Page 50 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘I hope it will be fun as well.’ Alice leaned past him to close the door.
Part work area, part shop, Sandy’s studio was welcoming and comfortable: walls painted white with all shelving in natural oak. She specialised in porcelain and everything she made reflected her simple and elegant brand, from the narrow bud vases to pretty espresso cups and matching latte mugs. Alice had a full dinner service at home that Sandy had made for her, and she adored it. Her aunt often tried to persuade her to use it more often, but Alice only brought it out for special occasions, knowing it couldn’t be easily replaced if a piece was lost.
‘How are your centring skills?’ She pointed to the wheel at the back of the workshop.
‘Probably non-existent but I’m looking forward to finding out.’ Zac took her hand. ‘I was just thinking I’m not sure how we say hello, after last night. What do we do now, seeing as I fell asleep in your bed with you holding me the way you did? Maybe like this…’
He lowered his head to skim his mouth against her cheek.
‘Or this?’ Alice said softly. It might have been years since there’d been anyone else, but she trusted Zac, and that was both a reassuring and thrilling thought. She stood on tiptoe to let her lips touch the corner of his mouth. She heard Zac’s breath catch, and a rush of longing and desire was swift, leaving every part of her body tingling.
‘I’m so out of practice,’ she whispered, trying to laugh away her inexperience.
‘I don’t think you need any,’ he muttered. ‘And you’re not the only one.’
‘Seriously?’ Her head jerked back; she hadn’t been expecting that.
‘Yep.’ His smile was wry. ‘There hasn’t been anyone since Serena. I’m not into meaningless flings or hook-ups, Alice. I don’t understand the language and I can’t be bothered to try. I gave up social media a while ago; I have a history and when people think they know it, sometimes they’re more interested in that than me.’
‘So we take this slowly, then?’ Despite the desire, that was something of a relief. She didn’t intend to change her mind but being with someone else after so long was still a leap.
‘I think that’s a nice idea. We’ll take care of each other.’ He let go of her hand to glance at the pottery wheel, the stool sitting next to it, the clay Alice had already divided into pieces. ‘So where do you want me?’
‘Ideally with you sitting on the stool so I can give you some guidance. You’d better put this on.’ She handed him an apron, larger than hers, to cover his clothes.
‘You know what you’re doing, then?’ Zac sat on the stool, which suddenly looked much smaller.
‘I know more than you, anyway.’
‘So I’m in your hands. This already looks fun.’
Alice swallowed. ‘I thought you said you were out of practice too?’
‘Are we still talking about pottery or something else?’
‘Here.’ She laughed as she placed a piece of clay into his hand. ‘I’ve already wedged this, so it should be easier to work with and centre on the wheel.’
‘Wedged?’ He raised a brow.
‘Precisely. The idea is to remove any air pockets, so the clay is more of an even texture. And the bottom is slightly rounded, see, so that it won’t trap any air between it and the wheel while you’re centring it.’
‘So what do I do? Just whack it down?’ His hand was poised.
‘Sort of. But it needs to be in the centre. Try it.’
Zac’s hand came down and despite the thud, his clay just missed the centre ring on the wheel.
‘Try again. That’s better, you’re nearly there. Once more.’
This time the clay landed more evenly and in the right place on the wheel. ‘Good. Now you need to get your body in the right position. May I?’
He nodded and she moved behind him, taking his left arm. ‘Lean your elbow against your waist, like this, so your weight is also leaning into that side of your body. Good, now rest your forearm on the tray. You should roll up your sleeves. That’s a nice shirt; it would be a shame to spoil it.’
‘I can’t.’ He turned his head, a smile playing on his lips, inches from hers. ‘My hands are covered in clay. You’ll have to do it.’
Alice wiped her own hands and carefully rolled back his sleeves to his elbows, revealing the muscular arms she’d woken to find around her this morning. That thought was a distraction from clay and pottery and wheels.
‘So now you can start centring the clay. Do you want me to show you how?’
