She straightened her t-shirt for the third time and walked back up the path.
He watched as she ducked her head under the ivy-covered awning over the door. He heard her rap and moments later the creak of the door opening.
"Hello, I'm sorry to disturb you."
"I bet you've got lost on the road, haven't you?"
He couldn't see the person who spoke, but the voice was soft and feminine.
"Almost. I'm actually looking for Quentin Edwards, are we in the right place?" She glanced over her shoulder to include Sebastian.
He stepped forward on cue and caught sight of the petite blonde from the photo of the TV crew he'd seen in Quentin Edwards' apartment, a few days before. She looked different, dressed in a flowered dress, but it was her all right.
"You surely are. I'll call him for you."
That was hopeful. At least she hadn't reacted as if they were in hiding, otherwise she might not have admitted to his presence. The blonde woman called out his name then invited them in to the cottage.
"He's doing battle with the wood stove in the kitchen," she added, apologetically, as they stepped into a room with a low ceiling, beamed and dominated by two armchairs that were far too big for the space. "Please, take a seat." She flitted away through a door as she gestured at the chairs.
Amy sat on the edge of one chair, her eyes bright, smiling expectantly. Sebastian left the spare armchair and headed toward a plumply cushioned window seat he'd spied as he walked in. He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder as he passed and her hand fleetingly touched his, returning the encouragement.
A moment later the petite hostess came back into the room followed by Mr. Quentin Edwards himself. His appearance in real life was quite different to his TV persona, Sebastian noticed. When he dominated the Ghost Hunter set with his larger-than-life personality he had the look of a wise-sage or academic type. He wore tweed jackets complete with leather patches on the elbows and heavily corded trousers. Mismatched check shirts and ties were his trademark. It was the mad professor TV personality image and Quentin Edwards had it down to a T. And yet here he was wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts, open-toed sandals and a bright yellow t-shirt, all of which were partly covered over by a blue and white striped butcher's apron. His neatly trimmed beard was somewhat bushier in real life, and the studio hairdresser had definitely not teased his hair recently.
Amy stood up and put out her hand. Quentin, who looked as confused as a little lamb taking its first steps, came over to take her hand.
"Hello, Mr. Edwards, you don't know me, my name is Amy Norton and I work for The City News. This is Sebastian Armitage…my partner." She looked back at him and smiled as she said it.
The remark had a quirky effect on Sebastian. He knew how she meant it though. She meant they were out on the road and having a wacky adventure together, and that tickled him. He felt proud and pleased, but he still hankered for more. Deep down he wished they were destined to be partners for much longer than the duration of this job, a whole heap longer.
Amy turned back to her confused host. "I do hope you don't mind us calling in to see you. We were in your local shop and the shopkeeper overheard us mention your name. I don't know if you are aware of it but there is a lot of concern as to your missing person status, back in London?"
"Missing person?" Quentin blurted, incredulously. He and his companion looked at each other, both of them obviously shocked to the rafters by Amy's remark. "Please take a seat. You're going to have to explain." He started to undo his apron, pulling it over his head and scrunching it into a ball before he threw it off.
"Yes, of course."
Sebastian could tell she was holding back her excitement. She was being professional, and it was holding her nicely in check.
"Natasha, have we got any tea bags left?"
The blonde woman, Natasha, bit her lip, looking sheepish. "I'm afraid we're not very well set up for receiving guests," she said to Amy. "We're up here on holiday and we're not coping at all well with the back-to-nature thing." She laughed. It was a delighted bubble of sound.
Sebastian took his opportunity and lifted the carrier bag he held in his hand. "We took the liberty of bringing some supplies, a bottle or two and some sandwiches from the shop."
Natasha and Quentin both broke into smiles.
"That was very good of you," Quentin replied. "You must stay for lunch in that case, and you can tell us what's been going on in London."
