In all his years, Harry had never been a guy for one night stands or flings. His first relationship had been with Nicole, his college sweetheart, although they’d known each other from school. But they’d been too young, and after five years they’d agreed they were more like friends than lovers. After Nicole, his relationships turned out not to last as long as he’d hoped, a month or two here, or a few weeks there …
And then he’d met Karin.
She had been his second serious relationship. He was in love with her. The head over heels kind, wanting to always please her, make her happy – which wasn’t always easy –so when she was no longer in his life, and there was nothing he could do to get her back, it had hurt. Really hurt. Harry had never known agony like it. Something died inside him the day he’d lost Karin.
His relationship with Karin, albeit difficult at times, had been coming up to three years, with a baby on the way. Would they have been married by now, and adding to their family? After many months of darkness and pain, his doctor had diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD. Something he thought only soldiers suffered from, not fit and healthy firefighters.
But apparently, it could happen to anyone.
Okay, he needed to think happier thoughts as he mowed Mrs Gable’s lawn. Maddy. Think about Maddy. Last night had reminded him how much he enjoyed getting intimate with the right woman.
Was she the right woman?
Right now, she was.
He killed the engine of the lawnmower when he’d got to the end of a line and looked back. Mrs Gable liked perfectly straight lines in her lawn as if it was a court at Wimbledon. He checked his phone. No text from Maddy. He knew he should really message her first … but what should he text? Thanks for the fantastic sex last night, can we do it again soon?
He’d had to focus on meeting a potentially new client for a landscaping job this morning, making notes so he could draw up a competitive quote for them. And from there he’d gone from job to job, garden to garden, and hadn’t got around to messaging Maddy. The longer he left it, the harder it would get. He hadn’t even managed to get back to the cottage, but after his conversations with Roy, he knew he could take his time there and concentrate on some of his more regular work. With the sun hidden behind the clouds, and the wind coming from the west, off the sea, Harry was grateful for a cooler day. It took a firm tug of the cord, even with the engine warm, to re-start the lawnmower, and Harry tried to concentrate on creating the perfectly straight lines in the rest of the lawn and what he should say to Maddy. They didn’t usually text each other too regularly, so maybe she’d think this was normal.
No, if Karin had taught him one thing, it was that women could over-analyse.
***
Maddy had been unproductive all day, unable to even concentrate on her paintings. When the door opened and a customer walked in, Maddy was the first to greet them and strike up a conversation, anything to stop her thinking about Harry.
Maddy stared at her phone for the umpteenth time that day. Valerie had shown up later on after her appointment and plied her regularly with tea. Maddy stuffed her phone back into her pocket. Admittedly, down in Tinners Bay, the network could be hit and miss. A bit of cloud and there was no signal at all sometimes.
‘He’s probably busy, Maddy,’ Valerie said. ‘Gosh, in my day, you had to wait for a letter to arrive on your doorstep. This modern technology does nothing for your heart.’
‘But what if it was just a fling, just sex? I never usually do these things.’ Except for a couple of one-nighters in her university days, it wasn’t something she liked making a habit of. The next morning her heart always betrayed her, heavy inside her chest with an ache of rejection when the guy didn’t ask for her telephone number or another date. Maddy fell too quickly for the wrong guy and would do everything she could to please, accommodate … This could be why she’d ended up with Connor.
‘He doesn’t seem the type to me.’ Valerie frowned as she hooked a seascape painting in place on a wall, adjusting it so it hung straight.
‘Oh, do one-night stands look a certain way? I didn’t realise,’ Maddy said, scowling. Then she softened her tone, ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you. I just wish he’d text me.’
Valerie chuckled. ‘You young girls today. Harry seems a gentleman, and I’m a pretty good judge of character. Plus, you both live on the same street, I’m sure he wouldn’t want to do something to make things awkward between you. He’s probably just busy.’
Maddy nodded, dipping her paintbrush into a mix of blue. Valerie was right, and older, so therefore much wiser.
‘You know, you could text him,’ Valerie said, raising her eyebrows in that all-knowing fashion. ‘Modern women and all that.’
‘No, he needs to text me first. How do I know if he’s interested otherwise? And I don’t want to be a pest. It’s like a texting rule.’ She didn’t want to look needy.
