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Kirsty stumbled from Reeve's office, blinded by tears, and hurried to the nearest restroom. The area was empty. She washed and wiped her tearstained face then straightened her clothing. She took a deep breath and marched into the kitchen.
The kitchen staff were talking nervously to one another, but all conversation stopped when Kirsty entered the room. With a nod in their direction and head held high she entered the staff changing room and put on her trousers, jacket and cap. Her walk was purposeful as she crossed the room to Chef's—no, her—desk. A swift intake of breath came from the women as Kirsty sat down, but when they hastily turned away trying to look busy as she looked up.
Kirsty glanced up at the day board, but whatever had been written there had been wiped clean. Antoine must have done this before he left, and he'd also rifled through the desk. The wastepaper basket on the floor indicated he had destroyed or removed anything he thought might help her in her new position.
Oh, well, I didn't do all my training for nothing. Perhaps in the long run it's better to be dumped in at the deep end. At least this way I can prove to everybody I'm capable of doing the job.
If she was honest the only person to impress was Reeve, but this was pushed ruthlessly from her mind as she felt the tears begin to well up again.
The kitchen maids told her Antoine had cancelled preparations for today's meals and indicated the new head chef would give them their orders. Kirsty set them to work, preparing the soup of the day and the potatoes. A check of the store cupboards and freezers gave her ingredients for the main course. The kitchen maids chatted quietly to one another discussing the unexpected turn of events, but as Kirsty proved her ability to run the kitchen and get a lunchtime menu prepared, they accepted her being in sole charge.
Reeve appeared in the kitchen about half an hour before lunch. He sounded cold and formal as he checked everything was in order, and Kirsty's heart sank. Despite being busy, her thoughts kept returning to the meeting in Reeve's office. Her unhappiness had made her overwrought, and she'd allowed her emotions to take over when she'd told him they needed to keep things on a purely business basis.
Why didn't I act as normal and ask him what he'd been doing meeting another woman on the beach?
Lunch went off without a hitch. Afterward, Kirsty left the kitchen maids to clear up and took a cup of coffee to the seat outside the back door.
Why didn't I keep my temper? Is it too late? He probably won't listen to me if I try to apologize. I wouldn't blame him if her flung my words back in my face? Kirsty rose with a sigh and returned to the kitchen. There was far too much work to do now, and no time to do anything about the situation between her and Reeve. After planning the dinner menu and getting her helpers started, she rang Reeve's office and asked to have a word with him. He agreed in a cool voice to see her in his office immediately. Any hopes of taking a moment to sort out their personal problems were dashed when he greeted her in a cold and formal voice.
"Sit down, Miss Lawrence." The chips of ice were in the grey eyes again. "What did you want to see me about?"
Kirsty's heart sank. He had called her Miss Lawrence again, which meant he had no intention of allowing her inside his guard. Mentally drawing her courage round her she sat down.
If this is the way he wants it this is the way he'll get it.
"I'm sure you realize we are now short-staffed, Mr. Stuart. Of course I will not be taking any time off this week, but I would ask if you or I should take steps to alleviate the situation?" Kirsty found it difficult not to clasp her hands in her lap as she waited nervously for his reply.
"The matter is in hand, Miss Lawrence. An advertisement has been placed in the national and trade papers, and the agency has been asked to provide a temporary sous-chef to tide us over until I can engage someone on a permanent basis." He stared coldly at her. "Is there anything else?"
"Reeve, I'm sorry about this morning. Can we—"
"You made your feelings abundantly clear, Miss Lawrence. You wish to keep our relationship on a purely business basis. I have no objections. Now, if there's nothing else, I have work to do."
She reached the door and glanced back, but he had bent his head over the papers on his desk. A dark cloak of depression enveloped Kirsty, and a hollow pit grew in her stomach. He really wasn't interested in listening to her apology. What hurt most was the realization his cold anger showed his feelings for her must have been as strong as hers for him.
By the end of the day, Kirsty felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. Gina popped in to find out what had happened, but Kirsty didn't have time to talk, nor did she feel ready to discuss the major upheaval in her life. Her wounds were too raw and vulnerable.
Kirsty tossed and turned that night, but no matter which way she moved, her thoughts chased after her. The angry words between Reeve and her repeated over and over in her mind. What she would have said if she had the time over again, but the morning alarm brought the situation in the same light as when she'd eventually fallen asleep.
