Meet Me at Wisteria Cottage
Page 31
The wrench of him parting from her, even momentarily, and not necessarily even forever spurred Maddy into action.
‘Harry, wait!’ She ran after him. He stopped and turned, and she thrust herself into his arms, unbalancing him a little. ‘I don’t need to think about this. I know what I want – you!’
Harry’s hold tightened around her back, pulling her closer, lifting her off her feet to kiss him. As their kiss deepened, her feet gently found the ground, but her arms wove around his neck, pressing their bodies together as close as their clothes would allow. The buckle from his belt dug into her stomach, but she didn’t care. How long they stood, embracing, Maddy didn’t know. The kiss sealed the weeks they’d spent apart, a promise to do things better. His touch was gentle and loving and she reciprocated. This one pure, whole heart-stopping kiss, would stay with Maddy for the rest of her life.
‘Shall we both tell my parents what happened today?’ she said, finally tearing away from Harry’s lips but unable to let go of him. ‘This way you can meet them under better circumstances, my mother will love you for being the hero, and you’ll be forgiven for making me miserable these past few weeks.’
‘If you think that’s the best way forward, then I’m happy to go with it. I won’t let you down again, Maddy – not intentionally. I promise.’
‘I know you won’t.’
Epilogue
‘Hmmm … How many nights have I stayed at yours now?’ Harry nuzzled into Maddy, trailing kisses from her neck, down her naked back.
‘Harry, you’ve not slept in your bed for a couple of months now.’ Maddy laughed and sighed, his kisses sending a pleasurable sensation through her body, better than a warm bath. ‘We said we’d take it in turns, remember?’
‘But your bed is so much more comfortable than mine.’
Maddy doubted it. His bed was bigger.
‘You know, I’ve been thinking about this.’ He propped himself up on his elbow. He was fully dressed and ready for work. Maddy didn’t need to get to the gallery so early in the winter months. Harry had a landscape project thirty minutes’ drive away so was leaving the house while it was still dark to miss the traffic. ‘It’s a waste to have two houses; maybe we should live in one bigger house.’
Maddy sat up, scratching her head. ‘What … buy a place together?’
‘There’s a place up for sale in Tinners Bay. Come and see it with me today.’
The gallery would be quiet. Valerie and Maddy were basically painting as much as they could, fulfilling commissions and using the gallery more as a studio than anything else. She’d easily be able to get away for an hour, and she’d already be in Tinners Bay. ‘Yes, okay.’
‘Great.’ He kissed her. ‘Meet me at Wisteria Cottage.’
Maddy frowned. ‘But that place sold weeks ago.’ She’d felt sad upon hearing the news, although she wasn’t sure it was actually called Wisteria Cottage, it was the name Harry and Maddy had always used for it, and it had stuck.
Harry shrugged. ‘There’s a cottage for sale near it. But it’s easier if you meet me there.’
***
Around two in the afternoon, Maddy made her way up the familiar footpath, which ran along the right side of the beach, hugging herself for warmth. The December wind off the sea was freezing. She reminisced about the summer months, about walking along this path in her flip-flops. Now she was wearing leather boots, her thick winter coat, scarf, gloves … She could hear the sea roaring angrily as its waves broke and crashed. It would be cheeky to take the short cut through the back garden of Wisteria Cottage, so she continued past while having a nose over the low fence to see if she could catch sight of the new owners. How she envied them owning such a beautiful cottage. She could see the extension had been finished, and the garden, albeit dreary in these winter months, would be fantastic in spring. Harry had landscaped the areas she’d suggested, putting in a little patio and then a decked area further up to capture the sun at different times of the day. She hadn’t been able to find out if it was going to be let as a holiday home, or be lived in. Even Valerie had been unable to find out about the new owners from Roy.
Harry was standing outside Wisteria Cottage when she arrived, actually on the doorstep, under the small porch. The new front door, freshly-painted lilac, contrasted nicely with the white-washed walls and grey slate tiles. Even on a dreary day, Wisteria Cottage looked pretty.
Harry plastered on a massive grin as he saw her. She remained at the gate.
‘Harry, should you be in there? Which house are we looking at?’
Instead of mud, there was a recently laid crazy-paved path cutting through a new lawn, and to the right a driveway, also paved. Then, she noticed a small vine had been planted on the right side of the door, to train up the cottage. It was small and looked as dead as the bush that had been taken out in the summer, as it had no leaves, but the earth was dug over fresh.
‘It’s a Wisteria,’ Harry said, watching her take it all in. ‘I planted it – for you.’
‘For me?’