"Yes, why don't you all come into the kitchen," Natasha added, as she took the bag from Sebastian. "There's a big table in there and we can sit and have a proper chat. I must say, it's nice to see some folks from the big smoke. We've been like fish out of water up here in the wilds."
Amy winked at Sebastian, beaming. She looked so happy and that made him feel good, really good, and he knew why. It was because he loved her. He was desperately in love with her. He loved everything about her, her impetuosity, her conviction, her hotheadedness and above all her spirit. Life would never be dull with Ms. Amy Norton around.
As he followed her into the kitchen, though, Sebastian's smile slowly faded. What would happen now? He thought they had at least another few days together, but she'd got her scoop and the job would soon be over. Where did that leave him?
* * * *
Between the food they'd brought and the provisions Natasha had been given by a neighboring farmer's wife who'd taken pity on them, they had quite the farmhouse lunch. Natasha arranged the selection of sandwiches Sebastian had brought from the fisherman's shop on a large platter, while Quentin uncorked a couple of bottles of wine out of a crate he'd brought with them from London. The neighbor's contribution, a huge chunk of homemade fruit loaf and a crumbly white cheese, stood on a chopping board looking mouth-wateringly tempting. Amy's stomach rumbled. Although they had eaten supper late the night before, skipping breakfast really was beginning to take its toll.
"The thing I miss most about London," Quentin said, "is the fact you can get food and drink 24/7." He shook his head. "That's a bit of a sad thing to admit about oneself, but I am afraid in my case it's true." He ruffed up his beard with his fingers.
"We missed out on breakfast ourselves," Amy said. "This is greatly appreciated. Thank you for inviting us to join you."
"Our pleasure, my dear. Now, do tell us what we've been missing in the city."
"Did you come away on holiday?" Amy asked, tentatively, as she took a sip of the wine Quentin had poured for her.
"Yes, yes. We decided to get away for some quality time together. It was proving difficult in the city, with work and one thing and another." He looked across at Natasha who smiled and took his hand across the tablecloth. Amy was in no doubt these two were very much in love. She'd sensed it immediately when she saw them together and they were making no effort to hide it now.
"No wonder it came as a surprise to you, to find out there were some concerns about you." Amy was wondering where to begin. She was also well aware she needed to broach the subject of an actual interview for her feature, preferably an exclusive, before things went too far in the discussion. "Apparently, security at the studios reported you were missing, because you usually pop in and out during the summer closure."
"That's true," Quentin replied, frowning, "but this was a planned break, albeit last minute."
The couple seemed shocked by this news, and they'd obviously been looking for privacy. Amy wanted to mention her angle and soon, but it had to be done in an appropriate and appealing way. Her mind hunted through various ways in which she might bring it up. It had to be touted in the right terms or she and Sebastian might find themselves out on their ear without the hint of an exclusive.
"You've got a strong fan base and people have been worried about you," Amy offered. "It would be good for all those people to know that you're safe and well."
Quentin gave a sheepish smile. Natasha beamed proudly.
"Would you be interested in doing a little bit of an interview with me? Something to put the f
ans minds at rest?" She held her breath.
"Well," Quentin said. "What do you think, love?"
Natasha shrugged, looking thoughtful. "Why not? It would be welcome publicity with the start of the new season close at hand."
Amy breathed out. This was looking good.
"Yes, I agree. Our producer will approve. Can't turn down a gift horse of free publicity, can we. I'm not clever about such things, you know. Natasha is a make up artist and she's been in the industry much longer than me. She knows much more about that side of it all. I started out in history documentaries, did the Ghost Hunter thing when funds were low. Never thought it would take off the way it has." He chuckled. "But I wouldn't be without it now, long may it run. It's become my livelihood and we have a lot of fun with the show."
"That's wonderful, and hopefully we can have some fun with the feature too. Would you mind if I made a few notes as we went along?"
"Not at all, scribble away."
