Page 74 of Finding Home in Hartfell
‘You’re an idiot.’ Pippa laughed, keeping him close. ‘That snake Miles, who isn’t a snake at all, by the way, he’s lovely—’
‘Debatable,’ Gil muttered.
‘Will you shut up and let me carry on.’ She planted a kiss on his mouth to see if that worked and he grinned.
‘Miles was there to discuss exchanging contracts on the youth hostel. I’ve bought it,’ she finished triumphantly. ‘Or at least I will have done, when the sale of my house is complete.’
‘The youth hostel?’ Gil pulled back to stare at her. ‘What are you planning to do with that? Not live in it, surely?’
‘Definitely not.’ These were the words that warmed her heart, made her light up with excitement every single time she thought of them, ‘I’m turning it into a gallery. The Ivy Walker Gallery, to be precise. It’s going to be a place where new artists can show their work and find an audience, assuming I get planning permission for change of use. Ivy might never have shown or sold her work, but I can make sure her name is known.’
‘Pippa, that’s a wonderful idea.’ Gil swallowed and given the job he’d been doing when she interrupted him, she was quite glad he wiped his hand again before he cupped her face. ‘What about you?’
‘Maybe one day.’ She knew exactly what he was asking, but she wasn’t ready, not yet. ‘Thanks to you.’ She hesitated. ‘But there is something else you’re not going to like, and you just need to say yes. It’s totally for your own good and it’s to fulfil a promise my dad made to yours.’
‘Yes.’
‘You mean it? You don’t even know what it is yet!’
Pippa would’ve explained about the house and the practice there and then, but her mind was too full of the kiss she and Gil were sharing to make him any crosser right now. ‘Can I just say,’ she said breathlessly, pulling back to stare at him with eyes lit up by love. ‘You’re pretty good at showing your feelings when it comes to shouting and kissing.’
‘I’m giving up the shouting,’ he said softly, ignoring the commotion the cow was making as it became impatient at being kept hanging around.
‘Promise me not the kissing?’
‘Never.’ He looked down at her feet, soaked in mud. ‘Pippa, when are you ever going to remember to bring your wellies onto a farm?’
‘Well, you know what they say. You can take the girl out of the city,’ she murmured, the rest of her sentence lost as he laughed and kissed her again.
