Page 61 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
The party was like an old school disco. There were some floor fillers and crowd pleasers before it finished off with a few slow dances. It was the first chance Nora’d had to grab Archie since the speeches and she cherished every second of having him pressed up against her. He had his hand on the small of her back and his other hand held hers to his chest as they swayed together to Tony Bennett singing The Way You Look Tonight. Archie began softly singing the words into Nora’s ear and she thought her knees might give way with the romance of it all. She felt as if he was sweeping her off her feet, right here in a Dorset pub.
Before she could suggest that it might be a good time to leave, the song ended and Joe announced that Jess and Seb would be leaving. Everyone flooded out to the front of the pub to wave them off as they were chauffeured away to a hotel back in Swanage by the orange VW camper.
‘What a wonderful day,’ Nora said.
‘Fantastic,’ Archie agreed. ‘Come on, let’s grab one of those taxis before everyone else decides to.’
He saw Nora into the back of a taxi and then dived back into the pub to collect his jacket, then got waylaid saying goodbye to Jess’s parents.
‘I’ve promised we’ll be at their house for a fry-up at eleven in the morning,’ he said as he climbed into the back seat next to her.
‘That’s okay. We’ve got plenty of time until then,’ Nora said, leaning against him and closing her eyes for a moment.
The next thing she knew, Archie was trying to make her get out of the taxi when she was so comfortable and they couldn’t possibly be back at the cabin already.
‘Come on, sleepyhead,’ he said, sweeping her into his arms as soon as she’d stood up.
That was enough to wake her up. ‘Don’t carry me! You’ll hurt yourself!’
She was awake now, but he seemed compelled to see the chivalry through. ‘I’m trying to be romantic,’ he said, although he sounded out of breath. ‘Can you reach the key? It’s in my right trouser pocket.’
‘Archie, put me down.’
‘Not on your life.’
She felt for his pocket and he held her closer to him. She could feel his breath against her neck.
‘Got them,’ she said, managing to open the door as Archie burst through, then kicked it closed behind him before he headed for the bed.
‘I’ve waited all day for this,’ she said as he laid her down, slightly less elegantly than he’d picked her up. ‘And you carried me in here. So masterful…’ She pulled him towards her by his lapels. He gave a low laugh, straddled her and took his jacket off followed by his tie.
When she’d first seen Archie from across the lake, it had never seemed possible that she might ever think he was sexy but now, he exuded it.
‘I feel like you’ve been teasing me all day,’ she said. ‘Keeping me just at arm’s length enough to make me wild with desire.’
He chuckled. ‘Really? Wild? Show me how much you wanted me.’
Nora grinned wide-eyed, loving that he was playing along. It was so out of character, it only turned her on more. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt to his navel.
‘Roll up your sleeves like you mean business.’
‘Oh, I do mean business,’ he said, sitting back on his haunches while he stared her right in the eye and rolled his sleeves up to mid-forearm.
Nora thought she might melt right there on the bed. Then Archie took charge and did things to her that she never would have imagined he’d even know how to. And she knew then, what she’d suspected for the whole day; Archie was it for her. No matter how the differences between them might need to be overcome, she would do whatever it took and she knew he would too. They had a connection that went beyond everything else and Nora wasn’t about to let that go.
23
SPENDING FIVE DAYS together had left Nora wanting more. It had been heaven. She felt as if they’d transcended how things had been before they went to Dorset, coming back to Croftwood with their relationship in a completely different place.
That morning, when she’d arrived at the lake for a swim, she found Archie waiting for her. He was sitting on the dock wearing his dry robe as if he was a regular. It touched Nora’s heart that he’d really meant it when he said he was a convert to wild-swimming.
‘I missed you last night,’ she said, sitting down next to him and leaning in for a kiss.
‘I’ll come to you tonight,’ he said.
‘You sound like someone from a Regency romance. I like it.’
‘Good,’ he said, kissing her and running his hand underneath her robe.
