The Little Orchard on the Lane: An absolutely perfect and uplifting romantic comedy

by Tilly Tennant

  Kissing Lachlan was like breathing, effortless and necessary, and she almost felt the moment they stopped she might die. His hands moved to caress her lower back, rough from outdoor work but sexier for it. She tugged at his shirt to release it from his trousers and lifted it to feel his chest pressing against hers. He fell backward and took her with him so that she was now astride him, frantically working to unfasten his buttons. This moment, this primal, feral desire, was the most exciting, the most wildly sexy thing she’d ever experienced. Their kisses settled into a rhythm, still deep and feverish but less chaotic.

  Then her hands began to work at his belt, flicking it undone, and just as she was about to free the button of his jeans he grabbed her hand.

  ‘Please…’ he whispered, almost a cry for mercy. ‘Don’t…’

  Posy stopped and pulled away. There was lust in his eyes – she could see he wanted this as much as she did. Yet something else told her there was a problem.

  ‘You want to stop?’

  ‘We have to stop.’

  ‘I don’t understand…’

  ‘It’s madness – we hardly know each other.’

  ‘We can fix that,’ she said, moving to kiss him again, but this time, even though she wanted it, something felt off. She hesitated.

  ‘It’s not that you’re not beautiful,’ he said, ‘and God knows I want to but…’

  ‘Oh. God…’ She sat back, suddenly plagued by doubts. ‘I’m not usually forward like this; I don’t know what happened—’

  She never got to finish. She never got to explain herself, to tell him that he had this crazy, unexpected effect on her, because a shout echoed up the hillside and stole her chance.

  ‘Lachlan! Where are you?’

  ‘Pavla!’ he muttered, scrambling from beneath Posy and grabbing his shirt.

  Posy cast around for the top she’d thrown to one side, hastily slipping it over her head despite the wasp stings, recognising in a new and cold reality how bad this situation would look if Pavla saw it. But even then, her hair was a mess, her top covered in grass stains and she was quite sure she had lust written all over her face. She did her best to smooth her hair and her expression and stood up.

  Lachlan began to march down the hill to meet Pavla, but then he turned briefly.

  ‘You’re sure you’re alright?’ he asked.

  ‘Lachlan… I don’t… I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I don’t do that sort of thing normally, it’s just…’

  ‘Your stings,’ he said, choosing not to address her bumbled explanations for what had just happened. ‘You don’t feel ill?’

  She shook her head miserably. She didn’t do what she’d just done – not with any man ever – but now she was beginning to wish she hadn’t done it with this man. Seriously, she chided herself. With Lachlan? What the hell had possessed her? Rude, judgemental, conceited Lachlan.

  But she had, whatever the reason, and she couldn’t deny she’d loved it. It wasn’t just lust; it had meant something to her. Had it meant anything to him? Would she ever know or would he simply close up again now that the moment had passed?

  * * *

  Pavla certainly made it difficult to get a moment alone with Lachlan. Not for kissing, although Posy still felt his lips on hers every time she looked at him, but to explain herself. She was increasingly worried that her impulsive display of desire might not actually have been welcome. He had, after all, put the brakes on things, and the more she thought about that the more thankful she was that he had. She was only glad that he wasn’t the sort of man to tell anyone else about it, because that was one bit of gossip she wouldn’t welcome getting out.

  As Posy tried to work out how she actually felt about all this and how she might broach the subject with Lachlan if she got the chance, Pavla talked incessantly as she worked alongside them. Usually Posy would be happy to listen, but today it was irritating her. Then Lachlan announced he was going to start on another row and that Pavla and Posy could manage to finish that one by themselves, and his departure only added a new worry to the mix. Had he gone because he didn’t want to be near Posy or because he’d had enough of Pavla’s talking too? To think it might be the former made Posy want to cry, and if it was the latter then, secretly, she didn’t blame him. Much as she liked Pavla, she dearly wished she’d shut up.

