you there with Evie…
‘Of course. You’re bound to have some ideas about your future home.’ His grin was teasing. ‘I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.’
‘Your flat,’ Tarn said slowly. ‘You’d want us to live there. I—I didn’t realise.’ One of many things she hadn’t taken into account, she thought. The way he already had their lives mapped out in this straight and shining path. But she couldn’t turn back now. She had to go on. Had to…
‘I thought—to begin with at least,’ he said. ‘While we decide where and what our permanent home should be.’ He gave her a searching look. ‘You’re not keen?’
‘I hardly know.’ She searched for an excuse. ‘It’s just that everything’s moving so fast…’
‘Not for me,’ Caz said softly. ‘Given the chance, I’d get a special licence and carry you off this week.’
She forced a smile. ‘I think you’ll have to be patient with me.’
‘I can do patient.’ His tone was rueful. ‘Although I may struggle a bit.’ He took her hand again. ‘You’ll have to make allowances too, my sweet. Promise?’
‘Yes,’ Tarn said and hated herself.
She stood in the centre of that vast living room, trying not to shiver as Caz took her wrap from her shoulders and tossed it over the arm of a sofa before discarding his own jacket.
‘What do you want to see first?’ His voice was teasing. ‘The kitchen? After all, there’s coffee to be made.’
She eased away from him. ‘I think you can manage that perfectly well without my interference.’
‘Then start the tour without me.’ He slanted a grin at her as he headed off. ‘I’ll be asking questions later.’
She’d noticed the big vibrant canvases that hung on the pale walls during her previous visit, but tonight there were no friends or caterers to provide a distraction—or to act as a barrier, said a warning voice in her head—so she had time to look around properly—examine the pictures at her leisure.
Like Evie, she was no expert, but she could see they deserved attention, their colours and textures drawing the eye and invading the imagination, their effect enhanced by careful lighting.
But there were other, homelier touches too. She noticed some charming ceramics, not old enough to be valuable, on a table and walked over to look at a group of photographs on top of a bookcase. Her gaze travelled from a couple, not young, standing smiling in the sunlight in front of a wall, draped in wisteria, to some children on a beach with a black Labrador, and, lastly, standing by an elegant fireplace, an elderly woman whose white hair belied the command of a strong but beautiful face.
Looking down at the sapphire ring, Tarn wondered if this was the grandmother who’d planned for his marriage.
I’m sorry. She sent the message out into the ether. I’m so sorry, and I’m glad you can’t know what’s going to happen.
When Caz returned with the coffee, she was standing at the window, staring at the lamplit panorama.
‘At sunset, it’s truly spectacular.’ He set down the tray. ‘Come and sit down. Can I offer you some brandy?’
‘Better not.’ She kept her tone light. ‘My head’s whirling quite enough, I think.’
She took her place next to him and accepted the cup he handed to her, breathing the coffee’s rich, heady aroma.
She said, ‘I’ve been admiring your pictures.’ She paused, adding deliberately, ‘You’ll have to teach me what they’re all about.’
He gave a rueful shrug. ‘I have a mate called Adam who’d be a far better instructor. My choices are instinctive rather than informed, and he says I’ve been damned lucky not to have been taken for a ride so far. When you meet him, ask him anything you want to know.’
‘But I understood you were a connoisseur.’ She could not hide her surprise.
Caz’s mouth twisted. ‘Well, I can’t imagine where you heard that, flattering though it may be.’ He added, ‘And I hope you’re not disappointed, now you know the truth.’
‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Not a bit. Besides, your method is probably better than picking something that ticks a lot of boxes with art critics. And I’d rather hear why you chose them.’
‘Let’s save that for some long winter evening,’ he suggested softly. ‘We have other things to discuss tonight.’
Her heartbeat quickened. ‘Yes—of course.’
‘For one thing, you need to see the rest of the place, including the kitchen, even if I couldn’t tempt you in there just now.’ He paused, putting down his cup. ‘My God,’ he said. ‘I never thought to ask. You can cook, I suppose.’
‘Now there’s a male chauvinist question.’ Her glance held mock reproof. ‘If I say no, will you want your ring back?’
‘Far from it,’ Caz said cheerfully. ‘I’m not looking for a domestic slave. If necessary, I’ll simply get the meals myself.’ He paused. ‘But I admit it would be nicer if it was a joint affair.’
‘Much nicer,’ she said. ‘And I may as well confess right now that I love cooking.’
‘Excellent.’ He took her cup from her hand and set it down, then moved closer, sliding his arms round her and pulling her against him. ‘And as love has been mentioned,’ he murmured. ‘Now might also be a good time for you to tell me how you feel about me.’
‘I thought I’d already made that clear.’ Her voice shook a little as the warmth of him, the scent of his skin began at once to work their dark, insidious magic.
‘All the same, my darling, I need to hear you say it.’ He pushed back her hair from her face, letting his lips graze her temple. ‘Would it be so very difficult?’
You don’t know. Oh, God, you just don’t know…
But at least, for once, she could speak the truth without evasion.
For this moment, she thought, just for this moment.
She said quietly, ‘I love you, Caz. I think I did from the first, only I couldn’t—I didn’t want to admit it when there were so many reasons not to. So many reasons for me to keep my distance.
‘But now it’s said and I can tell you that I shall go on loving you for the rest of my life.’
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…
Heaven help me, she thought.
He said hoarsely, ‘Oh, God, Tarn, my sweet, wonderful girl.’
He began to kiss her, gently at first, then with increased passion, his mouth moving on hers in urgent sensuous demand.
And Tarn responded, eagerly,
