22
The restof the day passed in a lovely blur that went by far too quickly for Grace’s liking.
Once they returned to the little village from where they’d set off on their walk, they reunited with Miriam at her friend’s gift shop, where the two women were happily chatting over tea and biscuits in the office at the back. After saying goodbye to her friend and joining them outside, Miriam had smiled knowingly when she’d seen Ryan’s hand slip into Grace’s, and had given her a warm wink which had left Grace both blushing and grinning.
After depositing Miriam’s haul of purchases from her friend’s shop into the car, they decided it was lunchtime. They chose one of the pretty pubs in the village and settled down to a meal of soup and toasted sandwiches, while Stanley was treated to a special dog pub lunch sold in pouches at the bar for canine guests.
Eating and talking with Ryan and his grandmother was so easy, and Grace felt like she’d known them all her life, rather than for only a few short days.
Once lunch was over, they enjoyed a leisurely stroll around a trail route that looped around the northern edge of the village, and which was a far easier proposition for Miriam than thewalk that Grace and Ryan had completed that morning. Miriam clearly enjoyed watching Stanley scurrying here and there, and barking at interesting things along the path, and generally keeping them all amused with his antics, and she seemed as charmed by the pooch as Grace and Ryan were.
With their walking done for the day, Ryan suggested a drive around the countryside so his grandmother could enjoy more of the views and the scenery. Half an hour later, this led to another inevitable pit stop when they passed a lovely café in a tiny hamlet and which lured them in with a pink pastel sign outside which boasted about their famous home baking.
Over coffee and cake, Grace chatted with Miriam, and laughed as Ryan tossed dog treats to Stanley who sat begging beside their café table, and decided that this was probably the best day she’d had in a very long time.
It was early evening when they returned to Hamblehurst. Ryan parked outside his house and they all got out of the car. When Ryan invited her inside, Grace accepted instantly.
She wasn’t ready to go home yet, and she wasn’t ready for her day with Ryan to be over.
Miriam put the kettle on while Stanley scampered around the dining area before plonking himself on the floor in the space where his new bed had lain last night.
“I should’ve brought Stanley’s bed along,” Grace said.
“Or maybe we ought to buy another bed, so he has one here, too,” Ryan said, and gave her a smile. “If he’s going to be a regular guest for the next few days, and I hope he is, then we ought to make sure he’s comfortable.”
Grace returned his smile, her stomach performing excited flips at the idea of spending more time with Ryan. Throughout the day, she’d kept thinking about what he’d said about using her time off work to do something that wasn’t about work. Yesterday, that idea would have struck her as madness. Now, itwas the idea of working during her time off that sounded mad. The turnaround left her head spinning at the sudden mental shift.
And spinning, too, because of Ryan, who was the reason why that turnaround had happened in the first place.
Miriam must have spied the way Grace was looking at her grandson, because she clapped her hands together and gave a warm chuckle.
“I’m so pleased that you two have decided to give each other a whirl,” she said, beaming at them both. “And it’s just wonderful to see young love blooming!”
“Grandma, please,” Ryan winced. “You’re embarrassing us.”
“Nonsense,” she said, and waved her hand as if batting his comment away. “Now, I’ll leave you in charge of brewing the tea, Grace. I must go and pop my slippers on before my feet give me any more grief. You’ll find my Earl Grey tea bags in that box on the counter. Make sure mine is nice and strong, dear.”
Miriam left the kitchen, humming to herself. Over by the sofa in the dining area, Stanley was already snoring on the floor, the absence of his cosy bed no impediment to sleep after his busy day out. While Grace poured hot water into the teapot and added one of Miriam’s special Earl Grey tea bags into a separate mug, Ryan fetched milk from the fridge and set up a tray.
She felt his gaze on her as she stirred the pot and Miriam’s mug. When she looked up, the expression on his face was a mixture of warmth spiced with something more darkly alluring.
“I like seeing you here, in my house, in my kitchen,” Ryan said, moving closer and pulling her into his arms.
“It’s a really nice house and a really nice kitchen,” she laughed.
Her laughter turned into a soft sigh as Ryan dipped his head and kissed her, thoroughly and with a passion he’d only hinted at when they’d shared that first sweet kiss while huddledtogether on the bench overlooking the views across the verdant grasslands. When the kiss ended and he rested his forehead against hers and pulled her closer into his embrace, Grace felt like she was floating on cloud nine.
“You’ll stay for dinner tonight, won’t you?” he asked.
“I’d love to.”
“I thought we could order pizza. Give Grandma the night off from cooking duties.”
Grace laughed, then sobered a little as she thought of Miriam. “She seemed a little tired when we got home just now. I think keeping her out of the kitchen is a good idea.”
“She knows how to pace herself. She doesn’t like it, but she knows she has to do it.” Ryan stepped away and lifted the tea things onto the tray. “Let’s get this tea through to her. It’s been almost three hours since her last cup of Earl Grey, and we’re in dangerous code red territory at this point.”
Laughing at his joke, Grace followed him through to the main living room at the other side of the house, where Miriam was already seated on the sofa with her slippers on and rummaging through the bags of purchases she’d made at her friend’s gift shop that morning. Roused by their relocation to the other room, Stanley followed on Grace’s heels and found a new spot to flop down on the carpet in front of the fireplace.