  They stopped for a quick break but Lachlan didn’t sit with them. Instead, he spent the time wandering the vines of a different grape variety further up the hill, checking them to see how ripe they might be, which left Pavla and Posy together eating the plain cheese sandwiches he’d supplied for them.

  ‘He never stops, does he?’ Posy asked. She bit into a sandwich, her eyes trained on his figure as he walked.

  ‘His life is all work,’ Pavla said carelessly.

  ‘Did you live at the vineyard when you worked for him?’

  Pavla shook her head.

  ‘So you didn’t see much of him outside work hours?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You wouldn’t have known much about his private life then?’

  ‘I don’t think he has one of those. All he talks about is grapes.’

  ‘But he comes to see Karen – surely he talks about other things with her?’

  Pavla shrugged and reached for another sandwich.

  ‘You and Lachlan…’ Posy began slowly. It was a risk to ask this question, but now more than ever she needed the answer. ‘You never… there’s no… you know…?’

  At this, Pavla burst out laughing. ‘Is that what you think?’

  Posy blushed. Now that she thought about it, she probably sounded stupid to ask such a question. ‘Sorry… I just wondered.’

  ‘Is that because you like him?’

  ‘No…’ Posy said with a little too much heat. ‘Lachlan seems to trust Karen,’ she said in a bid to change the subject. ‘More than anyone else in Astercombe. How come?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Pavla said, ‘he feels comfortable with her because she’s like him.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘He is not from the village and neither is Karen.’

  ‘You’re not from the village either but he doesn’t come to see you all the time.’

  ‘But I worked for him. I think that makes him look at me differently.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Posy said thoughtfully, though she still wasn’t convinced there wasn’t more to it than that. Maybe it was just that Karen had this special something, a kindness that shone from her, a quality that couldn’t fail to draw people in. Everyone who met her ended up loving her – maybe not even stone-cold Lachlan was immune?

  Pavla looked squarely at Posy now. ‘Did something happen this morning?’

  ‘Apart from being attacked by the world’s grumpiest wasp?’ Posy asked, forcing a carefree laugh. ‘No. Why?’

  ‘He keeps looking at you. And you keep looking at him.’

  ‘He’s probably checking to make sure I don’t die. He did threaten me with an EpiPen. And I’m watching to make sure he doesn’t come after me with it and try to get me when I’m not looking.’

  Pavla nodded but she didn’t look convinced. Posy had told her some of what had happened that morning – she didn’t see the point in keeping it from her – but she’d obviously kept the very delicate details to herself. She’d never tell anyone about those, she’d decided, not for as long as she lived.

  ‘Will you come back tomorrow?’ Pavla asked.

  ‘I’ve said I can. Will you?’

  ‘Karen needs me tomorrow. Perhaps the day after.’

  Posy’s gaze swept the hillside. ‘He’s going to need more people; there’s still so much to do.’

  ‘I’ve already told him that.’

  ‘I’ll mention it again later.’

  ‘You will be wasting your breath.’

  ‘I know. But he agreed to me being here today and I didn’t expect that. Maybe he’s starting to realise he can’t do it alone and it’s silly to try. Eventually he has to be practical.’

>   ‘You could be right.’

  Pavla didn’t look convinced of this either, and Posy had to concede that she probably knew better. It didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try, though. She’d already thought about asking her mum when she arrived. Pavla had just said she was busy so that was out, but Oleander’s harvest hadn’t yet begun so perhaps Asa might be able to spare at least an hour, which had to be better than nothing.

  The big problem was that it was probably going to take longer than she had left in Astercombe. After all, she was meant to be leaving in a couple of days. She didn’t like the thought of doing that knowing that Lachlan still needed help, but if her new job was waiting then she didn’t really have a choice. And what about her and Lachlan? Something huge had happened between them, no matter how they might both deny it, but where did that leave them? Were they a thing? Were they even a possibility of a thing? Was there any kind of future to be had or was today it? It seemed crazy to think anything could come of it but the question wouldn’t leave her.