Over the next few days Kirsty threw herself into the job, but her nights were spent restlessly tossing and turning in her bed and dark shadows appeared beneath her eyes. During the day, the normal chattering of the maids passed over her, although her mind remained alert to anything concerning the catering. The two women were close friends and spent endless hours talking about family and mutual acquaintances. On Thursday morning her ears pricked up when they mentioned a familiar name.
"Did you hear about Mr. Stuart?" one woman asked. "My husband knows someone who works at one of the big hotels in the city. He says Mr. Stuart's group bought their hotel, and ended up getting rid of a lot of staff."
"Ooh! You don't think it's going to happen here, do you?" The other woman stared wide-eyed at her colleague. "I wouldn't be surprised. Apparently he never stays long in any one place. He buys the place, sorts out any problems, then buys another one. He got rid of half the staff at the city hotel, and now he's given Chef Antoine the push."
Kirsty pretended not to have heard their comments, but everything clicked into place. Reeve had wined and dined her to learn the ins and outs of the Hibiscus Hotel. He hadn't sacked Antoine because of her. He'd done it to get the place running smoothly as quickly as possible so he could move on to his next purchase.
Gina wouldn't let her off the hook, and she waltzed into the kitchen after the restaurant closed and took Kirsty by the arm. The receptionist liberated two cups of coffee from a surprised kitchen maid and then propelled Kirsty outside.
"Now then, Kirsty, sit down and drink this."
Obediently Kirsty sat and sipped at the hot coffee, but after one mouthful the cup remained still in her hands. Her gaze stared out over the sea, glazing over as the thoughts tumbled around inside her head.
"Kirsty!" Gina's voice snapped her back to the present. "Tell me what happened. It hasn't made you very happy. Tell Aunty Gina all about it."
Kirsty's lips curved into a weary smile, but after taking another sip of coffee she turned to look at her friend.
"Tell me what you know. Then I'll fill in the gaps if I can."
"First—Chef Antoine has got the push. Second—you're in charge of the kitchen, but I don't know if it's permanent or until they get a replacement." Gina had been ticking off items on her fingers, and now held up finger number three. "Third—I don't know what happened in Mr. Stuart's office, but since Monday, both of you have been looking like the sky's fallen in on you. On top of this, his temper's been foul. You know how he can be critical in a freezing sort of way? Well, he's found so many faults everybody's treading very carefully in case they follow Chef Antoine out the door."
"You mean you haven't heard the scuttlebutt about Reeve troubleshooting the hotels he buys? He comes in, sorts out any problems and moves on to his next victim." Gina's expression showed her friend had heard the gossip.
"Well, yes," Gina admitted reluctantly. "I did hear something, but so what? You know the hotel was getting run down. Poor old Mr. Bennett couldn't hack it any more."
"I feel he's used me, Gina." Kirsty took another sip of coffee. "He got close to me so he could trap Chef Antoine."
"You could be right, Kirsty." Gina looked thoughtful. "I don't suppose you've heard the rest of the gossip, have you? The Garden Group's bought the theatre restaurant. It's a close-kept secret at the moment, but the head receptionist told me to keep my cool a bit longer because we wouldn't have to put up with Reeve Stuart for much longer as he'd be moving on to his newest acquisition. I'm not sure if it's right, though, because I also heard he's buying a house here on the Peninsula."
"I'd heard about the theatre restaurant, but it makes it even worse, Gina. It still doesn't alter the fact he used me to get the goods on Antoine so he could get rid of him. He couldn't sack Mr. Bennett because the man had already retired, so he picked on Antoine instead."
"Hey, hold on! You've got a short memory. He wouldn't have sacked Chef if he didn't have a good reason."
"I know." Kirsty sighed. "I still feel he shouldn't have involved me. It makes me feel dirty! To think I thought I loved the guy."
"Wait a minute! What's all this about loving him?" Gina stared at her. "I don't think you've told me everything, Kirsty. Start from the beginning and tell me all about it. You'll feel a lot better if you get all your worries out in the open."
"Okay," Kirsty said quietly. "Let's take your queries one at a time. First—yes, Antoine's gone, but I can't tell you any more. I'm not sure if I understand the whole thing myself. Second—I'm the new head chef permanently. Mr. Stuart's looking for a sous-chef and the one we've got now is a temporary. As for the rest, well..."
To Kirsty's surprise, tears sprang to her eyes at the memory of what had happened in Reeve's office, and she hastily pulled a tissue from her pocket.
