Just for the Summer

by Fay Keenan

Kate nodded. ‘He was over the moon when Harry offered him the work experience.’

  ‘You seemed pretty happy yourself when we came home,’ Tom said wryly.

  Kate’s cheeks burned. ‘It’s nothing serious.’

  ‘Kate,’ Aidan chided, putting down his coffee cup, ‘it doesn’t matter if it is or not. After all of the shit Phil put you through, you deserve a little fun. And you looked like you were having it, too.’

  ‘We were just kissing,’ Kate said, but she could hear the defensive tone in her voice. ‘We weren’t about to make mad passionate love on your sofa!’

  ‘I should hope not,’ Aidan said. ‘I mean, Tom and I haven’t even christened it yet!’

  ‘Gross!’ Kate threw the remains of her biscuit at her brother.

  ‘The feeling’s mutual, sis.’ Aidan laughed, catching the biscuit and swallowing it down. ‘Just because you’re having fun doesn’t mean I want to walk in on it! And from what he said, you’ve already made plans for tonight, so don’t let us coming home change that.’

  ‘Well, as a matter of fact, he’s invited me and Corey over to dinner tonight,’ Kate replied.

  ‘Lovely,’ Tom said. ‘I mean, I won’t have the slide show ready for a day or two, so we can save the holiday snaps for another time. And Corey’s happy to play gooseberry with you two, is he?’

  ‘It’s not like that,’ Kate replied, aware even as she said it that it lacked credibility after what Aidan and Tom had walked in on. ‘Besides, Corey and Harry get on really well, which is lovely to see.’

  Aidan smiled. ‘What, they’re bonding already? Good work, sis!’

  Kate didn’t dignify that with a response. Her brothers had been hugely supportive, albeit from a distance, during the divorce, and a little good-natured teasing wasn’t the end of the world. Even if it was a bit OTT, considering she was supposed to be going home soon. But as she thought about returning to Cambridge, she felt a pang of something that definitely wasn’t homesickness, or relief to be going back there. Perhaps, as Harry had said earlier, Willowbury was working its peculiar magic on her, as well.

  Changing the subject swiftly, she asked if Tom and Aidan would mind if Will and Tom came down to stay for a few days.

  ‘Sure,’ Aidan said. ‘The more the merrier. You know how much I like seeing your kids – all of them. You must be missing them, after, what is it, nearly five weeks?’

  Kate nodded. ‘I am. It’ll be great to have them back for a little while. Although squishing into your spare rooms will be almost as cosy as going back to Mum’s annexe, which it seems I’m doomed to do when the summer’s over.’

  ‘Rather you than me!’ Aidan laughed. He and their mother had never been close as adults, and although they maintained a reasonable relationship, the miles between them definitely helped, most of the time.

  ‘She’s going to visit again at some point, you know,’ Kate said. ‘After all, she’ll want to meet the new baby.’

  Aidan rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not sure Sam and Florence’ll be up to having her stay, and if she stays here both she and I will have to keep the booze flowing to keep the peace. You sure I can’t convince you to hang about a bit longer in Willowbury, to mediate between us when she does come?’

  Kate laughed. ‘I never thought I’d see the day when you asked me to stick around! Aren’t I just the boring old big sister who usually spoils all your fun?’

  ‘Maybe you’re mellowing with age.’ Aidan grinned back at her. ‘Or I’m just well pleased with the paint job. Either way, stay as long as you want, sis, and yes, get the other two boys down as well. You’re all welcome.’

  As Kate, feeling revitalised after her coffee and also much happier after her chat with Aidan and Tom, went to put a bit more work into the upstairs skirting boards, she reflected on what Aidan had said. She’d been getting on so well with Sam and Florence over the holiday, and there was no doubt that she was loving the change of scene that Willowbury offered. It was lovely to see Aidan looking so refreshed and relaxed after their trip, and having her other two sons here for a few days would be the icing on the cake. And then, of course, there was her deepening attachment to Harry, too. A thought crossed her mind before she could stop it, having contemplated all this. What if she could stay? Not just for the summer, but make her own home here in Willowbury? But was that just the summer air clouding her judgement? She’d probably feel differently when she had three boys to wrangle, and the new school year loomed, anyway. After all, despite her change in circumstances, she still had three children to consider. And didn’t everyone feel that way during a good holiday?