  One thing she knew with absolute certainty was that she needed to break things off with Jackson. It was one thing to feel it was over, quite another to make it official, and they couldn’t continue in light of what had happened here today. Though she wasn’t looking forward to it, it was the first phone call she needed to make when she got back to Oleander House.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The sun was low when Lachlan finally came back to them.

  ‘I can’t keep you any longer,’ he said. ‘It’s getting late and it’ll be dark soon.’

  Posy looked up from a vine she’d been working on. It was true that her shoulders and neck ached and they were still sore from the stings, and that her hands now had blisters on blisters, but she still had some work left in her if he needed it.

  ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘I don’t mind staying while there’s still daylight.’

  ‘Sundown isn’t far off,’ he said. ‘It’s really not worth it. I’ll be going home too – dinner is waiting.’

  Posy and Pavla both nodded, though Posy didn’t believe for a minute that Lachlan had dinner waiting, or that he intended to stop working. She had a hunch Pavla suspected the same.

  ‘What time shall I be here tomorrow?’ Posy asked, straightening up and stretching her tired arms.

  ‘About that…’ he began, his gaze flicking uneasily from her to Pavla and then back again. ‘You’ve done so much for me today and I’m grateful. I’ll work something out from here.’

  ‘I can come; it’s no trouble.’

  ‘I know, but I owe you so much already.’

  ‘I don’t want paying.’

  ‘I meant another kind of debt. I know you don’t want money, but as I can’t offer anything much in return for your work I don’t feel right to keep taking advantage of it.’

  ‘Will you be here if I come at seven?’

  He let out a sigh.

  ‘Seven it is then,’ she said.

  He didn’t contradict her, though he looked as if he wanted to. She wouldn’t tell him of her plans to bring more people because he’d definitely kick up a stink about that – she’d simply ask them to come, and once they were here he couldn’t very well complain without looking like a totally ungrateful arse. He might not care about the arse bit but maybe looking ungrateful would bother him enough to let it slide.

  * * *

  The phone call to Jackson had been every bit as horrible as she’d feared, but now it was over Posy felt lighter than she had in ages, and strangely hopeful too. Hopeful for what – that was a question she couldn’t yet answer. All she knew was a strange optimism had swept over her and it had to do with Lachlan.

  Tomorrow they could start again. No weird, primal sexual tension, no moments of crazy indiscretion, just getting to know each other in a way that was far more natural. Safer too, with other people there to filter their interactions, and maybe this kind of contact would lead to something more wholesome.

  She and Asa ate a quiet supper together while Giles and Sandra were busy doing health and safety training with the seasonal workers for their own imminent harvest. Posy was bursting to tell him about her day, but it didn’t seem wise to share it all. She’d told him some general stuff, of course, about how she’d found the work, and she’d even proudly showed off the wasp stings she was now claiming as battle scars, but she was desperate to share more, if only to get it off her chest. She didn’t want to divulge particulars, but she wanted his help to pick apart how she felt about the kiss she and Lachlan had shared, help her work out what it might mean.

  But, in the end, she didn’t. When it came down to it, she didn’t know who she could tell. The most likely candidate was Karen, who knew Lachlan well enough to perhaps shine some light on where it was likely to go (if anywhere at all), or Marella, who wouldn’t have a clue about that but would at least be a tried and trusted confidante to offload on.

  There was one other option: she could go and talk to Lachlan himself. She could ask him straight out why he’d stopped her before they’d gone too far, how it had left him feeling about her, whether he saw it as a foolish moment of weakness or the start of something more. But knowing what she knew of him, would she get an answer? He was always so closed, so unwilling to communicate, she didn’t see that a visit to him would be any more fruitful than a chat to someone else. But surely he’d have to talk about this if she confronted him? Wasn’t this too big to ignore? Was he thinking about it right now, as she was, trying to work it out, wondering if he ought to come and talk to her?