Amy grabbed her bag from under the table and pulled out her small notepad, setting it to one side of the plate to make it as unobtrusive as possible. She made a mental note that she had her small digital camera with her too, and if all went well she could get a few shots of the couple in front of their ivy covered retreat.
"I'm pleased to oblige, especially if you can help us unravel this business. Missing indeed. Are you with The City News too?" Quentin directed his question at Sebastian.
"Temporarily," he replied. Amy noticed him frown as he said it. "I'm helping Amy out for a little while."
She caught his eye and he had a troubled look about him that made her heart leap, but he turned away and picked up a sandwich as soon as their eyes met. Amy felt something like hope kindle inside her. He didn't want it to be over yet either. Her secret fears about him not wanting a serious involvement after his last relationship had begun to subside. Would they be able to build something after the affair, after all? She tried to keep her mind on the job, but a kernel of hope had bedded inside her. "Sebastian's been a real star, he knows the locality and he was instrumental in locating you."
"Local man, are you?" Quentin asked, as he helped himself to another hunk of cheese to augment his wine.
Sebastian nodded. "I work in London, but most of my family still live over on the east coast."
"Oh, we had a beautiful day over that way, last week," Natasha chipped in. "Drove right along the coast and had a fish supper on the harbor at Whitby. You'll have to take Amy and show her, if she's not been."
Sebastian watched her closely as he awaited her reply.
"That would be lovely." She returned his gaze. The smile he gave her was tentative, unsure, but the kernel of hope inside her had begun to unfurl.
"Right…first of all let's try to answer this question about the missing man who isn't missing shall we. Why do you think the TV studios think you are missing, if this was a planned vacation?"
Quentin shook his head.
Natasha looked thoughtful, then she sat forward in her seat. "Darling, who did you tell?" She stared at Quentin, eyes wide.
Quentin's expression was pensive.
"We left in a bit of a rush, you see," Natasha explained. "I'd seen this cottage to rent when we were up here on a shoot, and when we took the urge to get out of the city it was available. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing." She turned back to Quentin. "You didn't trust you-know-who with the job did you?" Her face was growing increasingly pale.
Quentin pursed his mouth, shifting his feet restlessly under the table.
"I thought surely he would be over it by now."
"You wouldn't be talking about one Jake Brent, would you?" Sebastian asked.
"Oh dear," Natasha whispered, her hand going to her throat. "This is terrible." She shook her head. "He's my ex, you see." She blushed uncomfortably as she explained to Amy and Sebastian. "He's been finding it a bit hard to accept that I'm with Quentin now." She frowned. "Oh, I do wish I hadn't chosen right now to give up smoking."
"It's not terrible at all, please don't upset yourself." Amy leaned forward to reassure the woman. Her mind was racing. Things were rapidly falling into place and the possibilities arising from the mystery were leaping out at her. "He did try to make some rather dubious accusations about your disappearance and he said you'd developed an unhealthy interest in the occult."
"The occult?" Quentin blurted, then broke into laughter.
Natasha bit her lip.
"Yes, but you see it doesn't matter now." Amy tried to direct her reassurance to Natasha, who still looked unhappy and had abandoned her sandwich in favor of her wine glass. "He was obviously trying to cast an air of disrepute over Quentin's career, but it simply doesn't matter because his remarks went unheeded." She glanced at Sebastian. Thanks to him. Thanks to him being there and distracting her. What with that and all the other things that had happened along the way, she'd missed her first deadline and, oh boy, was she ever glad. "We can tell the story the way you see it. What better way to assure your ex that you're happy where you are than to go public with it and tell the world about your romance?" Amy's mind was buzzing. Her scoop was looking better all the time.
"Sounds good to me." Quentin weaved his fingers together with Natasha's. "Shall we go for it, my love?"
She nodded, her eyes glistening.
