Page 55 of You Only Live Once
‘Now I’ll have to experience it, won’t I? You can’t just give that sort of lead-up and then not follow through.’
He grinned. ‘You won’t regret it.’
‘I might do when I can’t get my jeans on tomorrow.’
‘Oh, pfft,’ he said rolling up the blanket as I tided up the last remnants of the picnic. ‘We’ve walked quite a few miles today, so you’ve burnt it off already.’
‘Glad to hear it. Then I shall look forward to it guilt free.’
‘As you should. Come on then, Clive. Back to the car.’
Clive trotted happily alongside us, unattached to a lead but as close as he would be with one.
‘He’s very good, isn’t he?’
‘He is,’ Jack said, glancing down at the dog. The picnic basket swung from one hand and the blanket we’d sat on was rolled and tucked under the other arm. I’d tried to carry one of the things, but he’d wrestled them both off me in the nicest way possible and handed me the dog lead, should we need it. Watching Clive now, it was pretty obvious we weren’t going to. Once we were all safely ensconced inside the car, Jack reversed and headed back down the hill onto the main road, in the direction of the pub whose praises he’d been singing.
* * *
He had been exactly right. The roast dinner we had both just enjoyed had to be one of the best I’ve ever eaten. Golden, crispy potatoes which, when cut open, steamed as they showed their fluffy insides. Light, airy Yorkshire puddings, crisp, fresh veg and perfectly cooked beef, all drowned in delicious, thick home-made gravy. The pudding menu looked just as lovely, but I really didn’t have any more space. As it was, I wasn’t sure I’d need to eat for the next week. Somehow Jack found room for a sticky toffee pudding, swimming in delicious pale custard, and I succumbed to testing a spoonful, confirming that it did indeed taste even better than it looked. All the while, Clive slept contentedly under the table.
Having to practically roll ourselves out of the pub, we loaded ourselves into the car and headed for home. The clouds of earlier had now multiplied and darkened and, although a faint strip of pale pink hovered on the horizon, the rest of the sky was far less inviting than it had been earlier today.
‘I think you might have been right about that rain. It’s looking a bit ominous up there.’
‘It is. With a bit of luck, we’ll get home before the clouds break.’
* * *
We did, but not by much. As we were standing in the kitchen, unpacking the picnic basket, Clive had padded over to his bed and curled up, Hot Dog under one paw, the first few spots of rain began pit patting against the windows. By the time we’d finished, it had become a steady fall. Checking that Clive was comfortable, I told Jack that I was going to head up for a bath, and he mentioned he had similar plans.
‘Do you want a glass of wine to take up?’
I smiled. ‘That’s very lush.’
‘I know, but it can be our secret, I promise.’ He made a cross your heart sign on his chest.
‘Very funny. A Baileys over ice would be nice, though.’
‘Good choice. Coming right up.’
‘I’m just going to start my bath. I’ll pop down and get it in a minute.’
With that, I left the kitchen, grabbing my book on the way and headed up to my en suite, turning on the taps and dropping in my favourite bath essence, at once filling the steamy air with lavender and rose.
‘Knock knock,’ a voice called from my room.
Heading through the bedroom to where the door stood ajar, and pulling it open, I found Jack standing there with a large glass of Baileys. At its centre was a huge ice cube. I always preferred these to the smaller ones as they took longer to melt and didn’t dilute my drink quite so quickly. Not to mention they looked cool too.
‘Thanks. You didn’t need to bring it up.’
‘You were on my route,’ he said, smiling softly down.
‘Thanks again for today,’ I said as I took the drink from him.
‘You’re very welcome. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. And I’m sorry if I said some things before that I shouldn’t have. I’d never hurt or upset you for the world. I know it probably didn’t seem that way, but I need you to know that it’s true.’
I looked up into the depths of those beautiful green eyes. ‘I know it’s true,’ I confirmed. ‘At least I’m sure where I stand with you.’
