Harry found Holly outside on the terrace a short time later. As well as the cast and crew, all of the cables and sound booms, the lights and the rain machine had vanished, whisked back with the rest of the equipment to a soundstage in London.
‘It’s strange not to see people running madly back and forth,’ Holly said as he joined her. ‘No canvas chairs, no cables snaking everywhere…’
‘Strange, but nice. Nicer still not to see Ciaran hanging round.’
‘I wonder what he’s doing now?’ Holly mused, and rested her arms atop the sun-warmed stone balustrade as she leaned forward and looked out at the gardens.
‘Probably seducing an underage French maid.’
She laughed. ‘Probably.’
‘Did you talk to Hugh?’ he asked, and kept his gaze trained on the lawn that sloped away to the gardens, and the pool beyond.
‘I gave him his ring back. We’re officially no longer engaged.’
‘And?’ Harry straightened and turned to face her. ‘What did he say? How did he take it?’
Holly hesitated. ‘He was surprised at first. He tried to deny his feelings for Lizzy. But after I badgered him, he finally admitted he loves her. He’s on his way to tell her so now.’
‘Good.’ He let out a short breath of relief. ‘I’m glad.’
‘What about you?’ she asked, and reached out – gingerly – to touch the side of his face. ‘How’s your jaw?’
‘Hurts like blazes.’ He caught her hand and turned it over to kiss the inside of her wrist. ‘But I don’t mind.’
Her own breath quickened at the warmth of his lips against her skin. ‘I should go and get some ice. Your poor eye’s still swollen.’
He kissed his way, very slowly, across her wrist and up her arm. ‘No one’s ever administered a bag of frozen peas with as much tenderness as you,’ Harry told her, his voice husky. ‘Still – I’d rather you stay right here.’
‘All right,’ Holly agreed, her heart doing odd little flips. ‘If that’s what you want.’
‘It is.’ He leaned forward and, holding her face gently in his hands, kissed her.
She was vaguely aware of the warm stone balustrade pressing against the back of her legs, and the distant hum of a tractor; but now there was only Harry’s mouth on hers, touching, exploring, and then his arms came around her as he pulled her forward and deepened the kiss.
Holly’s hands slid over his shoulders. She felt the ripple of muscle beneath skin, the gingery stubble on his jaw, smelled his scent – soap from his recent shower, an intoxicating hint of aftershave – and she threaded her fingers into his hair.
He dragged his mouth away. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. Since Hugh first brought you home.’
‘So you planned this, then?’ she teased.
‘Right from the start.’ He grinned and kissed her again, lingeringly, and drew back. ‘I do have to ask you something, though.’ His eyes were serious on hers. ‘And you have to promise to tell me the truth.’
Her heart began to beat faster. ‘Of course I will. What is it?’
‘Did you and my brother…’ He stopped, and tilted his head back with a frown. ‘Did you two ever… did you sleep together?’
‘What?’ She stared at him. ‘Why would you even ask me that?’
‘I just… wondered, that’s all.’
Holly let out an exasperated breath and looped her arms around his neck. She met his questioning gaze. ‘No, Harry, we haven’t slept together,’ she said. ‘If by “sleep together” you mean “have sex”. Not even once.’ She blushed. ‘Although not for lack of trying – we came pretty close a couple of times,’ she added.
He snorted. ‘Right, I can just imagine. Underneath that veneer of propriety, I’m sure Hugh’s just as randy as the rest of us blokes.’
‘No, what I mean…’ Holly’s blush deepened. ‘I mean, not for lack of trying on my part. But the time was never right, and Hugh was always so busy – he’s incredibly busy – that it just… didn’t happen. He was tired, or I was working late, or we didn’t have protection to hand. And you know Hugh.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Precautions must be taken and the proprieties must always be observed.’
Harry laughed. ‘Yep. That’s my bruv.’
‘So we basically just decided to be old-fashioned, and wait until our wedding night.’
‘Wow. That’s… I can’t even imagine waiting that long,’ he admitted. ‘I couldn’t do it.’ He reached out to run his thumb gently over her lips. ‘I’d have you right now if I could.’
Holly met his eyes. ‘I don’t half fancy it myself,’ she murmured, and smiled. ‘But I think the flagstones might be a bit uncomfortable.’
‘There is that,’ he agreed. His eyes searched hers, all teasing gone. ‘So you and Hugh really didn’t…?’
‘No! We really didn’t.’
Harry grinned. ‘More fool him,’ he said huskily, and lowered his mouth to hers once again.
***
‘Goodbye, you two,’ Oliver said as he set his suitcase down and opened the front door. He knelt down to ruffle his son’s hair and glanced up at Billy’s mother. ‘I’ll be in touch, Immy.’
She nodded. ‘We’ll set something up. I’m willing to be generous with visitation rights, Oliver, if you can prove to me that…’ She lowered her voice. ‘That you can be a proper father.’
He straightened. ‘I will be.’ His eyes were serious on hers as he added, ‘I mean it, Im. I never had a proper dad, growing up. I want to make sure…’ He stopped to glance at Billy, who was busy with a handheld game, and his unsteady voice made no secret of the depth of his emotions. ‘I don’t want Billy to have a hole in his life, never knowing his father, the way I did. I want to be there for him. But we’ll take it slowly. As slow as you like.’
‘Thanks for understanding.’ She lowered her voice. ‘I don’t want him to feel overwhelmed. Better to ease him in to the idea, I think.’
Oliver nodded. ‘Right. Well, time I got on. Please thank your mum for me. She’s been great through all of this.’
‘I will. Goodbye, Oliver.’
‘Goodbye.’ He picked up his suitcase and turned to go, then paused atop the steps. ‘Maybe we can try again, too, eh, Immy?’
She met his jokey, hopeful grin with a wary expression. ‘Maybe,’ she conceded. ‘No promises, though. We’ll see how it goes.’
He nodded again, pleased. ‘Right. That’s good enough for now. I’ll see you again soon.’ He raised his voice. ‘And you too, Billy boy. Be good for your mum and your gran.’
Billy glanced up briefly. ‘I will. Bye, Oliver.’ He returned his attention to the gaming screen.
‘Bye, lad. Goodbye, Imogen.’
She reached out and held him briefly. ‘Safe journey, Ollie.’
‘Thanks. Here’s my ride.’ He looked up as a taxi came up the drive and drew to a stop at the bottom of the steps. ‘See you soon.’
She nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
With another grin he hove his suitcase into the back seat, climbed in after it, and shut the door, and the taxi drove away back down the drive.