Page 45 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
‘I don’t mind…’
‘Absolutely not!’ said Danny, getting to his feet and blocking her route to the rubber gloves.
‘In that case, I should probably get going,’ said Michelle.
She’d frozen to the spot and was looking him dead in the eye.
‘Probably,’ agreed Danny, not daring to move a muscle in case she made a break for it.
‘It’s getting late.’
‘It is,’ he agreed.
‘And you must be tired.’
‘Exhausted,’ said Danny, taking a tiny step closer. ‘In fact… I’m quite keen to head home to bed.’
Michelle’s breath hitched slightly. ‘Danny…?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Walk me to the car?’
Danny grinned, even though his heart sank a little. ‘Sure.’
Outside, the evening air was soft and warm, filled with the scent of Keith’s climbing roses and the sound of birds bedding down for the night. Michelle had parked the Buick beside the cottage, and in the gathering dusk, its red paintwork seemed to glow.
‘Beautiful evening,’ said Michelle.
‘Beautiful,’ agreed Danny, not taking his eyes off her face. In the fading light, she looked almost ethereal.
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly.
‘Hey, that’s my line!’ he said with a smile. ‘Anyway, what on earth for? You’re the one who swooped in and saved the day.’
‘Thanks for trusting me with your dad,’ she said. ‘I really like him.’
‘By the idiot smile on his face when I got home, I’d say the feeling’s mutual,’ said Danny. ‘And I know you don’t want to go into a bunch of details this evening… but I’m really looking forward to hearing more about your plans for the old showroom.’
‘You are?’
Danny nodded.
‘Well, that’s good… because your dad’s invited me over tomorrow afternoon to go through it all with you both,’ she said, her face a picture of nervous excitement.
‘Blimey, that man’s a fast worker!’
‘Even when he’s just out of hospital,’ laughed Michelle. ‘Anyway… I’ll see you tomorrow?’
‘Can’t wait,’ said Danny, ‘and thank you for being amazing.’
Michelle’s cheeks turned pink. ‘I’m not amazing. I just… I wanted to help.’
‘You are, and you did,’ said Danny. Without thinking, he reached out and took her hand.
‘Danny…’ She stared at him in surprise, but she didn’t try to pull away.
‘I know we’re complicated,’ he said quickly. ‘I know there’s all the weird history between our dads, and I know you’ve just come out of a relationship.’ He took a deep breath. This was going horribly. ‘I know I should probably give you space and time and all those sensible things…’
