Page 50 of The Allotment on Willow Tree Lane

‘Mrs Moxley wants to know if she can have one of the plots on your allotment.’

‘It’s notmyallotment. Tell her to speak to Terry. He’s organising that side of things.’

‘Apparently, she did and he told her to speak to you. First come, first served, he said, so she wanted to make sure she was the first. She would have come to see you herself, but she’s doing a shift in Sero. Have you got any bacon? I’m starving.’

‘No.Go home and make breakfast in your own house.’

‘Grumpy-guts. How about you get dressed and we’ll have breakfast in Pen’s Pantry? It’ll be more like lunch, though.’ He peered at her. ‘Are you OK? Not feeling ill, are you? You look a bit flushed.’ He backed away. ‘Whatever you’ve got, don’t give it to me. I don’t want to catch it.’

Ceri thought he already had… Ever since he’d met Rowena he’d had an acute case of love-itus. And after last night, Ceri was beginning to feel she might be heading in that direction herself. It had been…wonderful. She hugged herself, remembering. No wonder they had slept in this morning, because neither she nor Damon had managed much sleep last night. The thought made her giggle.

‘Have you got a temperature?’ Huw asked suspiciously. ‘I think you’ve got a rash – your face has gone all red and blotchy.’

‘I am not red and blotchy.’ She checked her appearance in the mirror hanging above the fireplace. Damn it! Shewasblotchy. It was probably from Damon’s stubbly chin on her sensitive skin. It wasn’t a rash she had, it was beard burn caused by too much kissing.

A noise from upstairs made her flinch and she glanced at the ceiling.

‘What was that?’ Huw began, then a knowing expression stole across his face. ‘You’ve got someone here, haven’t you? Who does that car belong to?’

‘What car?’

‘The one parked outside your house. I’d assumed one of the neighbours had changed their car, or they’ve got a visitor, but I’m beginning to suspect that it’syouwho’s got a visitor… one who stayed all night.’

Ceri scowled and blushed furiously.

‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ he crowed. Lowering his voice, he said, ‘Who is it? Someone from the college?Mark?’

‘Aside from him being my boss, Mark is married, so no, not Mark.’

‘Who then?’

‘Me.’ Damon had appeared at the bottom of the stairs, fully dressed. He looked far less ruffled than she did, and she felt quite put out. He didn’t look as though he’d made love all night and then some! He looked gorgeous, and Ceri wanted nothing more than to take him to bed again.

Huw’s mouth dropped open. He glanced at Ceri, who rolled her eyes. ‘Damon, this is my annoying older brother, Huw. Huw, meet Damon. And close your mouth, Huw. It’s not your best look.’

‘Um, nice to meet you,’ Huw said. He was staring at Damon, his eyes wide.

Damon said, ‘You, too. I’ll be off, Ceri.’ He took a step towards the door. ‘Can I call you?’

‘I’ll be cheesed off if you don’t.’ She walked over to him, and whispered, ‘Sorry about this.’

He stroked her cheek. ‘Later?’

‘Definitely.’ She lifted her face to be kissed. It might have gone on a little longer than she intended because Huw coughed loudly.

Ceri saw Damon out and prepared herself for the barrage of questions she knew was about to come her way. ‘I’ll get dressed, then you can take me for brunch,’ she said to her incredibly annoying brother. ‘You’re paying.’

Damon could smell her on him. Ceri’s unique scent clung to his skin, his hair, his clothes. If he closed his eyes he could still see her sprawled naked across the bed, could still hear the murmured noises of pleasure she’d made, could still feel the softness of her skin under his hands.

He missed her already and he had only just parted from her.

How had she got under his skin so deeply in such a short amount of time? And how had he let it happen, knowing that he would be out of her life within the next few weeks?

Fidgety, unused to feeling this way, he did what he always did when he was restless or out-of-sorts – he turned to music and before long he had lost himself in another composition. Ceri was at the heart of this one, too…

She had also managed to wriggle her way into his actual heart, and it was a strange feeling. Excitement coiled in his belly at the thought of seeing her later, and his pulse leapt. He had to call her now, this minute. He needed to hear her voice. He needed to check that last night hadn’t been a one-off.

Powerlessly he dialled her number and the relief when she answered was worrying. He was in so, so deep…

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