Page 64 of The Rest is History
‘The lab is Luke.’ I point at the writhing blur of black on the ground. ‘And the crazy spaniel is Leia.’
‘Cute.’ She squats to rub Leia’s tummy and the dog spasms in delight.
‘And to answer your question, I run a thriving puppy fur business on the side, actually. I spared these two, and I have no idea why.’
‘You’re horrible.’ She coos at Leia. ‘He’s horrible, isn’t he, sweetie? Yes, he is. Yes, he is.’ Leia pants up at her in adoration.
Okay. I’ve now lost patience with my dogs hogging my beautiful visitor. I clap my hands. ‘Come on. Go.’
They clatter off to their next adventure, and I step off the porch and appraise my guest.
‘Hello.’
‘Hi.’ She steps forward shyly and I touch her arm, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth. We lean her bike against the pillar—it’s perfectly safe there with the gates shutting behind her—and I gesture for her to head into the house.
I’m definitely checking out her gorgeous legs as she walks in front of me. Her head darts in every direction as we walk into the main reception area, taking in the high ceilings and the banks of huge glass doors.
‘Holy crap, Charlie. This is incredible.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Did you build it? It looks new.’
‘This way.’ I gently lead her out onto the terrace, where I have a bottle of white Burgundy chilling. ‘Yeah. My brother helped me plan it. We did it as a bit of an eco project.’
‘God.’ She stares out at the garden. The pool. ‘So, is that all heated environmentally, then?’
‘It’s mainly geothermal. The house, too. I have a few solar panels.’ I gesture at the roof. ‘And the pool has reed filtration technology, which means no chlorination is needed. I won’t bore you with all the detail, but the whole place has been designed to work with nature, rather than against it.’
‘It’s amazing.’ She turns to me, smiling. ‘Like a dream. And I’d like to hear all about it. I want a full tour later.’
I swallow hard at the thought of showing her around upstairs. At the mere idea of Elodie in my bedroom.
Sweet Jesus.
I’m more nervous than I thought. My past few encounters with her, I’ve been driven by physical need so great that it’s blinded me to common sense and numbed any nerves. But now, she’s standing on my terrace, looking more beautiful than I could have thought possible.
She’s really here.
And I’m in absolute pieces.
‘Of course,’ I say. ‘Er—wine?’
‘Lovely, thank you.’
I pour her a glass and we clink in silence.
‘Let’s sit.’ I point at the huge modular sofa on the terrace. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep on that thing with a book and a glass of wine.
I clear my throat, my gaze sweeping over the exposed, glossy skin of her thighs as she sits down. She’s spectacular. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that she’s actually sitting on my sofa. In my home. It’s blowing my mind, but I’m so fucking tense I could vomit. ‘I have some salads in the fridge,’ I say woodenly. ‘And—I’m planning on putting a sea-bass on the barbecue.’
‘Sounds incredible. Thank you.’
‘No problem.’ I rake a hand through my hair and exhale. Fucking hell. I’m sweating. It pricks my skin in a light layer.Just breathe. One. Two. Three. Four.
‘Charlie. Are you all right?’
I glance up. She’s staring at me with concern, her glass suspended in midair.
