Page 14 of The Allotment on Willow Tree Lane

But what was the point? Knowing his full name wouldn’t make any difference if she was unlikely to set eyes on him again. She just had to accept that she had been thoroughly and expertly kissed by a total stranger, and as much as she had enjoyed the encounter, there wouldn’t be a repeat performance. And in a way, it made their brief encounter all the more magical – drinking wine, gazing up at the stars, and kissing a handsome stranger…

Ceri should be tired, but she was oddly wide awake, as though the kiss had sparked her energy levels, so she decided to take a glass of water into the garden and sit for a while.

The area might be tiny, but it didn’t feel that way, because not long after Huw had bought the cottage, he had enlisted Ceri’s help in her professional capacity as a horticulturist to make the most of the outside space. She had filled it with carefully chosen plants to provide structure and form, then had added other planting to provide colour, interest and scent, and to attract plenty of bees and butterflies.

Tipping her head back, she gazed up at the night sky and wondered what Damon was doing now. She presumed he had returned to whatever hotel or guest house he was staying in, and she wondered whether he was at The Jolly Fox, where her parents had booked a room for a couple of nights. She was planning on joining them there tomorrow for Sunday lunch, before they travelled on towards the Llyn Peninsula and the spa hotel where they were basing their exploration of that part of north Wales from.

Would she see him there or would he have left already?

In some way, she hoped she didn’t bump into him again, because right now she was viewing their encounter as enchanted. If she met him tomorrow the lovely bubble would undoubtedly burst and instead of remembering him as a handsome prince, he would most likely turn into a slimy frog and the memory of this wonderful evening would be forever sullied.

It was better to leave things as they were.

She didn’t think she would forget him for a very long time though, and deep down she prayed their paths would cross once more, because she had the unsettling feeling that, given the opportunity, Damon could mean a great deal more to her than she was willing to admit.

Chapter 4

Ceri peered out of her bedroom window on the first Monday after the half-term holiday and checked the weather, unable to believe this day had actually arrived. One minute she had been excitedly (although nervously) attending an interview for a job she didn’t think she stood a chance in hell of getting, the next she was waking up to her very first day as a teacher.

Oh, God, she would beteaching!

She’d never taught anyone anything before, so what made her think she would be able to teach anyone now? What had possessed her to apply for the job in the first place? And what on earth had the college been thinking when they had offered it to her? Were theydaft?

She couldn’t do this.

Panic pinged along her veins and she flopped down on the bed, the mattress bouncing under her weight. Her legs were like jelly and she hadn’t even got as far as having a shower yet. Goodness knows what state she’d be in when she had to stand in front of a class for the very first time.

Swallowing hard, she decided to give the college a call to tell them she had changed her mind, or she was ill, or leaving the country. Anything to prevent her from feeling like this.

If only she could speak to Huw, but it was the middle of the night in Trinidad and he was on his honeymoon. The last thing he needed was his sister whingeing that she was too scared to turn up to her new job.

She knew what he would say; he would tell her to get a grip and stop being so pathetic.

But it was all right for him, he was used to giving presentations and speaking to groups of people. He had a responsible position, working for Co-op Cymru, helping communities set up businesses. Even though Ceri had a degree in horticulture, the only thing she was trained to do was to advise customers on how to care for their hardy geraniums. It was hardly a sound base for getting a bunch of sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds to pass their City & Guilds or BTEC qualifications, was it?

The mentor who had been assigned to her had brought her up to speed on where the students were at, and she had spent every day since moving to Foxmore (except for the day of Huw’s wedding) preparing lessons and going through the scheme of work that the previous teacher had left. But she was still terrified of the task ahead of her.

She was under no illusion that it would be easy to step into someone else’s shoes, but she would simply have to grin and get on with it, and pray that her years of hands-on experience would count for something.

Her phone rang just as she was trying to force a piece of toast down her throat, and she scrambled to answer it when she saw who was calling.

‘Huw! Is everything all right?’

‘It’s bloody marvellous!’ her brother cried. ‘You’d love Trinidad – so many exotic plants for you to swoon over!’

‘What time is it there?’

‘Um… three a.m.’

‘Are you sure everything’s OK?’

‘I’m sure. We’re having a brilliant time. Long days on the beach, longer nights in—’

‘Enough already! I know you’re on your honeymoon, but you’re my brother. I do not want to hear all the sordid details. Ew.’

‘I was going to say, longer nights in the bar,’ Huw replied. ‘Get your mind out of the gutter, sis.’

Ceri wrinkled her nose. ‘Why are you calling me?’ She briefly considered sharing her fears with him, but she held back. He was clearly having a good time, and didn’t need to be worrying about her. She’d just have to grow up and stop being such a wimp.

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