Valerie shook her head, chuckling again. ‘I’m sure he won’t think you’re a pest. I’m glad I don’t know how to text, as I’d be breaking all the rules.’ This was true. Valerie never sent Maddy texts. It was always phone calls. It was only in the past couple of years Valerie had apparently given in and purchased a mobile phone. Maddy believed Valerie’s eldest son had actually insisted she entered the twenty-first century. Whether she had it switched on was another matter. ‘But then again, in my day, I was a bit of a rule breaker.’
***
Maddy closed up the gallery and walked up to Wisteria Cottage via the public footpath. She found Simon still at the cottage. The tiling had been started in the kitchen, and he looked as if he was checking it. He grinned at Maddy as she entered.
‘Hello, beautiful. How was your day? We still haven’t had that drink,’ Simon said. ‘What about tonight?’
Damn, I thought I’d talked him out of that.
‘Uhm … I better give the liver a rest tonight, Simon,’ she said, unable to meet his eye. ‘Had a bit to drink last night.’
‘Did you now? Haven’t seen your boyfriend have you?’
‘Boyfriend?’ Maddy blushed. Did he mean Harry? His tone had been sarcastic.
‘Yeah, your neighbour, the gardener. I haven’t seen him here today.’
Harry had agreed with Roy that Mondays would be his day to catch up with his regular customers so that he had a regular income coming in. Maybe he hadn’t relayed this message to Simon.
‘He said something about not working here on Mondays,’ Maddy said, hesitant about what she should tell Simon.
‘Right, well, I wish he’d communicate this stuff to me.’ Simon gathered up his keys from the counter. ‘Still a rain-check on that drink then, huh?’
‘Yes. Sorry.’ But she wasn’t. Maddy toyed with her phone in her hand, her mind distracted, thinking of Harry.
‘I’ll be off then,’ Simon said, and Maddy mumbled a goodbye. Simon closed the front door behind him and she heard his van start.
‘Oh bugger it.’ She had to see Harry. It was no use denying it.
Maddy caved in and sent him a text message.
I would like to see you, to talk. Shall I head over to yours? xxx
Maddy ran up the stairs two at a time. She jumped into the shower to freshen up and put some clean clothes on – ones not blotched with paint. And applied some light make-up – of course! Seriously, she’d never worried about having make-up on for Harry before.
For nearly twenty minutes Maddy paced the kitchen waiting for a reply on her phone and her apprehension and anxiety rose. What was she to expect when she saw Harry? Would it be awkward between them? How was she to react? Kiss him … or keep her distance? Should she call him or had he not seen her text?
Maddy filled a glass with cold water from the tap, adding some ice and a slice of lemon. Maybe instead of water, she should have a glass of wine to calm her nerves? No, lay off the wine. Keep your head clear. What should she do? Should she start cooking some dinner and make enough for two and hope he came to the cottage? Or should she make her way to his? She had no idea what time Harry was due back. Usually, if it was good weather, with the evenings being light, he worked on into the evening. It was gone seven now. Should she carry on as if nothing had happened between them? What? How had she got herself into this mess?
Harry still hadn’t replied to her text either.
Maddy stared at the contents of her fridge trying to think of something to create for dinner. Although her stomach rumbled for food, she’d lost her appetite, unable to stomach anything.
She really liked Harry, and thinking back to last night and how amazing he’d made her feel, she’d do it all over again in a flash. He was an incredible kisser … his body firm and strong, yet his touch soft and caressing. Never, ever judge a book by its cover.
There was a knock at the front door, making Maddy jump and close the fridge door. She took a deep breath – in through her nose, out through her mouth, like she’d been taught in a yoga class once – before opening the door.
‘Hey, there you are,’ Harry said, beaming at Maddy.
‘Did you get my text?’
‘Sorry, my phone died on me.’ He waved it at her. ‘So I came straight to the cottage first.’ His chest was bare, dirty and shimmering with sweat. All doubt about Harry whooshed right out of Maddy as she smiled back. Without hesitation, he approached her and reached for her, placing his hand behind her neck. He planted a firm kiss on her lips, knocking the breath out of her. His other hand swept up her thigh and under her cotton dress, to squeeze her bum.
‘You need a shower, you stink.’ She screwed up her nose as she pulled away from him.
‘That’ll be the horse manure.’
‘Nice.’
‘I’m thinking you should come shower with me.’ He tugged her closer.
‘But I’m not dirty, and I’ve just had one.’ She drew back.