  ‘I’m going for a walk,’ she announced as Asa loaded the last of the plates into the dishwasher.

  He turned to her with a look of faint surprise. ‘Now?’

  ‘I won’t be long.’

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To get some air.’

  ‘Didn’t you get enough of that at the vineyard today?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s a nice evening and I won’t get many more opportunities for country walks after this weekend.’

  Asa looked doubtful but he shrugged. ‘Don’t be out after dark, will you?’

  ‘I won’t get far then – it’s pretty much dark now.’

  ‘There are no lights on the lanes here – where on earth are you planning to go?’

  ‘Towards Astercombe.’

  ‘Nothing will be open now.’

  ‘The pub will.’

  Asa’s eyes widened. ‘You’re going to the pub? You’ve never shown an interest in the pub the whole time you’ve been here.’

  ‘Well, I’m leaving soon so maybe this is the time to try it out.’

  ‘Hmm… want me to come with you?’

  ‘No,’ Posy said hastily. If Asa came along her plan was sunk. ‘I probably won’t end up going to the pub and then you’ve had a wasted journey.’

  ‘Make up your mind!’

  Posy couldn’t help but smile. ‘I’ll take a torch with me if you’re worried – it’ll be fine and I won’t be long.’

  ‘I can’t say I’m happy to let you go.’

  ‘What can possibly happen to me out here? I’m perfectly safe.’

  ‘If you’re not back in an hour I’m coming out to get you.’

  ‘OK, fine, but you’re worrying for nothing.’

  Posy didn’t hear his reply, too busy rushing to get her coat before he had time to change his mind and try to go out with her after all.

  * * *

  Posy had never been to the house attached to Lachlan’s vineyard, but she guessed she wouldn’t have to now. At least, she was banking on that because she wasn’t altogether sure how to find it; so she was gratified to see the pinpoint of light moving across the darkness of the slopes where his vines grew that she could only assume was him, continuing to work into the night. Of course, it did mean that she had to somehow find her way up there in the dark and that wasn’t going to be easy. She had the torch she’d promised Asa she’d take, but it wasn’t that bright and allowed for just a few inches of i
llumination at any one time. Not only was there a very real danger of a broken ankle, but who knew what manner of nocturnal creatures she might disturb, some of them even less friendly than the wasp she’d encountered earlier that day.

  After a moment of procrastination that saw her torn between going up there or heading back to grab a nice, safe nightcap with Asa, she steeled herself and left the road to make her way up. As she’d feared, the path (hardly a path and more a line of slightly flatter vegetation) was far more difficult to negotiate in the dark, and it hadn’t been all that easy in daylight. By the time she got to the gate her legs were covered in scratches, she’d managed to turn her ankles a couple of times on uneven ground and she’d almost lost her footing entirely and been in danger of rolling all the way back down the hill. The gate was locked, as she’d fully expected it to be, but she’d come this far and she wasn’t going to let a locked gate stop her now.

  She scaled it, dropped down at the other side and then paused, scanning the darkness. The sun had sunk behind the hills but the sky was still starless, washed in a turquoise blue. At first it seemed the light that had shown her Lachlan was there had now disappeared, but then she spotted it winking back into existence as he moved from behind a vine and she headed for it.

  When she got close enough she could see that Lachlan was waiting for her.

  ‘I saw the torch,’ he said, and though she expected him to show some surprise to see her there he didn’t.

  ‘Oh, of course. So you’re still working then?’

  ‘I was.’

  ‘I thought you were going to call it a day.’

  ‘You wouldn’t have left if I’d said otherwise. I’ve got to get this lot in somehow.’

  ‘I said I’d help.’

  ‘I know.’

  They were silent for a moment as Posy tried to fathom his mood. Why did he have to be so infuriating and yet so bloody attractive? Just say it, Posy chided herself. Just say it, you stupid cow!