The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer

by Martin, Holly

  She got back to the house and shoved his clothes in a cupboard, knowing it wouldn’t be long before he arrived to claim them back.

  She couldn’t stop giggling as she imagined him dashing stark naked along the cliff tops wearing only his boots. He was going to be furious.

  It only took a few moments before he was bursting into her lounge in all his magnificent naked glory. It was clear he had been running as his chest was heaving slightly and he was still wet from his swim, little water droplets pouring down his chest.

  ‘You took my clothes,’ Andrew said, incredulously.

  ‘Consider it payback for the curtsey debacle.’

  He arched an eyebrow in amusement. ‘Oh I see. You want to play that game?’

  ‘I think we’re even. There is no need for you to get me back for this.’

  ‘You think one little curtsey is equal to making me walk naked along the cliff path?’

  ‘I left you your boots. I’m not completely heartless.’

  He clearly thought about this for a moment as he caught his breath and she used the moment to enjoy the view some more. He really was spectacular… in every way.

  ‘See something you like?’

  ‘Oh yes, very much,’ Willow said.

  ‘I think you better give me my clothes back.’

  ‘Or what?’ Willow said, unable to keep the smug smirk from her face.

  ‘Or… I’ll take all of yours.’

  It was a nothing comment, a threat plucked straight from the air. But the thought of him stripping her out of her clothes was suddenly all she could think of. And clearly he was suddenly thinking of that too as all amusement faded from his eyes.

  Right then, there wasn’t a single fear or doubt that this next step for them wasn’t the right thing to do.

  She swallowed and stepped up to him, feeling bold. ‘I’m not going to give your clothes back.’

  He stared at her, not moving, not saying a word. He was barely even breathing.

  ‘So you better take my clothes,’ Willow said, raising her arms in the air so he could take her dress off more easily.

  His fingers twitched at his side and then he stepped forward and pulled at the hem of her dress. Sliding it slowly upwards and over her head, he let the dress slide to the floor.

  He stared down at her standing in just her bra and knickers. ‘You did say you’d take all of them,’ Willow said.

  ‘I’m working on it,’ he muttered.

  His hands moved around her back, gently stroking up her spine until he reached the clip of her bra. He slowly unhooked it and then slid the straps down her arms, until her bra landed neatly on top of her dress. He ran his fingers down her sides until they reached the waistband of her knickers. She quickly toed off her sandals as he started sliding her knickers down her legs, kneeling down on the floor to help her out of them. He stood back up, tossing her knickers onto her small pile of clothes.

  ‘I think you better take your boots off too,’ Willow said and Andrew practically kicked them across the room. ‘What are you going to do now you have all my clothes?’

  He cleared his throat. ‘Well my first thought was to run away with them, but now I’m having other ideas.’

  ‘Want to show me what those ideas look like?’

  He hesitated for the longest moment and she wondered if he was going to talk himself out of it.

  ‘Or I could show you my ideas,’ Willow said, placing a gentle kiss on his chest and then another on his tattoo.

  ‘I think our ideas are very similar,’ Andrew said.

  He cupped her face and kissed her hard. Her heart exploded in her chest, this desperate need for him bubbling through her.

  He hauled her close to him and she could feel he wanted this as much as she did. Without taking his lips off hers, he bent and scooped her up into his arms. She giggled against his lips as the kiss continued and he carried her upstairs.

  He laid her down on the bed and he was right there over her, kissing her, stroking, touching everywhere. He tore his mouth from hers to kiss her throat, her chest, before kissing her breast, making her shout out a whole load of noises she had never heard herself use before. His mouth dipped lower, trailing his tongue across her stomach and then even lower still until he was kissing right at the top of her thighs. She ran her fingers through his hair as every coherent thought went straight out of her brain. This man knew exactly what he was doing. That wonderful tingling sensation spread out through her whole body before she was screaming and shouting and writhing with the most glorious orgasm she’d ever had.

  He moved back over her body, pinning her to the mattress with his weight as he kissed her again.

  ‘Please tell me you have a condom,’ he said.

  She smiled. ‘I do have condoms. Lots of them in fact.’

  ‘Thank god for being prepared,’ Andrew said.

  ‘They’re in the bedside drawer. I would get them myself, but I seem to be trapped under this big, beautiful man.’

  He grinned and leaned over to grab one. He gave her a brief kiss on the lips before sitting back on his knees to put it on. She sat up too, kneeling up on all fours, leaning over to kiss him as he dealt with the condom. He kissed her, running his hands down her back. Then suddenly he hauled her on top of him so she was sitting on his lap, her legs wrapped around his back. With his hands tight on her hips, he pushed inside of her.

  ‘Oh god Andrew.’ Willow let her head fall back as he kissed her throat, moving inside her harder, deeper, holding her tight against him with his large hands around her back.

  He kissed her breast, taking her nipple into his mouth, and she clung onto his shoulders, feeling the strength in his back.

  That feeling was building in her already and she looked back at him, lifting his chin so she could kiss him again.

