Page 52 of Coming Home to Roseford Villas
‘I’ve copped out on cooking dinner, I’m afraid,’ Leo admitted. ‘Aunt Vi rustled us up a Beef Wellington that I’m keeping warm in the oven here!’
‘Well, at least we won’t starve!’ Rory laughed nervously. She stepped over the threshold and noticed Leo looking at her appreciatively. ‘So, you got the jumper, then?’ he asked.
Rory glanced down at herself. ‘I did. Thank you. It’s beautiful.’
‘You’re beautiful in it,’ Leo replied, then blushed.
Rory shook her head. ‘You’re such a dork.’
Leo gestured to the wine, and when Rory nodded, he poured her a large glass.
‘And you, er, got the letter, too?’ he asked her as he passed her a glass.
‘Yup.’ Rory was tempted to elaborate, but some part of her wanted to make Leo do a little more of the running. Just because she knew what she wanted, didn’t mean he got to have this all his own way.
‘So… what did you think?’
‘Well, you know I’ve always loved your handwriting!’ Rory quipped. ‘And I think it kind of evens the score a bit. You read something of mine, and now I’ve read something of yours.’
Leo’s look of exasperation made her relent. She put her glass down on the table, and, reaching out, took one of his hands in hers. ‘I appreciate the apology, Leo, and, if I’m being honest, I know why you were so upset. I think that, if I’d been throughwhat you had over the past couple of years, I’d be feeling pretty broken, too, and even if my rough draft was just a catalyst, it’s probably a good thing that we’ve both had time to think things over. We’re not kids any more, and we can’t just walk away as if nothing ever happened, especially now we’re both living in the same place.’
Leo squeezed her hand. ‘So, what are you saying, Rory?’
Rory paused, gathering her own thoughts for a blessed few seconds longer. She’d been through all of this in her own mind, over and over again that afternoon, but now she was having to say it, she wanted to get it right. Leo had expressed himself on paper, but she, the writer, was now going to have to speak the contents of her own mind out loud. She knew when she did, things were going to change forever.
‘What I’m saying, Leo, is that, as a sensible grown-up, with all of my heart, and everything I know to be true, yes, I would very much like to give things between us another chance. I know it won’t be easy, and I know we have a lot to work through, but something about this, this time, feels right. For once in my life, I’m going to take a risk. I’d like us to try again, and I really, really want to be with you.’ She looked up at him, and to her relief, his eyes were tender with love.
‘Can I tell you something, Aurora Henderson?’
Rory shook her head. ‘No, but you can tell Rory Dean if you like.’
Leo smiled. ‘OK. Rory Dean, I’m in love with you. Completely, outrageously and ridiculously in love with you. I’ve missed you so much, not just since the summer, but since always. I love you so much that I don’t even care if that first draft I read is the one you go on to publish. I just know that I don’t ever want to be without you, ever again. I know I messed up, but if this life in Roseford is my new start, then I want to think that maybe it might be a new start with you in it.’
Rory waited for him to finish, and then carefully leaned up on tiptoe to kiss him. It was a kiss that made them both forget the slight chill that still hung in the air in the chalet.
‘So, where do we go from here?’ Leo asked, as they broke apart again.
‘Well, I’m starving,’ Rory replied. ‘Is that Beef Wellington still warm?’
‘Absolutely.’ Leo smiled. ‘Coming right up.’
‘Wonderful.’
They sat at the small table, in the chalet where everything had started, and as the stars came out in the clear skies over the village of Roseford, both realised that they had, at long last, come home.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
‘Have I told you how proud I am of you?’ Leo asked as he brought in the large cardboard box to the living room of the gatehouse.
‘Yes.’ Rory grinned up at him as he set it down in front of her. ‘Many times, and in many ways. But I love that you are.’ She felt a real sense of exhilaration as she reached for the kitchen knife she’d rushed out to get, and cut the tape on top of the box. Before she lifted the flaps, though, she paused.
‘What is it?’ Leo asked, looking speculatively at her.
Rory laughed nervously. ‘I can’t quite believe I’m doing this! After all this time, and all those rejections, in a minute I’m going to be holding my very own novel in my hands.’
‘Well, get on with it then!’ Leo said, grinning at her. ‘Some of us have got guests to get back to…’
