He urgently tapped his steering wheel and glanced at the dashboard clock. It was six p.m. They were supposed to be meeting at the Inn for seven thirty. He’d be leaving the motorway at the next junction. Looking in his rear mirror, he was relieved to see the hire van still behind him. Together they were driving to Cassie’s parents, then he had to unload all the boxes into the barn being used for storage. Time was against him.
At last they had vacated the motorway and were heading along the country roads leading to the Wrights’ farm. Rory had phoned Cassie to tell her he’d be late. Fortunately, she and her parents were ready and waiting for him when he arrived, and immediately calm swept over him when seeing them all there, ready to help unload.
‘Traffic’s been a nightmare,’ he said, getting out of his car.
Cassie gave him a hug. ‘Never mind, you’re safely here now.’
He quickly kissed her before turning to her parents. ‘Thanks again for letting me use your barn.’
‘No problem. Come on, let’s get unpacked,’ Cassie’s dad replied.
‘You’ll have to go soon,’ warned Cassie, looking at her watch. ‘You’ve only got an hour until the stag do.’
‘I know, let’s move.’
After half an hour, with everyone’s help, all the boxes had been shifted into the barn. The van driver had gone and Rory had to make his way back to the Inn. He badly needed a shower.
‘You two go quick,’ said Cassie’s mum. ‘We’ll lock up here, go on.’ She hurried them away.
Arriving at the Inn, Rory pelted up the stairs straight to Cassie’s room and dived into the shower. Within fifteen minutes flat he was washed, dressed and raring to go. Cassie marvelled at how good he looked, with such little time to get ready. He wore dark jeans with a smart pale grey shirt, slightly opened to reveal a glimpse of dark hair. A spicy citrus fragrance wafted from him and his curls had been towel-dried, still slightly damp but enviably falling into place without need of styling. He quickly looked at his watch.
‘Only five minutes late.’
‘Don’t worry, they won’t all be here yet,’ assured Cassie. It was her night off, which she was pleased about. The last thing she wanted to do was cramp the stag do, wandering around the hotel on shift. Instead, she had a relaxing night ahead of her which consisted of a long hot bubble bath, a glass of wine and a good book. Rory came over to give her a kiss.
‘Tomorrow, we’ll talk,’ he said before placing his lips on hers. After a sensuous kiss, Cassie frowned at what he had just said.
‘Talk about what?’ she asked.
He raised an eyebrow.
‘You tell me,’ he replied.
‘Rory?’
‘Gotta go, see ya, Pixie.’ And with that he quickly left, leaving Cassie in deep thought.
Downstairs in the bar, Fletcher’s voice could be heard booming across the room. Already he was in fine form. On seeing Rory enter he called out.
‘What are you drinking, Rory?’
Rory looked a tad surprised at how familiar Fletcher seemed, given as he had only met him a couple of times. Jasper gave him a knowing look and laughed, confident that by the end of the night, Fletcher would be everybody’s best mate.
‘Err… I’ll have a pint of Hen Harrier, thanks,’ replied Rory.
‘Good choice!’ bellowed back Fletcher.
Jasper made his way over to Rory. ‘Thanks for coming.’
‘Thanks for the invite, sorry I’m late. I’ve only just got back from London.’
‘Finally made the move then?’ Jasper smiled.
‘Yeah,’ replied Rory, ‘and it feels good. Very good. Now I just need to find the perfect place to live.’
Jasper nodded. He knew from Adira that Rory was looking locally and it made him think.
‘There you go,’ Fletcher butted in and passed Rory his drink.
