‘Why not?’
His tone, a mix of determination with a dash of hurt, caught her off guard. ‘Because it’ll just complicate things.’
He opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head firmly. ‘Look, it’s been a really long few days and I’m tired. I just want to get some sleep.’
‘Okay,’ he said, stepping back. ‘You’re right. Maybe we both need to sleep on it and talk about it later.’
She’d rather not talk about it—she’d rather never speak of it again—but for now, she’d take that and call it a win. ‘Goodnight,’ she said, letting out a relieved breath when he gave her a wave and left the room without further comment.
As she climbed into bed a short time later, she admitted the truth to herself: she really didn’t regret the kiss.
And that was what scared her.
Twenty-two
Kenzie opened her eyes to the sound of dogs barking and voices calling, and whistling somewhere in the distance. A little closer was a chorus of magpies chortling a morning song, and Kenzie enjoyed the brief moment of solitude. Her mind went back to the kiss the previous afternoon and she touched her fingertips to her lips, knowing it had to be her imagination that she could still feel them tingling. When a simple kiss elicited that kind of reaction after all this time, how could she deny the attraction lingering between her and Ewan?
What would have happened if his phone hadn’t rung when it had? If she was being completely honest, caught up in the moment the way she’d been, she wasn’t sure she would have wanted to stop at just a kiss. Would they have ended up in bed? Good lord, right next door to her child and his mother! Whatwas happening to her common sense? Ewan had robbed her of it, stirring up something that had been dormant inside her, and she wasn’t quite sure what it meant.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet.
Then suddenly she realised it wastooquiet.
By now, Poppy would usually be bursting through the door, looking for breakfast or a shoe—or both—but, so far, she hadn’t heard a peep from next door. Throwing the covers off, she climbed out of bed and walked to the connecting door, opening it quietly to find Poppy’s bed empty.
Her initial moment of panic was quickly tempered by the fact that there was a house full of adults. This wasn’t her apartment, where an unsupervised child could be a real concern. But still … where the hell was she?
Kenzie quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, pausing to stop in the bathroom to splash water on her face and try to restore some order to her bedhead hair. Then she retraced her steps from the night before and headed downstairs.
The house really was beautiful, she thought, taking in some of the details she hadn’t noticed the day before. Ornately decorated pressed metal ceilings graced every room, as well as timber panelling on the walls. Everywhere she looked, it was like stepping back in time. She couldn’t help but think again how spectacular this would be for a wedding venue. She could imagine a bride, dressed in a white flowing gown, poised at the top of the stairs, ready to sweep her way down in a grand entrance.
As she reached the bottom, Kenzie followed the hum of low voices, making her way past the sitting room they’d been in the afternoon before, through the grand entrance and along a hallway, through an open door and to a kitchen that stepped down into a glassed conservatory, which in turn opened up onto an immaculately manicured lawn and garden.
Peggy glanced up as she walked into the kitchen and smiled, nodding towards the three people seated at the breakfast table in the conservatory. Kenzie took in the dark-haired little girl swinging her legs happily as she chatted while stabbing at some bacon on her plate. Her gaze moved to the man beside her, and she bit the inside of her lip as she caught the tender look on his rugged face—a face so much like his daughter’s. Looking on was Vera, coffee mug in hand, listening indulgently as the four-year-old prattled on. It was a heartwarming picture.
‘Can I get you a coffee?’ Peggy asked from beside her, drawing the other two adults’ attention as they looked up.
Kenzie turned to the woman and nodded, ‘Yes, please.’
‘Mummy!’
‘Good morning, Kenzie,’ Vera said as Kenzie took the few steps down and crossed to the table to hug her daughter to her waist, kissing the top of her head.
‘I’m sorry, I must have slept in. I usually get woken up by my own personal alarm clock here,’ she said, looking down at Poppy.
‘We thought we’d let you have a lie-in this morning,’ Vera said. ‘We’ve been having a lovely time.’
‘Thank you for taking care of her. I hope she hasn’t been talking your ear off too much.’ She felt a little awkward that she hadn’t been aware her child had got up, got dressed and eaten while she slept on obliviously right next door.
‘It’s our pleasure,’ Vera assured her.
‘Take a seat, love. Here’s your coffee, and I’ll bring your plate over in a sec,’ Peggy instructed, handing her a mug.
Kenzie didn’t have a chance to object, as Peggy had already turned away, leaving her standing there, so she pulled out a seat between Vera and Ewan.
She sent him a quick glance, her breath catching a little suddenly as she found him watching her, a small smile touching his lips. She busied herself settling into her seat and averted her gaze. His nearness was creating havoc with her ability to function like a grown adult.It was just a kiss for goodness’ sake, she reminded herself firmly.Stop it.
‘We’ve just been discussing our plans for this morning,’ Vera said as Peggy reappeared with a plate of bacon, eggs, toast and fried tomato and placed it in front of Kenzie. ‘We thought maybe a walk in the garden?’
