Page 19 of Stolen Kiss

Grabbing a few other pieces of clothing, he hightailed it out of his old room and Turner Hall. Thankfully his aunt was nowhere to be seen. He ran down the back stairs and skidded to a stop in the old kitchens and almost ran into Bailey.

“Sorry Bailey,” Jason said to his back.

“Not a problem, is there something you needed?”

Bailey turned with a hanger in one hand and a pair of shoes in the other.

“Bailey,” Jason said. “You didn’t have to polish my shoes.”

“You are going on a date to impress a lady. Having scuffed shoes will not achieve that.”

Bailey was so proper it made Jason’s teeth ache. He adored the man and valued the standards he held at Turner Hall. He knew how to wear anything, what the protocol was for everything and knew the history of Turner Hall and Copper Island like he’d lived the last four hundred years. He was a third generation footman and learned everything he knew from his father and grandfather.

“I hope they are the correct colour for what you’re wearing,” Bailey said.

They were. He was wearing dark-coloured jeans with a white shirt that was in Bailey’s left hand. The black shoes in Bailey’s right hand were exactly what he was planning to wear.

“Thank you Bailey,” Jason said. “And thank Maggie too for the shirt ironing. I promise I won’t ask often.”

“We are here to look after you, even though you’re over at the cottages. There isn’t an awful lot to do with only Miss Turner inthe house. Maggie and I argued over who was going to iron the shirt. She won.”

“She always does,” they both said at the same time.

Jason said goodbye and walked back to his cottage. Archer and Erica weren’t in their back terrace and the house looked locked up. He was grateful as he didn’t need the ribbing before his date. He was nervous enough as it was.

Chapter Eight

Heidi

It had been some time since Heidi had been on a date. She spent most of her down time sleeping or drinking martinis down at The Anchor. Everyone knew everyone, so it was difficult to date. It tended to be a case of people gravitated to one another and then the next the island knew, they were planning their wedding.

New people came to the island but not all settled. Anytime a handsome man stepped foot on Copper Island, Heidi’s mother would make it her mission to find out everything about him, deciding if he was suitable to her daughter. If he was, then her mother would impart the information. Otherwise it was like the person never existed. Freya dragged her, or rather Heidi went willing whenever she whispered martini. The Anchor made a great martini and Heidi liked hers dirty. Much like her men, not that she indulged very often. Sometimes when summer arrived, she had a lover for a few months knowing they would leave when the final gig race was won.

She preferred it that way. No one had turned her head, not since Jason Turner broke her heart.

It had taken her an hour to get ready, styling her hair and applying her make up like she was going to a photoshoot. It took her more time to look natural than she did to look glam.

Freya had watched from her perch on the ottoman chest she’d dragged along the corridor to Heidi’s upstairs bathroom.

“You look lovely. It’s a lot of effort for a boy who broke your heart,” Freya commented.

She was sitting on the trunk, knees together, ankles apart with her elbows on her thighs, hands holding up her chin.

“It’s just a catch up. To say hello,” Heidi said, dragging the wand through her eyelashes.

“Will he say hello with tongues?”

“Freya,” Heidi said in shock but then burst out in giggles, trying not to blink until her mascara dried. “No kissing.”

“He’s already kissed you.”

“Not with tongues.”

“I shall require a report in the morning before I head to school.”

“I’ll already be at work,” Heidi replied looking at Freya in the mirror.

“I’ll come earlier, or better still wake me up with a cup of tea.”

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