  This man, this wonderful, kind, glorious man, it was ridiculous to have these feelings for him so soon. She wanted to tell him, to shout it out, but she wouldn’t do that. She pulled back slightly so he might see what was in her heart as she fell over the edge, clinging to him. His eyes were locked on hers as he watched her fall completely and utterly in love with him. Did he know? Did he feel it too? But before she could catch her breath, he kissed her hard, gasping against her lips, holding her tight as he lost all control too.

  Twenty-Two

  Andrew stared at the ceiling as the pink glow of the sunset danced across the waves. Willow was lying snuggled up against his side, peppering soft kisses across his chest. They had dozed a little and kissed a lot. But they hadn’t really spoken since they’d made love. Quite honestly he had no idea what to say to her and now it was getting a little awkward.

  Because what do you say to someone you’ve fallen in love with? Should he tell her? But that felt way too soon. They were supposed to be taking it slow and, although they had broken that rule by jumping into bed with each other, to suddenly declare his love for her felt like he’d be smashing that rule into smithereens.

  But then not telling her felt like a lie. It was as if the next words out of his mouth would be deceitful somehow if he didn’t tell her the truth.

  He honestly hadn’t expected this. Yes he’d really bloody liked Willow and he’d told Jacob that he might even marry her one day. That day had felt very far away but now…

  He hadn’t been in love with anyone for many years. Every woman he’d been with he’d kept it casual, something fun. And while he knew that being involved with Willow was always going to be something much more than that, he hadn’t expected to fall so hard so quickly.

  No, this was lust, pure and simple. No one falls in love during sex. Sure he was very fond of her, she made him smile a lot and he cared about her deeply, and he was definitely attracted to her, but it wasn’t love. He simply wasn’t ready for that yet.

  She stroked a hand down his stomach and then pressed a gentle kiss right over his heart.

  Christ, he was in trouble.

  She looked up at him, her eyes so filled with tender
ness and affection, and the words nearly fell from his mouth right then and there.

  He ran his hand through her hair, stroked his thumb down her cheek.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Willow asked.

  He nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

  ‘You’re very quiet.’

  ‘I’m just… that was… I didn’t expect… I’ve never felt…’ He trailed off because he couldn’t find the right words to even begin to describe what was going on in his head, to explain what had just happened for him.

  She smiled as if she understood but he didn’t think she did. Not really.

  She kissed his heart again and then slid her hand lower. As it slipped beneath the sheet that was covering his hips, his body responded to her touch instantly. God, he needed her again.

  She looked back up at him with that beautiful mischievous smile. ‘Want to do it again?’

  He quickly rolled her, pinning her to the mattress and she let out a little shriek of surprise.

  ‘Hell yes,’ he said, kissing her hard.

  This was easy, he could do this. Amazing, uncomplicated sex. He ignored the little voice at the back of his head that told him it was way more than that.

  She gasped against his lips as his hand moved between her legs. She clung to him as she let out a groan of pure ecstasy. He kissed her again, capturing it on his lips.

  He leaned over and grabbed a condom, he slid it on and moved inside her, barely taking his lips from hers for a second. Passion and need for her drove him beyond insanity. This was lust, that’s all it was. He moved against her faster and harder, desire sending him close to the edge.

  It was her gentle touch that made him pause, a caress over his shoulders, a hand sliding up round the back of his neck and cupping his head. He pulled back slightly to look at her and it was her expression that floored him: trust, happiness, this complete blissful serenity like this was where she belonged and amongst all of that was this look of complete adoration.

  He started moving against her slower, gentler, taking his time. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close, and the whole time he just watched her, their eyes locked together. He felt the change in her body, heard the hitch in her breath as he drove her closer and she reached up and held his face.

  And just before she tumbled over the edge, he heard her whisper, ‘I think I’m falling for you Andrew Harrington.’

  Then she was shouting out all manner of words and noises that didn’t seem remotely recognisable but it was those first words that made him lose control, kissing her hard as he trembled in her arms. He collapsed down on top of her, his heart thundering against his chest.

  Christ, she was falling in love with him and, even worse than that, he knew he was falling in love with her too – if he hadn’t already fallen. He could deny it all he wanted but this was so much more than lust.

  * * *

  Willow looked across the table at Andrew and smiled. She had relented and given him his clothes back. Well, some of them. Well, his tight black boxer shorts. Everything else was still in the cupboard. There was not a finer sight in the world than Andrew Harrington sitting across from her wearing next to nothing as he finished his very late dinner or in reality a very early breakfast.

  Willow would have been more than content to spend the rest of the night in her bed with this wonderful man but their rumbling stomachs had driven them to go in search of food, even if the planned meal of chilli con carne had gone out of the window. They had settled instead for a chicken sandwich and a bowl of chips which Andrew seemed equally happy with.

  They still hadn’t spoken a great deal, other than to discuss food options. She frowned as she ate the last chip from her plate. Was he regretting what had happened? She didn’t believe that. Not after the way he had looked at her while they’d been making love.

  But something had changed between them. She just wasn’t sure what.

  ‘So are we just doing Connor’s present tonight?’ Andrew said, carrying on as normal as if they hadn’t just spent the last few hours having the best sex of her life.

  ‘Yes, I think so. We need to have a think about some of the others and come up with some ideas. Right now, I’m a little bit too exhausted to have to think about that list too much. I kind of want to just climb back into bed again.’

