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She glanced at it briefly. ‘A love seat?’
‘Yes. Also known as a tête-à-tête.’
‘Face-to-face,’ Clara whispered and Henry cringed because the literal translation was not helpful either.
‘They are making a comeback in garden furniture and I think we can—’
‘I wouldn’t have a love seat in the garden. Besides, these armrests between the couple are not exactly conducive to a romantic setting. I prefer a lover’s chair with no boundaries,’ Clara said, leaning up and pressing her lips to his throat.
He immediately took a step back. ‘Clara, I’m flattered but I have a girlfriend.’
A girlfriend who was sitting at home waiting for him, someone he should have been having di
‘Yet you’re here with me and not at home with her.’ Clara cocked her head to one side, in what she clearly thought was a flirtatious move, ru
He took a step to grab his designs but she moved in between him and the desk.
‘I came for purely professional reasons, working in design is important to me.’
She stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest. ‘How important?’
He wanted to push her away, her perfume settling round him making it hard to breathe. He wouldn’t touch her. Just the two of them in a closed room, she could claim anything had happened and it would be his word against hers. He took a step back, but her fingers had already closed over one of the buttons on his shirt and as he moved he heard the small tear of material as the button came off in her hand.
He stared at her in shock before he turned and grabbed his coat. ‘If Edward is serious about looking at my designs then I’ll make an appointment to see him.’
He opened the door and stormed out. He should have seen through the façade from the second he realised it was just going to be the two of them. He should have told her where to stick her inappropriate advances and most importantly he should have stayed at home with his lovely girlfriend.
He got in the car and drove quickly back towards Lilac Cottage. Rain lashed down on the windscreen and storm clouds rolled across the sky, lighting up the heavy clouds with periodic flashes of lightning, reflecting his mood perfectly. As he approached a little hut used for birdwatching, he nearly ran over a hooded figure who was cycling quickly away from it, dressed all in black, silhouetted against the rainy night sky; the boy was almost impossible to see. He cursed as he mounted the grass to avoid him and then turned down the driveway to his home, wanting nothing more now than to wrap his arms around Pe
He pulled up outside the house and strode straight into Pe
‘I made you and Daisy spaghetti bolognese, but it’s probably all dried out now,’ Pe
‘I was going to cook for you, I’m sorry, something came up,’ Henry said, catching her arm. She didn’t shrug his hand off her but she distinctly moved out of his reach. Her stomach suddenly gurgled hungrily and he felt another wave of guilt. ‘Have you not eaten?’
‘No, pathetically, I thought I’d wait for you.’
‘Where’s Daisy?’
‘She went out, about two minutes after you left.’
‘What?’ Henry looked outside into the inky black night, rain coming down in curtains as it ripped across the cliffs. ‘And you let her go out in this?’
Pe
Suddenly the kitchen door banged open and Daisy came in with a huge grin on her face. She was soaking wet, and little stalks of grass were stuck to the legs of her jeans. Her trainers were covered in mud.
‘Hey Daddio,’ she sang, sitting down at Pe
‘Where have you been?’ Henry tried and failed to keep the angry concerned tone from his voice.
‘Nowhere. I was in the shed chatting to Melissa.’
‘You got that wet ru
‘I slipped over on the grass.’
She was lying and he didn’t know why.
‘Pe
Daisy stared at Pe
‘The di
Daisy shrugged, still unable to wipe the huge grin from her face. ‘The phone call took a bit longer than I thought.’
‘It’s fine, I made di
He sat down and watched as she dished it up onto three plates and then sat down at the opposite end of the table to him. This was not how he had pla
Henry sat staring at his spaghetti bolognese with as much concentration as he could muster for a plate full of meat and pasta. He glanced over to Pe
Daisy looked between the two of them in confusion. She knew something was going on even if she had no idea what that something was.
‘Did you guys have a row or something?’ Daisy said.
‘No, sorry honey, it’s just been a weird day,’ Pe
Henry cast around for a suitable topic of conversation. It was ridiculous to sit in silence when conversation had flowed so easily whenever they’d been together before.
‘Hey Dad, did you tell Pe
Pe
That certainly wasn’t a suitable topic of conversation, especially after what had gone on between them the night before. But Daisy wasn’t to be deterred.
‘It was hilarious, some woman dressed in this huge seven-foot costume chasing men down the streets and hugging them. White Cliff Bay is a little weird, eh? I bet it’s a right little den of sin, people sleeping with their neighbours or having orgies.’
‘Hey,’ Henry reprimanded.
Daisy laughed. ‘Orgy isn’t a swear word.’
‘It’s not exactly an appropriate subject for the di
Pe
Henry needed to change the subject away from people having sex with their neighbours. He latched on to something Edward had said to him on Monday.
‘Oh, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Edward said there was some Gingerbread House competition on Saturday, he asked if I wanted to come with my family and form a team. I don’t really know what it’s about, but it’s for charity. Daisy, do you want to do it?’
‘We make a gingerbread house? Do we get to eat it afterwards?’
Pe