Page 18 of Daydreams at the Farm on Muddypuddle Lane
‘I wish!’ Her reply surprised her, and she blinked. ‘Actually,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘that’s not a bad idea. But that would mean staying on the farm, and I don’t think Dulcie would go for it.’
‘Why not?’
Maisie sighed, debating how much she should share with him, because she didn’twant to put herself in a bad light. She resorted to, ‘It’s complicated.’
‘Things often are.’ His expression was pensive, and she wondered whathedidn’t want to share on a first date.
When he asked her what bands she liked, she realised he was deliberately changing the subject, which suited her fine, and by the end of the evening she knew his tastes in music (wide and varied), his foodie likes and dislikes, and that he preferred psychological thrillers to action films, although he didn’t often go to the cinema.
They had many things in common, and by the time Adam drove the van into the yard, Maisie thought that they had really gelled. Not only was he attractive physically, he also had a friendly, likeable personality, especially when he’d had herin fits of giggles at some of the stories he had told.
One in particular (an incident with a mechanical gazebo and a naked matronly woman in a hot tub) had made her cry with laughter. In turn, Adam had appeared to be amused by her anecdotes of downright rude customers, unreasonable line managers, and some of the unexpected tasks she had been asked to perform.
The one that had amused him the most, was being asked to stand on the loo seats in a male toilet to see if there were any hidden drugs above the ceiling tiles. His reaction when she’d told him she had been working in a school at the time and that the toilet in question was for staff only, had been priceless.
The floodlights in the yard came on as the van bumped across the cobbles. Adam left the engine running and she guessed he wasn’t expecting an invitation to come inside the house.
‘Thanks for this evening, it was fun,’ she said, unclipping her seatbelt.
‘Do you want to go out again sometime?’
‘Yeah, I’d like that.’
‘When do you return to Birmingham?’
‘I’m not sure. It depends on how long Dulcie lets me stay.’
Adam studied her. ‘Do you think she’ll send you packing any time soon?’
‘I hope not.’
‘Me, too.’
She stiffened as he leant across the seat. In the darkness, his eyes glittered with a question and Maisie answered it by leaning towards him and lifting her chin.
The touch of his lips on hers was electrifying. Her pulse soared as a jolt surged through her and her eyes drifted shut as her lips parted.
Aside from his mouth, he didn’t touch her, and when he gently ended it, the disembodied kiss left her breathless with longing. She wanted more of where that came from.
‘Friday?’ His voice was low and gravelly.
‘Pardon?’ Hers was higher pitched than usual, and breathy.
‘ I thought we could go to the cinema.’
‘I’m working at the restaurant on Friday.’
‘Another time?’
‘Saturday afternoon? We could see a matinee. I’ve got a shift in the evening.’
‘I haven’t been to a matinee since I was a kid.’ He was grinning. ‘You’d better pick the film, so you can make sure you’re back in time for work. There’s a cinema in Thornbury.’
‘Good idea. I’ll message you.’ This time when he kissed her, his arms came around her drawing her towards him.
It was awkward and she felt unbalanced, although she didn’t want it to end quite as soon as it did.
‘Saturday,’ he said, releasing her.