  44

  That evening, Kate was getting ready to go out when Corey put his head around the door.

  ‘Hey,’ she said, catching sight of his reflection in the Cheval mirror in the spare room. ‘Are you nearly ready?’

  Corey fixed his eyes steadfastly on the carpet in front of him. ‘Er, do you mind if I don’t go with you to Harry’s tonight?’

  Kate turned around to face him. ‘Why?’ she replied, chucking her hairbrush down onto the bed. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘I’m just a bit knackered from work, that’s all,’ Corey said. ‘I fancy an early night.’

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Kate moved towards her son, who was still hovering in the doorway.

  Corey glanced up at her. ‘Fine,’ he muttered, before looking away again.

  ‘Corey…’

  ‘I said I’m fine.’ He raised his eyes again. ‘Sorry, Mum. I’m really tired, honestly.’

  ‘Look, if you’re not okay with me seeing Harry, can we talk about it?’ Kate said gently. ‘I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.’

  ‘It’s a bit weird,’ Corey conceded. ‘I mean, all I’ve ever known is you and Dad being together, and then you weren’t, and we were okay, me, you and my brothers, weren’t we?’

  ‘We were. We are,’ Kate amended quickly. ‘And me having a date or two with Harry won’t change that. I promise. Besides, we’re going back home at the end of the summer, and finding a whole new place to live. This isn’t forever.’

  ‘Would you want it to be?’ Corey said. ‘You seem really happy here.’

  Kate smiled, taken back to her train of thought after her chat with Aidan that afternoon. ‘I’m on holiday, Corey. Sure, I’m working on this house, but this isn’t reality, is it? It’s just a bit for fun for the summer.’

  Corey looked at her for a moment longer before giving her a brief smile and heading back to his room. Kate, still unsure if she’d really got to the bottom of what was bothering him, decided it was best just to wait for him to elucidate further in his own time. Also, Corey had always been close to his uncles; perhaps Aidan would be able to work out what else was on his mind. Sometimes, she thought, finding the balance between when to push a teenager to talk and when to back off and let them come to you is really tricky. She felt as though the tightrope she walked with her boys’ feelings and emotions was becoming higher and trickier with every step she took.

  She’d phoned Phil earlier, too, and he’d agreed to get the boys over to Willowbury in a couple of days’ time, to meet their new cousin and spend some time with her. She’d then been surprised to get a call from her mother, who said she’d drive the boys over to Somerset, as she was really keen to meet her new granddaughter. The ever-practical Selina had already booked a room at the Travellers’ Rest, so as not to overcrowd the new parents, and to avoid even more of a squeeze at Tom and Aidan’s, so it looked as though Aidan’s desire to have Kate as a mediator when their mother visited was happening. Kate thought how nice it was going to be to have everyone together to celebrate baby Mia’s arrival, and found herself smiling as she put the finishing touches to her mascara.

  A little while later, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Harry’s flat, which could be reached from a separate entrance to the shop behind the street. As she waited for him to open the door, she felt another ridiculous nervous tingling in her stomach. With no Corey there as c
haperone, what might Harry expect of her? What might she expect of him?

  Fortunately, she didn’t have long to wait, as Harry opened the door before she’d finished knocking. He was casually but well dressed in a dark blue cotton shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, and lighter blue jeans. His sleeves were rolled up to show lightly tanned forearms and a white mark where his watch had been. Kate had to suppress the urge to grab his wrist and plant a kiss on it.

  ‘Hi.’ Harry smiled. ‘Corey couldn’t make it?’ He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek as he said this, and she smelt the tantalisingly expensive scent of a lemon and sandalwood aftershave which made her senses reel. She breathed in to try to steady herself, but it didn’t help much.

  ‘He sends his apologies,’ Kate replied. ‘I think it’s going to take him a while to acclimatise to doing a full working day, no matter how much he enjoys it.’

  ‘He’s working very hard,’ Harry said as they walked back up the stairs to his flat. ‘I wasn’t expecting him to work Saturdays as well, but he seemed keen to be at the shop this morning. I’ll miss him when you both go back to Cambridge.’

