‘Really? Talk about bad timing! Does the offer still stand?’
‘It does. Would you like to go out with me one evening this week?’
My heart leapt. ‘I’d love to.’
‘There’s something we should probably talk about now,’ Caleb said, raking his hand across his beard. ‘It doesn’t change how I feel but it’s probably best that you know that I know rather than there be any awkwardness down the line because…’
He broke off and looked down, teasing a clump of grass with his foot.
‘Because?’ I prompted, not a clue where he was going with this.
‘I didn’t mean to look but, when we bumped into each other in Tesco, I couldn’t help noticing the pregnancy test in your basket.’
I clapped my hand over my mouth. So much had happened since then that Caleb seeing the contents of my basket had completely gone out of my mind.
‘You think I’m expecting a baby with Laurie? I’m not pregnant, Caleb.’
‘You’re not?’
‘The test wasn’t for me. It was for Maddie and she’s not pregnant either. False alarm.’
‘Oh! I feel a bit daft now. I saw the test and, with you fainting too, I put two and two together and got eleven.’
‘Don’t feel daft. It would be an easy assumption to make but… Hang on! Did you just say that, if Ihadbeen pregnant, it wouldn’t have changed how you felt?’
He nodded. ‘I began falling for you before I saw the test and I couldn’t just switch that off. If you were interested in me too, it would have added a layer of complexity to things because Laurie would have been a bit more than the ex, but it wouldn’t have changed how I feel.’
Just when I’d thought it wasn’t possible to like Caleb any more than I already did, he said something like that.
‘In case the hearts I added to the butterfly cakes weren’t clear enough, I should probably tell you that I’m falling for you too and you keep saying and doing things that make me fall a little deeper. But I am nervous. I desperately want to kiss you but my last first kiss was when I was eighteen.’
Caleb cupped my face and gently tilted my head upwards. ‘Then I think it’s time we rectified that.’
My first kiss as a forty-six-year-old was the most gentle, tender, heart-melting kiss I’d ever experienced.
‘And my last second kiss was when I was eighteen too,’ I murmured as I tightened my hold around his waist, pulling him closer to me.
‘Better rectify that too,’ he said, drawing me into a second kiss that left us both breathless.
‘I have another confession to make,’ I said as we set off walking again, hand in hand. ‘I asked the farm to work its magic and make it happen for us.’
He squeezed my hand. ‘I might have asked the farm for the same thing. I told you this place was magical.’
It really was. We’d only been here for a month and already it had given me closure, helped heal my broken family, reunited me with my best friend and brought me love. It was early days and I wasn’t ready to sayI love youjust yet but, given the strength of my feelings for Caleb – especially after those kisses – I suspected it wouldn’t be long before we both said those three wonderful words.
* * *
It was past eleven when I crept back into the farmhouse. Mam had sent me a text to say she hoped it had gone well and would see me in the morning. Jude had also messaged me good night but I could see Maddie’s light on under her door. Nova, Skye and Clemmie had followed me upstairs as usual so I let them into my bedroom and put my nightie on while the dogs settled on the bed and Clemmie – now cone-free – perched on the foot of the bed cleaning her paws.
‘You three stay here,’ I said. ‘I’m going to say good night to Maddie and then I’ll be back.’
A gentle knock on my door surprised me.
‘Come in!’ I called.
Maddie poked her head around the door. ‘I heard you getting back. Have you got a few minutes?’
‘Sure. I was just coming to say good night to you.’
