Page 75 of The Summer Swap

“Just reminding you I exist, that’s all.”

He gave a funny half smile. “I know you exist, Lily. I’m hardly likely to forget.” His gaze lingered on hers for a moment and her heart started to beat a little harder and faster.

“You’re staring.”

“I was just wondering something.”

She was wondering something, too. She was wondering whether she should just tell him how she felt. Get it out there, because the strain of holding it in, of watching herself all the time, checking she wasn’t giving anything away, was exhausting. Her feelings for him seemed to be growing by the day and she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to keep her love for him a secret. Maybe she should just kiss him, right here, right now.

It wouldn’t be the first time, although he’d never mentioned it since.

It had been the summer before, at a party full of people who were mostly drunk. Lily had danced for a while, then retreated to a corner to worry about an exam she had in two days.

She’d been about to leave the party when Todd had arrived with a couple of friends.

He’d leaned in to kiss her hello as he had a hundred times before, except that this time they were jostled by the crowd and then somehow, and she could never figure out exactly how it had happened, they were kissing. Not polite greeting kissing. But properly kissing. Mouths locked together, hearts pounding. And having started, she couldn’t stop. Or maybe she could have done, but she hadn’t wanted to. Why would she want to? The kiss was the best thing that had ever happened to her, the gentle touch of his fingers against her cheek the best thing she’d ever felt. And then one of his friends had dragged him away and she’d stood for a moment, dazed, wondering what had just happened.

He’d never mentioned it, and so neither had she.

But that didn’t mean she’d forgotten.

She tugged herself back to the present and realized he was still staring.

“What?” What, what, what...she sounded like a parrot. “You said you were wondering something?”

“How are your sewing skills?”

“My—sewing skills?” Of all the things she’d hoped he might say, that hadn’t made the list.

“Yes. This sofa is the focal point of the room. It needs to change.”

Lily tried her hardest to concentrate on the sofa. “Right.”

“Don’t waste time covering it.” Cecilia joined them in the room. “It has been here for decades. Those cushions bear the shape of everyone who has ever sat on them and it’s beyond resurrection. If we’re going to do this, then we’re going to do it. We’ll change the sofa.”

Lily saw Todd wrestle with his natural aversion to throwing things out.

“It’s lumpy and horrid,” she said helpfully. “It’s the most uncomfortable sofa I have ever sat on.”

“That’s true. It has more humps than a camel. Okay then—” He looked at the kitchen. “Those cabinets—”

“Todd Buckingham, you are not ripping out my kitchen.” Cecilia folded her arms, ready to do battle but Todd shook his head.

“I’m not ripping anything out. Unlike the sofa, those cabinets are good quality. They’re wood. I’m going to sand them down, and Lily is going to paint them.”

She was? Lily was still dealing with the fact that Cecilia had called it “my” kitchen. Her use of the possessive pronoun had to be a good sign, surely?

“And when are you planning on doing all this work? You’re installing a kitchen in Provincetown.”

“They called this morning and put it on hold. Illness in the family. These things happen. Sometimes it’s frustrating, and sometimes it’s fortuitous. This time it’s the second. I’m free for the next month. I’ll fix up the cottage, if that’s what you’d like. Can I take a look upstairs?”

When he set his mind to something he was a bit like a bulldozer, Lily thought.

“Lily has a job,” Cecilia said as she followed him up the stairs. “She won’t have the time to help you.”

“She can help me after work.” Todd walked into the second bedroom, where Cecilia was sleeping. “I see why you thought that bookshelf would look good in here, Lily. And if it’s my room, I’m going to need bookshelves.”

Cecilia followed him into the room. “The master is your room.”

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