“No. I told them that I was making you a pizza in your house. We agreed that the contents of your fridge isn’t reliable.” He put a slice of pizza on her plate. “Nice people. Excellent quality produce. They welcomed me to the village and suggested I call into the bakery tomorrow and pick up something for breakfast. They also told me to buy a couple of coffees because you never have milk in the fridge. Apparently the bakery is owned by a family member. I forget the name.”
“Lucy,” Evie said faintly. “She’s Alice’s cousin.”
“That’s it. Lucy.” He sat down opposite her. “They said cinnamon swirls are your favourite. I said they sounded perfect because we’d be using up a lot of calories tonight that would need replenishing.”
“You saidwhat? Are you serious? I’m going to have to move.” She put her hands over her face and then let them drop. “You do realise you’re going to have to wear a disguise and leave before dawn, don’t you?”
“I won’t be wearing a disguise. And I plan on occupying your bed right until the last possible moment. And then I’llbuy cinnamon swirls and probably go out into the street and perhaps sing and dance, so that no one misses the fact that I’m leaving your cottage wearing the same clothes I arrived in tonight.”
“Are you trying to make some sort of point?”
“Yes. I’m showing you that I’m comfortable with the whole world knowing I’m making you pizza and then hanging around to make you breakfast.”
Something shifted inside her. She felt a swell of emotion. Part of her was appalled but another part of her, the larger part, was touched. He was showing her that he was relaxed about the whole thing.
“You’re going to regret this.”
“No, I won’t.” He sounded sure. “You don’t have to creep around looking over your shoulder for my benefit, and if someone knocks on your door I will not be hiding in the cupboard or climbing out of your window naked.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. To cover her emotion, she kept it light.
“I’ve seen you naked. The locals are missing out. Wait—” She stared at him suspiciously as something dawned on her. “You’re saying all this to distract me, aren’t you?”
“Yes. You’re upset and I thought you needed to focus on something other than your crappy day.”
“So none of the above is true?”
“Oh, it’s all true.” He helped himself to pizza. “I’m distracting you by telling you the truth. Are you going to eat this? Because I don’t want to have to tell Alice that you didn’t like her tomatoes.”
She reached for the slice he’d given her. “Fine, but you are responsible for what happens next. Don’t come complaining to me when the whole village wants regular updates on our relationship journey.”
“I won’t be complaining. I thought I might start a blog. It might save time.” He took a bite of pizza. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me why you feel officially terrible.”
“Because I was angry with Abby. When she said she’d been sending reports to her mother, I was furious. It felt like such a betrayal.” Evie rubbed her forehead. “I felt exposed and defensive, and I assumed—”
“You assumed she’d said bad things about you.”
“Not only me. The whole team. But the team is my responsibility so in a way yes, me. It all reflects on me.” She took a bite of pizza and moaned. “Oh my—how did you—this is—”
“This is comfort food. You looked as if you needed comfort food.” He put another slice on her plate. “I’m guessing from your sudden bout of self-flagellation that she hasn’t said bad things?”
“No. Far from it. It’s better than any end of year school report I ever had. They always readEvie would do better if she talked less.” She ate the second slice of pizza. “This is delicious. You truly are a genius. I can’t believe you made it in my kitchen.”
“A pizza oven would have been better, but this is still better than those frozen abominations you buy. Can I read what she said?”
“No! It’s embarrassing.”
“I thought you said it was good.”
“It is good. Embarrassingly good. Letting you read it will feel like boasting.”
He shook his head. “Just give me the laptop.”
She pushed the laptop towards him and focused on the pizza, trying not to feel self-conscious.
“Evie has done an extraordinarily good job under challenging circumstances and without support from management,” he read. “Despite a lack of experience she demonstrates excellent leadership and communication skills and her ideas are—”
“Maybe don’t read it aloud. I’m blushing.”
