Page 34 of Promises & Petals in Nettleford-on-the-Wold
‘Umm, nothing.’ Josh ran his palm across the back of his neck.
‘Really, because it doesn’t look like nothing. You two, standing in silence in the middle of the kitchen.’ She placed her hands on her hips. ‘I hope you’re not bothering Hannah about the roof right before Florrie’s birthday party?’
Josh shook his head, the back of his neck flushing.
‘Good, because I don’t need you two arguing over what type of straw to use to thatch the house or the amount of dust you’re walking through Hannah’s home.’ She shook her head. ‘Today’s going to be stressful enough without you two bickering.’
Josh replaced his impression of a rabbit caught in headlights with his easy smile as he looked at his sister. ‘I know, Soph. But don’t worry, I won’t mention the words straw, thatch or dust once today.’
‘Good, because I don’t know how I’m supposed to hold it together when Richard arrives and I need you both in my corner. Okay?’ She looked at them both, the expression in her eyes pleading.
‘We are.’ Walking across the kitchen towards her, Hannah gave Josh a wide berth just in case seeing them close would be enough for Sophie to realise they were hiding something, before drawing Sophie in for a hug.
‘Thank you.’ Sophie’s voice was muffled against Hannah’s shoulder before she stepped away and pointed at Josh. ‘No work talk. Let Hannah have the day off from cottage dramas.’
Dipping his head, Josh nodded. ‘Understood.’
‘Soph, love.’ Meg pushed open the door and peered into the kitchen. ‘Florrie’s just arrived, love.’
Hannah watched as Sophie’s face fell before she whispered. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Good luck.’ Hannah spoke softly. She could see how hard this was going to be for Hannah, to play happy families whilst knowing her relationship with Florrie’s dad was falling apart, but she also knew she had the strength to overcome this, to build a happy life for herself and her daughter whilst trying to strengthen the relationship Richard had with his daughter. She watched as Sophie reluctantly left the safety of the kitchen, Josh by her side.
As the door closed behind them, the timer on the oven pierced the silence in the room, and Hannah hurried over and took the sausage rolls out before they burned.
‘... if I had my way, I’d go right up to him and tell him what I thought of him...’ Gemma walked into the room, deep in conversation with Lucy, who was a few steps behind her. Passing, she looked at Hannah. ‘Thanks for taking those out. How was it? Did you get the chance to do some secret canoodling?’
Rolling her eyes, Hannah transferred the sausage rolls from the baking tray to a plate to cool. Ignoring Gemma’s question, she instead focused on what she’d overheard them talking about. ‘Does Sophie look okay with Richard now here?’
Walking across to the hatch, Lucy looked out into the hall. ‘She does. She looks pretty damn confident.’
Slippingthe hotbakingtray back into the oven, Hannah joined her and watched as Florrie ranaroundthe hallexcitedlylooking at the decorations, leaving herparentstotalk. Her eyes automatically driftedtowardsJosh,who was standing glued to his sister, his hand protectively on her shoulder as Richard spoke.
‘Let’s hope they canbothget through the next couple of hours without any drama going down.’ Lucy blew astrandofhair from her face. ‘Sophie’sworkedso hardto organiseall this, it’ll be awful if Richard spoils it.’
‘I don’t think he’d dare. Not with Josh there, ready to pounce if he as little as puts a foot wrong.’ Gemma raised her eyebrows beforeglancingacross at Hannah and grinning. ‘I can see the attraction,Hannah.’
‘Umm.’ She could too. Despite her mind telling herself to go careful and not to rush into anything, her body wasn’t listening one bit. She could feel the flutter of excitement in her belly just at the possibility that Josh wanted to be with her. She reminded herself that he did, that she wasn’t daydreaming, he’d actually said he wanted to be with her. He’d been super clear on that. Last night whilst they’d been stargazing, he’d even admitted he could see the relationship becoming something serious. She smiled as she remembered his suggestion of them learning about a new star or constellation a week.
‘Careful, you look as though you’re gushing all over him.’ Lucy nudged Hannah’s shoulder.
‘I am not.’ Shaking her head, she tore her eyes from him and busied herself getting the last of the party food together.
‘It’s cute. And you deserve it, just try not to make it too obvious before you’ve broken the news to Soph.’ Gemma turned her back to the hatch.
Nodding, Hannah picked up a lone crisp lying on the table and popped it in her mouth. She was trying not to. She was trying not to get her hopes up either. Things like this didn’t happen to her; the good guys didn’t just fall at her feet. Besides, she was only too aware that the future of the relationship lay in the hands of Sophie. She wouldn’t hurt her, and she wouldn’t jeopardise their friendship, however much it would break her heart to walk away from Josh.
Chapter Twenty Three
Standing on her tiptoes, Hannah tried to grab the sparkly cardboard ‘H’ from the Happy Birthday banner. And failed. Jumping up, she caught the end of the letter and gripped, the blu-tac stretching from the wall to the letter before finally giving way. The party had been a roaring success, and the partygoers had left tired but happy. Meg and Pat had taken little Florrie for ice cream whilst she, Sophie, Gemma, Lucy and Josh stayed behind to tidy the hall.
‘You could just ask me to get them, you know. Or use the stepladder.’
Hannah grinned. She could feel Josh’s breath against her cheek, he was standing that close. Worried that people might be watching, she fought the urge to turn around and kiss him and instead stretched to reach the ‘A’.
Easily pulling the letter down, Josh passed it to Hannah before they inched across, and he pulled down the ‘P’ before passing it across to her again. As they continued across the wall, Hannah’s skin prickled against the heat of his arm against hers.
‘You do realise I’m using up all of my willpower not to take you in arms, don’t you?’ His voice was barely audible as he plucked the ‘B’ in Birthday down and passed it slowly across toher, adding it to the pile, his fingers brushing hers, lingering longer than was necessary.
