Page 51 of The Wedding Cake Wish
My stomach is already churning with excitement and I haven’teven seen inside the tent. I’ve never been glamping before. And the fact thatmy first experience of it will be with Hudson is making the whole thing seemeven more magical.
I’m nervous.
But at the same time, I can hardly wait...
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
‘Wow, this is amazing. Isn’t it amazing?’ I’m babblingand I can’t seem to stop. ‘You’d never believe these tents would be so spaciousinside. A kitchen and bathroom, and an actual log burner as well! Not thatwe’ll need a log burner at this time of year, of course. Shame, really, becauseI love proper fires. And the furniture isso stylish...’
My hands fly to my burning cheeks and I pretend I’m craningmy neck to peer out of the window at the view. The heat in my T-shirt wouldrival a log burner at full throttle any season of the year.
Calm down, for heaven’s sake!
‘We’ll have to come back in winter. Then you can try out thelog burner for size.’ Behind me, Hudson’s deep chuckle does nothing to quellthe nerves that spottingthat particular itemof furniturebrought out in force, like a sudden onset of hives.
It’s sitting there, like the elephant in the room...abig, embarrassing, white-clad thing that I caught a quick glimpse of beforewalking in the opposite direction.
But I’m going to have to face it again sometime soon.
Like, now.
The king-size bed.
I arrange my features into a bright smile and turn tosuggest we go for a walk, to explore our surroundings. But all logical thoughtflies out of my head at the sight before me.
Hudson has discarded his shoes and is now lying back on thebed, head in his hands, eyes narrowed as he examines the simple but stylishchandelier overhead – and looking the epitome of sexy, relaxed male.
‘Come and sit down,’ he says, glancing over and patting thebed beside him, then hoisting himself up to sit back against the abundantsupply of pillows.
‘Tempting.’ I laugh awkwardly. ‘Not you. I mean the bedlooks really comfortable.’
‘It is.’ He bounces a bit to demonstrate.
‘Lovely. Didn’t Sara say the sofa turns into a bed as well?’I say hurriedly, retreating behind the flimsy room divide and plopping down ona chair in the living area.Why did I say that? Now he’ll think I don’tfancy him at all, which couldn’t be further from the truth!
I scoot the chair sideways, so I can peer round the roomdivide and carry on the conversation.
‘She did say that. Although how comfortable it’ll be isanyone’s guess.’ He grins. ‘I’ve slept on sofa beds that were actually harderthan the floor.’ He gets up off the bed and joins me, sitting on the sofa inquestion. ‘I guess we should be thinking of grabbing something to eat soon?’
‘Great idea!’ I leap up, grab my bag and make for the door.
‘Hey, wait for me.’ He studies me with a wry smile as hepulls on a sweater. ‘I guess you’re really hungry? You should have said if youwere desperate.’
‘Desperate? Me?’ I smile weakly. ‘Oh, Hudson, you have noidea.’
*****
We plump for a Thai restaurant I spotted earlier on thehigh street, just a short walk away. And now that we’re away from the confinesof the tent – and the delicate issue of who’s sleeping where – it ends up beinga lovely, relaxed meal.
Only once do we touch on the subject of Amelia.
We’re talking about past relationships and Hudson mentionsthat Amelia still keeps a photo of Myles in her purse. ‘She showed me it.’ Hesmiles wistfully. ‘She says knowing it’s there keeps her strong. As if Myles isstill there with her.’
‘She showed it to me, too. It’s...sad. Andsort of heart-warming at the same time.’
He nods. ‘She and Myles were obviously made for each other.She must have felt like she lost part of herself when he died. I just can’timagine losing my partner like that. Especially if you...alreadysuspected you’d found something special.’
I swallow, nodding furiously, scared to meet his eyes incase he can read my thoughts.
