leo, you’ve just come at the right time, can you pass the secateurs, please?I forgot to put them in my pocket and I don’t want to let go of this bit of plant, whatever it is.I’ve just got it in the right place.’
He laughed.‘I don’t think there’s room for secateurs in those pockets, Mab.You’re taking all the room up yourself.’
Even to Leo’s ears, that remark hadn’t seemed to come out right, and he wasn’t surprised when Mab flushed a deep red, and snapped, ‘So you think my new jeans are too tight?Are you saying I’m fat?’
‘N… no, just the opposite… you look… gorgeous, Ms Millington,’ Leo stuttered, trying not to blush himself, ‘but might I just ask, have you completed a health and safety check on the activity that you’re undertaking?As you know, the punishments are severe if regulations are contravened.’
Mab dimpled at him, and Leo breathed a sigh of relief.‘Full survey not completed as yet, sir, but just out of interest, what is punishment likely to be?’
‘Well, it depends on the bottom of the person involved, madam.’
‘In what way exactly?’
‘It’s like this.If the bottom of… how shall I put it… the offender… is large and wobbly, then the punishment is a full scrubbing of the kitchen floor.’
‘And if the bottom isn’t either of those things?’
‘Ah, now, that’s a different matter entirely.If the bottom is firm, taut and utterly desirable, the punishment is…’
‘Yes?’Mab sounded slightly breathless.Leo gave in to temptation, reached up and lifted her down from the stool.
‘…just one kiss.’
The moments that followed put all thoughts of Sophie out of Leo’s mind.Mab was in a totally different league, curvy and intensely feminine, although somehow, she felt fragile in his arms.His hands shook slightly as he slowly took the slides and combs from her hair, letting it fall in heavy curls around her shoulders.How often had he longed to do that?She moaned softly as Leo lifted her hair away from her face before kissing her neck and throat with as much gentleness as he could manage.Gradually, he brought her even closer to him, and soon, she was wrapped tightly in his arms.Time seemed to stand still as heat flowed from one to the other and their hips moved gently, adjusting to the unfamiliar feel of each other.Leo bent to Mab’s lips and soon she was kissing him back with a ferocity that he’d only imagined.Leo saw stars behind his closed eyes.This was bliss, but after a moment or two, Mab pushed him away so hard that he staggered backwards.
‘Mab!Don’t do that, pet.I didn’t mean to upset you…’
But Mab had fled, dodging between the tables and heading for the outer door.She paused for a second, looked around wildly, and then ran back upstairs, slamming the door behind her.Leo sat down suddenly on the footstool, which, as predicted, collapsed in a pile of shattered legs and splinters.What was it about this woman that made him continually destroy furniture?He clambered to his feet and wondered whether to chase after her.After a moment’s thought, he decided to let Mab calm down for a while.She was right to get as far away from him as possible.It had been totally out of order, that kiss.He was engaged to a beautiful girl, for heaven’s sake.What was he doing playing away?He was sure that Sophie would never dream of such a thing, even if she didn’t really seem to fancy him any more.Leo thought of the slender, gorgeous young person that would soon be his wife, for as long as they both should live.Somehow, the thought was not terribly comforting.His body ached for Mab.Now what was he going to do?
* * *
Half an hour later, when Leo had cooled down, drunk a pot of strong coffee and finally managed to get hold of the book delivery company, he was told to his horror that his large order of both fiction and non-fiction had been cancelled for no apparent reason.Panic-stricken, he rang the suppliers, who were adamant that Leo had withdrawn the order himself by email.This meant that even if he reordered immediately, the consignment of books would now not be delivered until after the opening date.He complained bitterly and loudly, and the supplier said if Leo was going to cause problems, he could take his custom elsewhere.The opening day was just around the corner now and Leo was distraught.Where could he possibly get the rest of his stock from?Frantically, he rang round as many different suppliers as he could find.At lunchtime, he finally threw in the towel, and decided to ask Harry if he would be prepared to collect books from various different sources in the van over the next few days, which unfortunately would take away a valuable chunk of their labour force.But then he remembered that Harry was due to return to Newcastle very soon.His dad’s own business would need him by now, surely?But what could he do?The shop must be ready to open on time even if Leo had to work day and night to make it happen.
Harry burst into the flat at this point, sniffing the air hopefully.
‘What’s for lunch?I fancied a bacon butty.Where are Mab and Nina?’
‘Long story, give me a minute and we’ll get some bacon frying, but I need to talk to you, Dad, as soon as possible.This is a disaster.’
Harry clattered around the kitchen as he listened to Leo’s tale of woe.
‘I hope this doesn’t mean you’re losing your nerve, son?’he said, slapping thick slices of bread onto plates and reaching for the ketchup.‘I reckon I’ve got one answer to the problem anyway.’
‘Oh?’
‘Don’t say it like that, lad, just listen.I’m really impressed with the way our Josh is shaping up in the business, according to Alex, so I’ve decided to stay here a bit longer, until the opening day’s over anyway.’
Leo swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked hard.‘But Dad…’