He stepped aside revealing a slate wall plaque the other side of the door. It read in beautiful curly writing, ‘Wisteria Cottage’.
‘Oh, so the new owners called it Wisteria Cottage.’ Maddy clapped her hands and walked towards Harry, although she felt like she was trespassing. Why she was excited, she didn’t know. It wasn’t her cottage.
‘Yes, they did.’
He pulled his hand out of his pocket, and in his palm lay a key.
‘What’s this?’
‘It’s a key.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I know that, but aren’t we supposed to be meeting an estate agent at another place?’ She looked around, to see if there was anyone about. She hoped whoever did live at the cottage were not in.
Harry pulled a face. ‘I told you that to surprise you.’ He handed her the key. ‘Open the door to your new home, Maddy.’
‘You’re kidding. How? When?’ Maddy fumbled with the key, but it opened the front door. Harry was far from joking.
‘I had a word with Roy. We agreed on a private sale, so I put my house on the market—’
‘You’ve sold your house?’
‘Yes … That’s why I’ve been living at yours.’ He winked.
Maddy rushed through to the lounge. She knew the layout, but she had to check out the extension, see the place again. She’d dreamed of living here, never believing it would become a reality.
‘Look at that view, Maddy. All your inspiration right on your doorstep.’ Harry gestured out of the large window in the lounge. ‘I was thinking you could have the bedroom above as your studio if needs be.’
‘I don’t know, I really liked it as the master bedroom.’ Maddy couldn’t believe it. ‘Have you really bought this cottage?’
‘Yes.’
‘How?’ Maddy blushed with her outburst. But even selling his own house, this cottage would surely have been out of his price range.
‘I had savings from my house with Karin. When she died, her life insurances paid out, but I didn’t like the idea of using the money. Until now.’ He kissed her gently on the lips. ‘Will you move in with me?’
Maddy’s eyes widened with disbelief.
‘Yes.’ She didn’t need to think about it. She kissed him.
‘I know it was completely rash of me, and normally I would want to make the decisions with you as a partnership, but when Roy told me he intended to sell the cottage earlier than originally planned, I had to act fast – you know how places like this sell at lightning speed,’ Harry said, reaching for her. ‘I wanted to surprise you in a good way, Maddy, not take control.’
She nodded. Everything they’d done together so far had been a joint decision, a partnership. And admittedly, a girl liked the odd surprise. However, this was a pretty big one.
‘And, as there are enough bedrooms, maybe we could think about filling them with a family.’ Harry held her around her waist, his gaze never leaving hers. Then, taking Maddy completely by sur
prise, he dropped to one knee and produced a small, light blue box from the inside pocket of his jacket. Maddy swallowed, trying to calm her breathing, knowing full well it was a ring box. He opened it, and sparkling back at her was a solitaire diamond ring.
‘Maddison Hart, will you marry me?’
Maddy looked at the ring, then at Harry, his blue eyes more sparkling and precious to her than any diamonds. Could she be any more surprised?
Her hands trembled as she reached for the ring. As she slipped it onto her ring finger, she smiled, and said, ‘Yes.’
The End
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and huge thanks to:
Steve Miles for his firefighter expertise and showing me a horrifying DVD of how fast fire can truly spread.
Lisa Simpson for all her help on Crime Scene Investigation and answering my random texts swiftly.
Nick Blocksidge for his help with all the insurance questions I had.
And last but not least, Fay Jessop who has helped and encouraged me with the development of this novel. May our coffee meetings continue for many writing years to come!
Author’s notes:
Padstow, Truro and Wadebridge are real places in Cornwall, however I may have tweaked their geography slightly to suit this book, so not all things mentioned may really exist in these places. However, Tinners Bay is fictional, based on the beautiful seaside village, Polzeath.
Also by Teresa F. Morgan
One Fine Day
Plus One is a Lucky Number
About the Author
Teresa F. Morgan lives in sunny Weston-super-Mare, trying to hold onto her Surrey accent where she originates from. For years she persevered with boring jobs, until her two boys (and a budgie called Rio) joined her nest. In an attempt to find something that would work around them, and to ensure she never endured full time boredom again, Teresa found writing.
Family holidays in Cornwall, the scenic Cornish coastline and the city of Bristol have influenced Teresa’s novels.
She’s at her happiest baking cakes, putting proper home cooked dinners on the table (whether the kids eat them or not), reading a good romance, and sitting at her PC emptying her thoughts onto the screen.
Teresa loves writing contemporary romance, stories with a touch of escapism and creating heroes readers will fall in love with.
@Teresa_Morgan10
https://www.facebook.com/teresafmorgan12/
http://www.teresamorgan.co.uk/
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