  ‘We’ll miss you too,’ Kate said. She couldn’t bring herself to articulate the turmoil she’d been in, thinking about where and how she was going to spend the rest of her life. That was a talk for another time.

  ‘Well, I took what you said about seafood to heart and steered clear of it,’ Harry grinned over his shoulder as he led her to the large, airy kitchen of his flat, which opened out to a small balcony overlooking the back street. More picturesque than it sounded, the early evening sun was warming the stone of the buildings behind, and Kate could see the undulating green landscape of the Mendip Hills rolling away into the distance. There seemed to be nowhere in Willowbury that didn’t have the most gorgeous view of the county of Somerset. Cambridge, though undoubtedly beautiful, was a totally different and much flatter landscape. She was determined to get out and explore the countryside at least once before she went back home.

  ‘Even though you’re in the centre of town, it feels so peaceful,’ Kate said, as she turned back to where Harry was standing. He was looking at her intently, and she felt another flutter of nerves. ‘What?’ she teased, trying to hide how she felt.

  ‘The sunlight suits you,’ Harry said.

  ‘Oh, bugger off.’ Kate laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. ‘When you get to my age, candlelight is the favourable option, believe me!’

  ‘I’m three years older than you, don’t forget,’ Harry countered, moving towards her. He turned her back around so that they were both looking out over the rooftops and towards the hills again. Kate found herself leaning into Harry, who’d slid his hands around her waist, and as he dipped his head to kiss her neck, she arched her back in pleasure.

  ‘Is it wrong of me to be a little bit pleased that we’re on our own this evening?’ Harry murmured.

  Kate smiled. ‘I’m prepared to overlook it if you keep doing that.’ Tingles of pleasure were rippling up and down her spine as Harry continued to kiss her neck, and the evening sun felt warm on her skin. Turning back around to face him, she pulled him towards her, so that her back was against the wall of the small balcony. As her lips met his in a deep, warm, sweet kiss, she felt her body responding more and more to his touch. Holiday fling or not, as her brain became fuzzy and addled with sensation, they had so much crackling between them, she’d never forget it.

  Harry’s body was pressing into hers, and whereas before she’d had to cut things short, Kate knew that this time, if they wanted it, they had all the time in the world. That didn’t seem to register with her hands, though, as they travelled southward to run over Harry’s jeans-clad behind, pulling herself even closer to him so their hips touched and there was no doubt just how aroused he was.

  ‘Can dinner wait?’ Kate asked. ‘I feel like we have some unfinished business from the other night.’

  ‘Business?’ Harry’s rumble of laughter was almost lost in another kiss. ‘Is that what I am to you?’

  Kate smiled back into the kiss. ‘Oh no,’ she said softly. ‘Tonight you’re all pleasure.’

  As they broke apart, Harry took her hand. ‘I know you know where the bedroom is, but hopefully this time will be a whole lot more fun than having to play nurse.’

  They padded across the floor and back into the corridor, and as Kate walked through the door of Harry’s tidy, comfortable bedroom, she paused. ‘I want you to know that I am very, very okay with this,’ she said softly. ‘In fact, if we don’t get into that bed soon, I’m going to explode with frustration.’

  Harry grinned. ‘No pressure or anything, then!’ His smile turned into something entirely more thoughtful. ‘And for the record, I feel exactly the same way. I’ve been hard pressed to keep my mind, and other things, off you since last night.’

  ‘Glad to hear it.’ Kate padded across the floorboards of Harry’s room, but hesitated when she got to the bed. She breathed in the clean, fresh scent of his cotton bedding, underpinned by the smell of freshly cut grass that was drifting in from the communal gardens of the flats in the street behind and felt an absolute sense of rightness; that whatever the future held, being here with Harry, in this room, right now, was the most important thing.

  ‘If I remember correctly,’ she began as Harry joined her, ‘we were snogging like teenagers the last time we went near a bed.’

  ‘I remember it so well,’ Harry murmured. ‘Would you like to pick up where we left off?’