‘That’s not a problem; I can get you all dirty.’ Harry pulled her into his arms, as she tried recoiling while laughing at him. Again his hands wandered, and the sensation on her skin was thrilling, sending heat between her thighs. ‘See you are dirty now.’ He sniffed her hair, while his arms enveloped her. His groan was of approval as his hold tightened. ‘You definitely need to shower with me.’
‘Need someone to scrub your back, do you?’
‘Something like that.’ His expression was mischievous. How could Maddy resist someone so bloody sexy? ‘I’ve got some tension in my muscles.’
She rolled her eyes, then sensibly, Maddy gestured towards the kitchen. ‘But I could start making dinner while you’re—’
‘No. I want you.’ He was seriously sexy when he got all authoritative. He tugged her into another kiss, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as if to make sure she got fully dirty and couldn’t escape him.
Maddy followed Harry up the stairs, holding his hand. ‘These were clean clothes.’
‘You can wash them.’
‘As if I haven’t done enough washing.’
‘Shhh … and get in the shower.’ He had the audacity to pat her bum. Harry turned the shower on, then stripped off, pleasantly surprising Maddy to see how turned on he was already. Maddy found a stray hair band on the windowsill and tied her hair up in a messy knot – she didn’t need to get all her hair wet again. Harry assisted Maddy in the removal of her clothes as if she wasn’t getting them off quick enough.
Harry stepped into the shower, then holding Maddy’s hand as if escorting her, he helped her in, too.
Water ran over his tanned torso. He had a brown tan line around his waist, his skin white to halfway down his thighs. His darkness was a contrast against Maddy’s paler skin tone. Harry had squirted some shower gel over his body and lathered it up quickly, clearly not fussed about its citrus scent. Maddy slid her hand up over his chest, massaging the bubbles over his skin. Then she slid them around his neck, pressing her body against his as she kissed him, the bubbles finding their way between them. The water fell around them, as their passion built, his hardness against her softness, his arousal solid against her flesh, making her ache for him, pooling low in her belly.
‘You know, the bath also fits two …’ she said between kisses. In this shower, they were probably using enough water to fill the bath.
‘We’ll have to test it,’ Harry replied, his lips still pressed to her neck.
As one hand stroked his neck holding his head to hers, her other found his erection and pumped, the rain of water adding to the sensation. With this, one of his hands grabbed her buttock and squeezed, pulling her closer, while the other delved between her thighs, urgent to return the same pleasure.
Between the kisses, she said slowly, ‘This isn’t getting you very clean.’
‘I don’t care.’ Harry rumbled the words slowly in her ear. The assertiveness and sexiness of his voice made her crave him more, her kisses no longer soft, but urgent, nipping his tongue, his lip, making him growl with excitement.
‘To hell with this.’ Harry let go of Maddy, quickly rinsed off any soap then turned off the shower. With both hands he ruffled his hair to get rid of the excess water and scooped Maddy up into his arms, making her squeal – she held on for dear life, and gave a silent prayer he wouldn’t slip or drop her in the shower. But with ease, he carried her from the bathroom to the bedroom.
‘You’ll get the bed wet,’ Maddy said as Harry carefully lowered her onto the pine bed.
‘I don’t care. This weather, it’ll dry quickly enough.’
Maddy buried the practical side of her and relaxed onto the duvet, her worries soon forgotten when Harry gently stroked her legs, running his tongue along her inner thigh, then kissing her intimately. Maddy closed her eyes and allowed her whole body to sink into the covers, grasping the bedding into her fists. The man knew how to paralyse her with pleasure. Slowly, the pressure built in her lower abdomen, the butterfly sensation increasing until she could hold on no more and her body gently pulsed with the electricity only an orgasm could provide.
Harry appeared on all fours, kneeling over her, with a smile of satisfaction, ‘Would you like to do that again, but this time with me inside you?’
‘What are you like?’ Her eyes widened.
‘But you enjoy it.’
‘Hell, yes, I do.’ Maddy grinned, then held her hand up against Harry’s chest. ‘Did we just get clean so we could get dirty all over again?’
‘Oh, yes.’
***
‘I’m a mess, thanks to you,’ Maddy said, finally getting out of bed.
Harry watched with admiration as she slipped on her underwear and chose a fresh summer dress out of the fabric IKEA wardrobe and pulled it over her head. Her cheeks glowed from their lovemaking. ‘You look absolutely beautiful to me.’