"The wind's got in my eye."
"Pull the other one, girl, I'm not entirely stupid." Her friend put an arm around Kirsty's shoulders. "Come on, Kirsty. Something happened in Mr. Stuart's office and it might help if you told me about it. We've been friends long enough for you to know I won't spread it round the hotel."
"You know last week when Chef chucked me out of the kitchen?" Gina nodded and Kirsty took a deep breath, then carried on. "Well, I knew Reeve was away, but I didn't know he'd got the flu, so I decided to go to his place and give him a bit of my mind."
"Just a minute, how did you know where he lived?" Gina asked sharply.
"The evening he took me to dinner when you were working—well, he had to go home and change first." Catching the look in Gina's eye, she hastened to add, "I stayed in the car and waited for him."
"I believe you." Gina grinned. "So what happened when you got to his place last week?"
"I knocked on the door, but didn't get a reply, so I went around the side. I could see his car in the garage so knew he must be around somewhere. The back door was unlocked, but, even though I knocked and called with the door open, nobody answered. Then I heard a moan from a room off the hallway leading from the kitchen."
Kirsty paused for breath, then collected her thoughts and carried on. "I found Reeve in bed with a high fever. He was tossing and turning and a bit delirious. I couldn't leave him in such a state, could I? Anyway, I looked after him for a few days and—well, I'd started falling for him even before then. As he got fitter we got to know one another better."
"Maybe you should say intimately instead of better?" Gina queried with a grin.
"Okay, yes, but we didn't go all the way. It's what makes it hurt so much. I fell in love, Gina. I thought he felt the same. I must have been wrong because, since he came back to work, he's made one excuse after another to avoid me. I realize now he never said he loved me. On Sunday, he told me he had to work, but I saw him on the beach kissing another woman. I felt so angry and hurt. When Chef Antoine left the office on Monday, I told Reeve I wanted to keep our relationship purely business. Now I know about the takeovers and everything, I'm sure he used me to get at Antoine. I know I finished with him, but he didn't have to look so relieved to get rid of me." The tears sprang to Kirsty's eyes once more.
"Are you sure you've got this right?" Gina frowned. "From what you've said in the past, Antoine deserved everything he got, especially as he tried to dump you in it. You should know better than to jump to conclusions, Kirsty. I bet you didn't even ask Mr. Stuart about what you'd seen, did you?"
"No, I didn't." Kirsty took a fresh tissue from her pocket and wiped at the tears. "I could kick myself now, Gina. At the time I could only think of how he'd betrayed me, but maybe I got it wrong too. I should have given him a chance to explain."
"Well it's not too late, is it?"
"I think it might be," Kirsty replied. "I had to talk to him later on the day Antoine left, and I meant to take the opportunity to ask him to explain. He sounded so cold and aloof, I chickened out, but now I wish I hadn't. Everything feels so sort of unfinished."
"I still say it's not too late," Gina repeated stubbornly. "Even though I only know him as a boss, Reeve Stuart doesn't seem the type of man to take advantage of you just to get proof about Antoine. Go and see him, Kirsty. Ask him about the woman on the beach and the gossip floating around the hotel. You won't be able to move on until you get this all sorted out."
Gina went back to work, and Kirsty returned to the kitchen. Her hands prepared food for the evening menu, but in her mind she kept going over what her friend had said. Gina had been right. Kirsty must see Reeve and find out exactly how he felt about her. She had to get him to explain about the other woman. Only then would Kirsty know if his feelings for her were as strong as the love she felt for him.
Several times the next morning Kirsty reached for the phone, intending to ask Reeve for a meeting in his office. Each time her nerve failed her. In the kitchen after lunch Kirsty sat at her desk staring at the phone. Her mind pushed her to ring Reeve, but her hand wouldn't obey her.
"This is silly," she muttered. "Perhaps if I got away from here I'd be able to see things more clearly."
Luckily the temporary sous-chef had asked if he could try out a new recipe during the afternoon lull, so Kirsty could go home for a few hours. A half-hour soak in the bath made her feel physically better. Confusion still clouded her mind. Normally she'd bake her way to a clear head, but there wasn't enough time before returning to the hotel.
Wrapped in a dressing gown, hair surrounding her face in damp tendrils, she sat on the sofa and tucked her legs under her. She picked up a writing pad and made a list of the questions to ask Reeve.
