Page 26 of You Only Live Once
‘You really don’t have to do it, you know?’
‘I know.’ I pushed my chair away from the table and got up, taking the plates with me over towards the dishwasher. As I began to stack, Jack came to stand beside me, resting his hands for a moment on mine. A buzz of electricity rushed through me at the touch, and I stepped away in what I hoped was a subtle manner.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump.’
Apparently not subtle enough – but if Jack was going to take that as the reason for my movements, then that worked too.
‘I was just going to say I’ll do that. You’ve done enough today.’
‘It’s fine, I’ll just finish this—’
Jack took the plate out of my hands, placed it on the worktop, then, with his own hands resting gently on my upper arms, he steered me over to the other end of the kitchen-diner where I had a cosy sofa, stacked with cushions and a blanket.
‘Sit,’ he said.
‘I’m not a dog!’
‘Sit, please?’
I did as he asked and watched him cross back to the kitchen in a few strides and, within moments, he was back at my side, my champagne glass once again topped up.
‘I shouldn’t be drinking this much on a school night.’
‘I promise I won’t tell.’ He flashed a grin that, had I been writing the scene, I would have described as devilishly sexy, but obviously that description would not do here in the real world. He returned back to the kitchen, humming quietly, quickly finishing off the chore I had begun. As he did so, I gazed out into the garden, feeling contentment and calm wash over me, the background noise of Jack pottering around the kitchen somehow adding to that contentment. As I sat there, my eyes alighted on a row of what I thought was lavender edging the path that ran down to the studio building I’d bought and never used. I’d had the building put up by the contractors and the path created but that had been the extent of the landscaping.
‘May I?’ Jack stood to the side of the sofa.
I shuffled up a little. It was a slightly snugger fit than I’d anticipated, my hip now resting against Jack’s. I took a swig of champagne and tried not to think about it.
‘Did you put plants in along the path?’
Jack took a sip from his own glass before looking round at me, a rather sheepish expression on his face.
‘I did. Sorry, I got a bit carried away. I should have asked you.’
‘No, I like it. Are they lavender?’
‘Yes. I thought it would be nice to introduce some to bring in more pollinators. And then, if you do decide to use the building, you’ll get the scent from them if you brush the flowers on your way.’ He glanced back at me. ‘You’re smiling, so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.’
‘It is. Funny enough, that’s what I’d thought about doing. But obviously, like the rest of it, I hadn’t got around to the actual mechanics of the task. Thank you. But you do need to let me know how much I owe you and give me your bank details, so I can transfer the money across.’
‘I don’t want any money for them. I get them at wholesale price, anyway.’
‘That’s not the point. It’s still money that you’ve laid out on my behalf.’
‘As was the meal that you cooked tonight. We can’t keep counting. Let’s just call it even.’
‘It’s not even if you keep spending money on me.’
‘It’s not on you,’ he said, turning a little to face me. ‘It’s on your garden. That’s different.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Entirely.’
I gave him a look and rested back against the sofa. ‘How’s it going, anyway, work, I mean?’
‘Really good. Better than I could have expected.’