‘You’re going to say that after what we’ve just done. It would only be polite.’ Maddy tugged at her hair with a comb. The sex had been fantastic, and Harry had done everything with his willpower to keep it going for as long as possible. There had been a couple of times he’d come close to losing it, letting go, but he’d changed the position, decreased the intensity for him, so he’d had longer buried inside her with their bodies entwined. He didn’t know what he felt for Maddy – far too early days for that – but he definitely knew he fancied the pants off her. The sooner he had her naked, the better he felt. Whether it was sex induced, or not, his head had cleared too as if a great big cloud had been swept away; the pain of losing Karin finally lifted. When he wasn’t with Maddy, she was in his thoughts. He treasured every minute he could spend with her.
‘I am not saying it because I’ve fucked you senseless,’ Harry said, dropping a kiss on Maddy’s bare upper arm, then nuzzling into her neck, noticing the goosebumps rise along her arms. He smiled knowing he clearly did have an effect on her. ‘Okay, if you think you look a mess, I’ll agree with you. But I know how you came to look so dishevelled.’
‘Yes, and you were the cause of it.’
‘And so, I find it bloody sexy.’ He kissed her again.
She turned in his arms. ‘By the way, have you got any clean clothes with you?’ Maddy looked him up and down. He was still naked except for the towel he had just wrapped around his waist.
‘Luckily, I carry clean clothes on me in the pickup. Just in case I have to meet a client, and I’m covered in mud.’
‘Or manure.’
‘Take your time, I’ll go fetch my clothes …’ he smoothed his hand from her waist to her hip, ‘before I lose it again, and have to get you all dirty.’
He made his way to the bedroom door.
‘Harry, are you going out like that?’ Maddy frowned at him.
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Nobody will see. And besides, they’re not your neighbours, are they?’
She chuckled, shaking her head.
***
‘Shall we go out for dinner?’ Harry shut the fridge door.
‘Oh, um … I don’t really feel dressed for it.’
‘You look great. I look like a tramp in comparison.’ He gestured to the clean jeans and dark blue polo shirt he was now wearing. ‘Come on.’ He grabbed his wallet and Maddy’s hand, escorting her out of the back door and along the garden path. Once he’d shut the gate behind them, he took her hand back, and they headed out towards Tinners Bay. ‘I’m so hungry.’
‘It’s your fault we’re eating late. You dragged me into the shower.’
‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Much more fun.’
There were only a few places to dine in Tinners Bay. They chose a pub that overlooked the beach on the opposite side to the cottage. They found a table and Harry placed their food order at the bar, returning with a bottle of white wine and two glasses.
‘I’d better have only the one glass. Driving, remember?’ Henry said, pouring only a small glass for himself.
‘Nonsense. You can stay at mine.’
Harry liked that Maddy had invited him to stay at the cottage. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping without Maddy. He would much prefer sleeping with her. He didn’t care if he had broken sleep with her beside him, he’d still prefer her to be next to him.
They finished their food, and still had some wine left, which Harry emptied into their glasses.
‘After this, shall we go for a walk?’ Harry said. It was getting dark, but there was enough light for an evening stroll.
‘Yes, all right.’
Harry finished his wine before Maddy. She grabbed her cardigan off the back of her chair, took her last sip, then they set off for a walk through the town and onto the soft sand of the beach. Harry held her hand as they strolled, fingers linked, palms touching. When they stopped to look out at the ocean, he stood behind her, and Maddy snuggled into him. Encouraged by this closeness, he wrapped his arms around her to stop Maddy feeling the chill in the wind. There was the constant roar of the waves crashing, and occasionally the breeze would bring the scent of the fish and chip shop to them over the otherwise salty sea air, but all the seagull cries had disappeared with the approach of dusk.
‘Red sky at night …’ Harry said, looking at the sky on the horizon.
‘Does that mean it will be a good day, the next day? Shepherd’s delight … Or it’s been a good day? I’m never sure.’
‘We’ll see tomorrow won’t we?’ He hugged her tighter.
She turned in his arms, to look up at him, and he dropped a kiss on her lips, which she deepened. He could taste the wine on her tongue. Standing on the beach, oblivious to other late evening strollers, the sun sinking beneath the horizon, they kissed.
Harry withdrew, the intensity of the kiss moving south in his body. ‘At this rate, I’ll be wanting you all over again.’ He needed to let go of Maddy, except her hand, to allow the breeze to cool his thoughts, and reduce the tightness in his jeans.
‘We’d better keep walking then; we wouldn’t want you being done for indecency.’