"Number one, the woman on the beach." Speaking aloud helped to center her thoughts. "Two, why he didn't tell me what was going on with Antoine, and why did he use me in such a rotten way?"
She looked at her list and frowned. What if Reeve refused to answer her? Would it mean he no longer trusted her? What if he did answer and she didn't like what he said? "Drat!"
The doorbell interrupted her reverie. She plonked the pad onto the coffee table and untucking her legs she headed for the stairs. Her irritation increased when the doorbell rang a second time.
"All right. All right. I heard you the first time."
Her mind had already formed the words to reprimand the visitor for his or her impatience. As she opened the door the words froze on her lips. Reeve stood on the doorstep. He pushed past her without a word and climbed the stairs. Kirsty's anger raced to the surface. She shut the door and quickly hurried after him.
"What do you think you're doing? Barging in here as if you own the place?" She caught up with him in the lounge.
"Be quiet, Kirsty," he commanded. "Sit!"
"Now just you wait a minute..." With a gentle push Reeve made her sit on the sofa.
"I said be quiet. You had your say on Monday. Now it's my turn." Reeve ran his fingers through his hair as he strode to the window and back again. "This whole mess is partly my fault. I should've told you what was happening, instead of expecting you to go along with what I said. The truth is I knew as soon as I took over the hotel something was badly wrong with the restaurant. In the last six months, the takings and number of covers for each meal had plummeted. It's my practice to find out who's responsible for such losses and get rid of them."
"I know." Kirsty's anger melted as he blinked in surprise. "It's on the hotel grapevine, Reeve. You didn't honestly think they wouldn't know what you were up to, did you? I must admit it took longer than usual for the scuttlebutt to get around. I didn't hear about it until yesterday."
Kirsty's thoughts sobered as she remembered the results his hidden agenda had produced. Reeve peered at her intently. "You thought I'd made up to you so I could get information on Antoine, didn't you?" He accused her, a hurt look on his face. "My darling, you couldn't be further from the truth. I admit I did stand back and let things take their course at the meeting after the Millers' reception. I needed to lure Antoine into making a stand regarding his employment. I do not use people, Kirsty. It's not my way, especially after last week. The way I feel about you I could never, ever treat you in such an underhand way."
"Why did it appear you were siding with Chef Antoine? Gina said he was all smiles after he'd spoken to you when you went back to work. Why did you seem to be avoiding me? Then on Monday you wouldn't let me come into work until nine o'clock. Why, Reeve, why?" Kirsty looked at him, her thoughts a confused jumble.
"By appearing to side with Chef Antoine I hoped he wouldn't do anything too drastic, and his smile resulted from keeping him sweet until I'd got written proof about him. I had to protect you, Kirsty, so I couldn't be friendly with you. As for Monday, I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be interrupted. Antoine had to go. He'd become a danger to your professional reputation, as well as to the hotel. As for avoiding you, I didn't want to betray to Antoine how strong my feelings for you were. I thought if I stayed away from you until after the confrontation with him, you wouldn't get hurt in the backlash."
"You did this for me?" Kirsty eyes were round with astonishment.
"Yes, I did. It didn't work though, did it? I stayed away from you, but you still got hurt. I found it nigh on impossible to hide how I felt about you." Reeve sat down beside her. "Part of the downhill trend of the hotel was due to Mr. Bennett slowing down as he got nearer retirement. The drastic fall in restaurant takings over the last six months couldn't be explained. When I first encountered the sous-chef I thought I had the answer."
"Thank you very much!" Kirsty stuck her nose in the air, assuming a picture of injured pride, but her pose collapsed into giggles as she saw Reeve's impish grin.
"I soon got the idea knocked out of my head when the headstrong sous-chef demanded a showdown. I also felt I couldn't possibly be so wrong in my instincts. How could I fall in love with someone who on the surface was so devious? Do you remember how hard I pushed you the first week? I felt I couldn't trust my own mind. Antoine tried to convince me you weren't to be trusted, but every time I came near you, I wanted to pick you up and take you away somewhere where we could be on our own."
Kirsty smothered a gasp. Weeks ago he said he'd fallen in love with her. Wait a minute, her cautious mind warned. How does he feel now?
"It soon became obvious you were totally honest and when Chef went sick, it merely underlined the problem to be him, not you." Reeve paused and his expression turned serious. "Did you know, Kirsty, although you had a high opinion of him, a lot of the catering business felt a bit dubious about several of his activities.