Quentin turned back to Amy. "I may be a late bloomer, but when I met this lady I knew she was the one for me." Natasha was blushing, understandably. Quentin was clearly head-over-heels. "I asked Natasha to marry me, when we arrived up here. When we get back to London, we're going to set the date."
"Oh, how wonderful, congratulations."
"You're the first people we've told," Natasha added, her expression finally melting into happy tears.
"Congratulations." Sebastian leaned forward to shake hands with Quentin.
The feature was forming in Amy's mind as the moments passed, and boy was it going to be top-notch media news. She looked up at Sebastian and he nodded at her, his eyes sparkling, he knew how good this was too, and she could see he was pleased for her. Her heart did a funny little leap in her chest and she felt the need to touch him. As if he knew, he stood up and moved to stand behind her.
"Well, now that we've sorted out the mystery, I'll leave you to your interview." He rested his hands on her shoulders, squeezing her gently as she passed. "Is it okay if I take a stroll around the neighborhood?"
Quentin nodded and gestured out of the kitchen window, where the landscape sloped away toward fields in the distance. "There's a public footpath that loops round the local farm, follow that and it'll bring you back here safely."
Sebastian gave her another squeeze and she looked up at him, smiling her thanks for all of his support.
"How long have you two worked together?" Amy asked, when she heard the door close behind him.
"Two seasons, but we knew there was something really meaningful between us within days of meeting each other," Natasha replied.
Through the kitchen window Amy could see Sebastian as he passed close by, his expression preoccupied. One look at his strong masculine shoulders made her want to touch him, to hold him. She watched him retreating away from the house as she listened to Natasha talking about her first meeting with Quentin.
Yes, it had only been days that she and Sebastian had known each other too, but she knew she loved him. Through all that had happened and the potential changes in her life over the past few days, that fact was possibly the only sure thing. She'd had some dark moments. She'd narrowly averted a complete disaster with the feature and she'd been wondering if she was cut out for journalism at all. What she did know for sure was that she was ready to have a gorgeous man like Sebastian in her life on a more permanent basis. She hadn't been looking, but she had found the man who filled her heart, mind and body, making her world complete. Their agreed time together was almost up, but would she be able to keep him for longer? She wanted to, more than anything and she was ready for the next step.
Chapter Se
venteen
Sebastian set the room service tray down on the bedside table and lifted the lid on the coffee pot, inhaling the aroma before he poured out two cups of the steaming brew. Behind him, Amy clapped her hands in delight as she read over the text she'd typed into her laptop. Sebastian smiled to himself then picked up her cup and carried it over to her. He put it down on the dresser, where she had set up her laptop as soon as they had returned, cramming as much in as she could while it was still fresh.
"Is it going well?" He glanced over her shoulder. He could see the title of the feature. "Love at last for TV's favorite host, Quentin Edwards."
"Yes, very. Thanks. I've got the bones in. It will just need fleshed out for publication, which I can see to when I get back to the office. I can't believe we've gone from one man's warped hearsay to an exclusive of the whole fabulous story, fate really was on our side."
"Fate was on your side, Amy. You were right in the first place—you really didn't need me along with you, now, did you, hmm?" Yes, he knew he only wanted to hear her say different, to hear her say she needed him in some way.
She turned to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him down to her for a quick kiss. "Oh, yes I did."
She smiled, released him, then returned to her document.
He wandered over to the bed and threw himself down on it. It had been a real pleasure watching her chatting with Quentin and Natasha. She certainly had the knack of putting people at ease and making them talk about themselves. He was so happy for her, happy it had gone this well. But he felt like a spare part, like the minder who had served his purpose and was now redundant. He often had a kind of content but empty feeling at the end of a long case, but this was different. This was about how he felt about Amy and the lingering question as to whether it was over or not. He looked at her and his hands itched to hold her. His gaze ran over her hair, and he longed to stroke it, to smell it and sink his fingers into it while he kissed her. He was contemplating her profile, when her phone began to ring out.
Minding Amy Page 18