  In answer, Kate sat down on the bed, kicked off her shoes and swung her legs up onto the white embroidered duvet. ‘Come here,’ she said gently, feeling her stomach flutter as Harry did just that.

  And just like that they were a gloriously erotic jumble of wandering hands and pressing limbs, exploratory lips and tangled denim as they revelled, uninterrupted, in picking up just where they’d left off. Kate felt the wonderful, pressing weight of Harry’s body on top of hers as they kissed and began to tentatively explore each other. She gasped as one of Harry’s warm hands slid under the material of her top to caress the bare skin of her waist, and then crept upwards to stroke the underside of her breast through her bra, running a firm but gentle thumb over a peaking nipple that sprang up to his touch almost instantly.

  ‘I don’t remember much about being a teenager, but I think that counts as second base,’ Kate said, trying to keep a metaphorical foot on the seabed as the warmth of Harry’s hands kept stroking her further from shore. She could feel the heat growing in her belly even though she was still fully clothed, and when Harry paused to shift position slightly, she took the chance to slip her shirt over her head. Thanking God she’d worn her best underwear, she felt a burst of confidence as Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of her pale skin contrasted with the black bra he’d been feeling moments ago.

  ‘Well, if you insist.’ Harry smiled, unbuttoning his own shirt to reveal an attractively proportioned chest with a smattering of darkish hair. As their torsos touched, Kate felt another surge of desire. It had been a long time since she’d been to bed with someone, but even allowing for that, Harry seemed to be awakening something long dormant within her. The comfortable, familiar motions of sex in marriage had become so commonplace that this all felt like incredibly new territory. So much so that when Harry reached around to undo the clasp on her bra, she jumped.

  ‘Sorry,’ Harry murmured, ‘too soon?’

  Kate laughed. ‘Not at all… it’s just no one’s tried to take my bra off for bloody years!’ The laugh soon became a sigh when Harry’s mouth replaced his fingers and she once again arched her back towards him.

  In the end, they spent quite a long time half-clothed, both relishing the sensation of taking things slowly, exploring every new area of exposed skin and checking in with each other as they did so. It was a sexy, leisurely experience, and one that was quite unlike anything Kate had ever felt before. While she was melting with desire inside, it felt as though, in these moments, there was all the tim
e in the world.

  Eventually, though, they’d shed the rest of their clothing and were tumbling under the bed linen, throwing off the duvet as the room, warmed by the sun all day, was deliciously comfortable. Kate, worried that after such a long fallow period, she might be a little out of practise, found herself throwing caution to the winds and exploring Harry, and letting herself be explored, with an excitement and an assurance that grew with every caress. After three children and a long marriage, she thought she was long past the waves of excitement that washed over her as Harry kissed, touched and explored every inch of her, until she was thrilled, breathless and desperate to feel him inside her. And, on the edge and more than ready for him, he obliged, slowly at first and then, as they found their own momentum, moving together towards a shared, throbbing undoing. As she broke, and Harry followed a moment after, she found herself looking into those dark, depths-of-the-sea blue eyes, and wanting to drown herself in them for always.

  A little later, when they’d both regained their breath and were lying side by side wrapped in the sheets, Kate propped herself on one elbow and looked down at Harry again.

  ‘My holiday romances as a teenager were nothing like this,’ she said playfully, trying to hide how jolted she’d been by their intimacy. ‘You haven’t made it very easy for me to go home when the summer’s over.’

  Harry smiled. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go.’ Then a look of apology crossed his face, which had been hitherto relaxed and sated by their lovemaking. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad by saying that, but it is true. I’ll miss you, Kate.’

  ‘I’ll miss you, too,’ Kate said quietly. She suddenly remembered how it felt, many, many years ago, to have said goodbye to a boyfriend whose parents were moving far away from the village she’d grown up in. The pain, as a teenager in the throes of first love, had felt unbearable. They’d seen each other once a month for a year afterwards, and the thrill of meeting up and then the agony of saying goodbye at the train station every time were equal in measure. Knowing that she was going to have to say goodbye to Harry at the end of the summer was reminding her of those intense teenage times, and she was unsettled by it. Surely she was old enough to enjoy this for what it was, and not torture herself with fantasies about what might have been?