"The previous group who owned the Hibiscus Hotel had been unable to pin anything on him, which is why they sent him here where he couldn't do too much harm. He didn't work here by choice. He somehow managed to get those ridiculous clauses written into his contract, but they didn't tell me about this to start off with. They hoped if I found some dirt on him I'd assume they hadn't known about it, and would terminate his contract without any fuss. He'd been charging things to the hotel which were intended for his own personal use, plus he let the standard of the restaurant fall drastically, which is why there wasn't too much in the way of catering functions recently. Last but not least he tried to blame you."
"I still don't understand why. What on earth did he think he would gain by blaming me? At the very best he'd end up with a new sous-chef." Kirsty frowned. Something had been said in Reeve's office which nagged at the back of her mind, but the words wouldn't surface in her mind. Reeve spoke again, and suddenly she remembered—the clause in Antoine's contract.
"On the contrary, if you were proved to be unsuitable for the job, he could call in the escape clause in his contract. Then he could waltz off to a new job at the theatre restaurant with no stain on his character. He tried to use you as a fall guy, my love."
Reeve's hand covered Kirsty's and the look on his face made her tremble as she saw the tender flame of love warming his eyes.
"I thought I had it all planned out, Kirsty. Get rid of Chef, promote you to head chef, then we could sort out our personal life together." Reeve peered intently into her green eyes. "What went wrong, Kirsty? It couldn't only have been because you thought I'd used you. You told me you'd only found out about my takeovers yesterday. So what happened, Kirsty? Why did you tell me the ridiculous story about keeping our business and private lives separate."
"It was all my own stupid, jealous fault, Reeve. I didn't trust you enough to ask you to explain the real thing bothering me." Kirsty looked down at her lap. Reeve's free hand cupped her chin and he lifted her face, forcing her to look at him.
"Ask me now, Kirsty. Let's get everything out into the open, once and for all."
"It doesn't matter."
I've overreacted enough for one day. The woman on the beach didn't really matter, did she? Yes, she did!
"Let me guess," Reeve said. "You saw me meeting another woman on the beach."
"How did you know?" Kirsty gasped.
Reeve pointed at the writing pad on the coffee table and grinned.
"It's not funny, Reeve. I thought you were avoiding me once you got back to the hotel. You said you had a backlog of work. It didn't bother me too much. It made me feel a bit unsettled. Then I saw you on the beach with another woman. My mind played tricks on me as you weren't very close to me and I couldn't be sure it was you. Then you hugged and kissed her before you drove off. I recognized your car." Kirsty dropped her eyes as the tears welled up again. "It hurt because I thought you loved me, but there you were with another woman when you said you didn't have time to see me." She felt Reeve shudder beside her and an apprehensive feeling stole over her. He must be annoyed by her lack of trust and trembling with suppressed anger. She'd blown her chance to explain her feelings and ask him what had happened.
"You goose!" Reeve gasped, and Kirsty glanced up in surprise, her tears forgotten. Instead of shaking with anger, he sat there convulsed with laughter. "Oh, Kirsty, my love, I suppose I should be flattered you were so jealous about what you thought you saw."
"I did see you hug and kiss her!" Kirsty couldn't let him get away with laughing the matter off.
"Think, my adorable Kirsty. Think about it. Imagine you're back on the beach and have just seen me." Reeve held her face in his hands and stared into her eyes, willing her to picture the scene.
"The two of you walked up the beach from the high tide line." The memory came instantly to mind. "Then you gave her a hug. After kissing her, you went to your car and she turned and walked off along the beach. Oh!" Kirsty raised her eyes to Reeve's. "I'm so sorry Reeve. I'm such an idiot. You kissed her on the cheek."
"Exactly!" Reeve's lips still curled upwards with humor. "Louise is an old friend from the city office of the Garden Group. I met her on the beach to collect the documented proof of Chef's involvement with the wedding, plus the dismissal letter from the lawyers and the other details of his unsavory background dragged from the old owners of the hotel. We couldn't meet at the Hibiscus in case Antoine saw us. I'd been hoping I could pop in here and see you before I went back, but I thought it best not to. I couldn't be sure I'd be able to carry on my act at the hotel. "
"Oh, Reeve, can you forgive me?" Kirsty pleaded with her voice and eyes.
"There's nothing to forgive, Kirsty. You misunderstood, due to me keeping things from you. I should have taken you into my confidence a bit sooner. Now it's all behind us there is one other thing I need to know."
