Page 47 of Fireworks at Pennycress Inn
‘Ah, you’ll know when you try it on.’ Polly had. She’d loved her wedding dress, ivory and flowy. She shook her head. She still had it boxed up in the loft of the flat somewhere. She’d kept that longer than her fiancé.
‘I hope so.’ Laura nodded towards the kitchen. ‘Are you coming for a coffee? I promise we’ll take a break on the wedding talk.’
‘Haha, no it’s okay, thanks. I’m going to get some work done in the sitting room.’
‘Ah.’ Laura glanced towards the closed sitting room door. ‘Just to warn you, Zac is in there.’
‘That’s okay. We’ve got some work to do together.’ Polly automatically grinned. She couldn’t help herself, but since their conversation on Saturday, she and Zac had been inseparable. He’d not only helped her paint and finish decluttering the flat, but he’d also given her a lift back here.
‘Oh, really?’ Laura raised her eyebrows. ‘Judging by your smile, I’m guessing work isn’t the only thing you’re sharing?’
Polly felt the heat of self-consciousness flush through her cheeks. Was it that obvious things had changed between them? She nodded. ‘We’ve made up.’
‘Uh-huh?’ Tilting her head, Laura raised one eyebrow higher before grimacing. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t be so nosey!’
‘Haha, that’s okay. It’s no secret.’ Polly laughed. In truth, she didn’t see Laura or Nicola as her landladies, or whatever she was supposed to call them, she viewed them as friends. She might not have been staying at the inn that long, but they’d spent enough time together chatting to get to know each other.
‘Oh good.’ Relaxing, Laura smiled. ‘In that case…?’
‘Okay, okay, we kissed. We’ve decided to start seeing each other and see how things go.’ Polly laughed as she held her palms against her cheeks, the cool of her hands soothing her flushed face.
Laura grinned. ‘I’m really pleased for you. For both of you. It was obvious something was there between you.’
‘Really?’ Polly hadn’t realised Zac felt the way he did until he’d told her. How could anyone else have guessed?
‘Yep, running this place you see a lot of different people come through these doors.’ Laura nodded towards the front door. ‘And I’d go as far as saying I’m a bit of an expert at reading people now.’
‘I can imagine.’ Polly smiled. Maybe Zac’s admission shouldn’t have come as much as a surprise to her after all then.
‘Anyway, I’ll let you get on with your work.’ Laura pulled a knowing face. ‘And I’ll bring some coffee and cake through.’
‘Okay thanks.’ Polly watched as Laura disappeared into the kitchen before she raked her fingers through her hair and pulled open the door.
‘Hey, you.’ Zac looked up from the laptop he had perched on his knee.
‘Hi again.’ Walking across to the sofa, she sat down next to him as he inched closer to her and pecked her on the lips. ‘Right, shall we get this leaflet planned out then?’
‘Yep.’ Zac nodded without taking his eyes off her.
Laughing, Polly picked up her own laptop from the coffee table and pulled the screen open. ‘Come on, as much as I’d prefer to spend the evening curled up with you watching a movie, this leaflet needs to be ready to go to the printers tomorrow.’
‘I know. Give me one second though and then I promise I’ll concentrate.’ Zac reached behind her, resting his hand on the nape of her neck as he dipped his head, their lips touching.
Holding her laptop steady with one hand, she cupped his head with her other. This was happening. However many times she questioned herself, questioned whether they should be getting into a relationship whilst they worked together, whilst they were still both vying for the same promotion. She just couldn’t push these feelings away. She’d felt a connection with him for so long now. From the moment they’d met two years ago, she’d felt something for him, and it had taken long enough for them to kiss on a drunken night out, that she wasn’t about to push him away now. The promotion thing, they’d work out. They’d have to. It hung in the air between them and they’d have to face it and talk about it at some point. However difficult it would be. But for now, she just wanted to enjoy what they had together. She just wanted to enjoy this.
Reluctantly pulling away, Zac reached his arms out in front of him, lacing his fingers before cracking his knuckles. ‘Okay, let’s crack on.’
‘Yes, let’s.’ Polly grinned as she watched him open up the program on his laptop and began writing, his forehead creasing in concentration. Running the pad of her index finger over her lips, she resisted the urge to reach out and try to tame his unruly tuft of hair. Shaking herself, she turned to her own laptop, trying to focus on the screen rather than watching Zac.
27
‘Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Don’t we all agree?’ Declan looked away from the screen on the wall showing the leaflet Polly and Zac had created and glanced around the small meeting room as Art, Dennis and Vicki gushed their approval.
‘I love it. It’s informative as well as being colourful and easy to read at a glance.’ Vicki nodded enthusiastically.
‘Thanks.’ Polly looked at Zac, who was sitting next to her. ‘Me and Zac worked on it together, so it’s very much a joint project.’
‘You did?’ Declan looked from Polly to Zac and back again. ‘That’s great. I do like to see our team working together.’