  He flashed her a mischievous grin.

  ‘To sleep,’ Willow laughed. ‘God, I’ve created a monster. No more sex for you.’

  He smirked. ‘That seems a bit harsh. You seemed to be enjoying yourself.’

  ‘I absolutely enjoyed myself. I’m not saying no sex ever, but no more sex until… tomorrow morning.’

  He looked outside at the twilight sky of the dawn. The sun hadn’t risen yet but it wouldn’t be long before it arrived.

  ‘I can wait that long,’ Andrew said, with a grin.

  She shook her head. ‘You’re an animal.’

  He smiled, then leaned over and took her hand, circling his thumb around her palm in soft sweeps. It was such a gentle gesture, he was barely touching her, but it did things inside her that made her breath hitch. He must have realised what he was doing because his smile grew.

  ‘So no regrets?’ he said.

  ‘No, definitely not,’ Willow said, without hesitation.

  ‘Good.’

  ‘Do you have any regrets? You’ve been fairly quiet since we…’ she gestured to upstairs.

  He copied the gesture with a smirk. ‘Since we?’

  ‘Since we… had sex,’ Willow said.

  ‘Since we made love, you mean,’ Andrew said.

  Her heart filled with love for him because he was right, having sex just didn’t seem to cover what had happened between them.

  ‘Look, I know you didn’t come here looking for a relationship but this thing between us…’ he shook his head as if he didn’t quite believe it. ‘I have never had a relationship that has felt so completely and utterly right. I don’t regret it for one second. Tonight was incredible and I just wasn’t expecting that.’

  She smiled with relief. ‘I thought so too.’

  She wasn’t sure what was going on here but she really liked it. Maybe it was moving too fast, maybe she was a fool for letting herself fall for him so soon, but she really wanted to see where this was going to go.

  ‘Come on, we should go and deliver Connor’s present before the village wakes up,’ Willow said, changing the subject because with the way he was looking at her right then, she wanted to take him straight back to bed. ‘And then maybe we can squeeze in a few more hours’ sleep before morning.’

  ‘OK, sounds good. Just one little problem.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘I’m going to need my clothes.’

  * * *

  The sun was merely a whisper on the hazy pink horizon when they left Sunrise Cottage to deliver Connor’s present. It was ridiculously early and not even the birds had woken up but it was light enough for them to see.

  Andrew slipped his hand into Willow’s as they walked up the track towards the village. She looked up at him and smiled. There was this peace between them now, like they both knew they were unbreakable. Maybe it was too early to think stuff like that, but he meant what he’d said earlier: this felt so right.

  ‘My friend Ruby is coming tomorrow,’ Willow said. ‘Well, later on today.’

  ‘Ah wonderful, we can tell her we took her advice.’

  Willow laughed.

  ‘Where is she staying?’ he asked.

  ‘At the pub. She can keep Jacob company.’ She paused. ‘I’d really like her to meet you.’

  ‘I’d love to meet her. I’ll be a bit busy during the day but we could all do dinner tomorrow night in the pub. I have arranged for the Cliff Richard man to come so that will be entertainment for us all.’

  ‘Ah, that will be brilliant. Ruby will love that and hopefully Tabitha will too. And thank you for wanting to meet her. She’s important to me and so are you, so…’

  ‘I
t will be my pleasure,’ Andrew said.

  ‘And I’d like to meet your friends too. Morgan, for instance, I must pop along and meet her.’

  ‘Ah, Morgan isn’t really a friend…’ Andrew trailed off because that felt mean. Morgan was a nice girl and they had been friends in the past when they had been much younger, before it had become more than friendly. Even the day before, after her offer of sex had been turned down, they had worked alongside each other for a few hours to get the screens ready. And actually it had been easy between them, as if that moment had never happened. ‘I mean, we haven’t seen each other for so long now that we’ve kind of drifted apart. Of course she’s still my friend but I wouldn’t say we were close any more.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’

  ‘But you’ll meet Leo at the open day, he’s agreed to do the fireworks for us in the evening.’

  ‘Oh, that’s going to be fantastic, such a great celebration of our open day. And it’ll be great to meet Leo too,’ Willow said.

  ‘He’ll be bringing his wife and son along. Well, technically his stepson… well actually it’s a bit more complicated than that, but yes he’ll be bringing his family with him so you can meet Isla too.’

  ‘I look forward to it.’

  They arrived at the pub and Andrew checked up and down the high street to make sure there was no one around. He gave Willow the nod and she took the gift-wrapped book for Connor from her bag and left it on the doorstep.

  ‘Come on, let’s go,’ Willow said. ‘Before anyone sees us.’

  They were making their way back down the lane when they saw Mary come out from a little alleyway that led from the main part of the village. Andrew grabbed Willow and they ducked behind a large bush to watch her. What was she doing out this time of the morning? Over the last few months he’d gotten to know the villagers pretty well, and they were mostly creatures of habit. Julia was a night owl, walking her Colin and Rufus around the village at very odd times of the night, but Mary stayed up late watching TV and was rarely seen out and about before nine in the morning.