Kirsty's heart fluttered as she waited for him to continue.
"Do you really want to become the head chef at the theatre restaurant?"
"How did you... Oh, of course, the Garden Group's bought the franchise, hasn't it? Now I know where I'd seen Louise before. She was the lady on the interview panel. No, Reeve, I don't want the theatre job. I applied for it when things began to get uncomfortable with Antoine." Kirsty's unhappiness returned like a shower of cold water. He hadn't asked the question she'd hoped he would ask. "How did you know about it anyway? Surely they didn't consider me for the position?"
"On the contrary, they were very impressed by your application and put you on the shortlist for my consideration. I'm glad you've decided to stay in Orewa. My mysterious woman friend on the beach asked whether I thought you'd still be interested once Antoine had gone." Reeve chuckled, but then his eyes became serious. "Talking about the data she gave me, I don't suppose you've heard I'm buying a house on the Peninsula?"
"Yep!" Kirsty grinned, partly with relief and partly with laughter at Reeve's surprise. "I told you the hotel grapevine is one of the best in the area."
"Well, one thing they don't know is I intend making the Hibiscus Hotel my pet project." Reeve smiled smugly and leaned back, arms folded as he waited for her answer.
"Ah, there you have me," Kirsty admitted. "The grapevine hasn't got this little detail yet."
"Remember when we went out to dinner I told you about my ambition to run a small, select hotel some day, and you told me your ambition of owning a restaurant?" He smiled at Kirsty, who nodded.
"I thought you'd already achieved your ambition," Kirsty said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"I've done more than achieve it, but I feel I've lost my objective by owning more than one place. My parents left me my first two hotels. When they died and I took over, the whole thing just sort of grew until I now have five properties, six with the theatre franchise. I'd like to get back to basics once in a while, and I intend using the Hibiscus for this purpose. I want to use it as a training ground for managers. I'll need a top class chef and I think you know what I'm about to ask, Kirsty. Would you consider being half-owner of a restaurant which is part of a hotel as the answer to your dreams?"
"I might." Caution made her hesitate. "It depends on what terms are being offered."
"First, I'd better tell you about my ideas for the hotel. I want to make it one of those small but exclusive places where people fight to get in. I remember what you said about the staff feeling nervous when I took over, and I'd like to make it run efficiently, but not lose the family atmosphere. I know you'll agree the whole place needs to be refurbished, but I don't want it to become all marble and stainless steel. Part of the success of a good hotel hangs on the quality of the restaurant and obviously this depends on the head chef. My first choice would be you. I hoped we could go into partnership." Again he sat back and waited for her reply.
"It's a lovely idea, Reeve, but I can't afford so much money. I'm quite happy to work for you, though. More than happy."
"In that case, can I make the restaurant a present to you? I really need your help, Kirsty." He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Say yes. You know you're dying to do it."
"No, it's too much. I couldn't possibly accept such a gift from you." Kirsty would rather have gone on with the kiss than continue talking about the hotel, but she knew the problem had to be solved, or it might stand in the way of their future relationship.
"Would you reconsider my offer if I made it a present for the bride on her wedding day?" His expression remained serious as he waited for his question to sink in.
"Wedding day! You mean? Really?" Kirsty couldn't believe she'd heard him correctly.
"Yes, really. I hope you don't mind, but I'm a bit old fashioned about some things." He hitched up his immaculately-pressed trousers and went down on one knee. "Kirsty Lawrence, I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Oh, Reeve, I... Yes. The answer is yes. I'd love to be your wife and your head chef." Kirsty's words came out in a breathless rush.
He rose and his arms enfolded her.
"This is where you belong, my Kirsty," he murmured as he rained small kisses over her face. "Here in my arms for evermore."
––––––––
The End
About Sue Perkins
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SUE SPENT THE EARLY years of her marriage traveling the world with her husband. This included two years living in the Middle East with their young family. A short while later the family moved to New Zealand. Sue and her husband now live on a three-acre block at the top of New Zealand's South Island. Their two children have carried on the family tradition of globetrotters.
Sue loves reading and writing fantasy, romance, young adult, and juvenile. When asked if she would ever stop writing she replied "Not until all the plots in my head have been written—which probably means I'll never stop."
Her hobbies include reading, writing, and craftwork. Researching family history is another leisure activity holding Sue's interest.