He felt so good, so warm and solid and dependable. She had known him such a short amount of time and she inexplicably trusted him. Everything melted out of her, the adrenaline and fear from rescuing Sam from the sea, the memories the pub evoked, her anger towards Chris, her inability and fear of moving on from her past. In his arms, in that moment, for the first time in a long time she was looking to the future. And maybe her future wasn’t with this man, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to hide away any more.

She clung on to him for what felt like an eternity, until eventually she pulled away slightly.

She looked up at him. ‘Thank you, you have no idea how much I needed that.’

He cupped her face in his large, rough hands and kissed her forehead. Need for him erupted through her so fast it was almost painful. He pulled back slightly to look at her and his eyes scanned down to her lips and in the light of the fire she watched them darken. She didn’t hesitate this time; she reached up and kissed him.

Chapter Nine

His response was instant, his hands holding her face gently, his lips touching hers with the softest of kisses, his mouth lingering slowly. His tongue licked her bottom lip, ever so slightly, and she opened to him. As his tongue touched hers, the taste of him exploded through her and she flushed with embarrassment at the moan that escaped her throat. The sweet, spicy smell of him invaded her senses, his touch on her face, the feel of him against her mouth, it was too much all at once. She wanted to separate each sensation, each feeling, each moment and appreciate it all slowly but there was no time for any of that.

Eventually he pulled back slightly to look at her. He smiled. ‘I’ve been wanting to do that since you opened the door to me on that first night.’

She smiled. ‘Me too.’

He moved to the sofa, taking her with him. He sat down in the corner of the sofa and pulled her onto his chest, wrapping his arm round her shoulders.

‘Do you want to talk about what went on tonight?’ he asked softly.

She nodded, telling him all about Chris and his parents and the new baby and he listened without interrupting, without taking his eyes off hers. It was a cathartic release to talk about it with someone after so long keeping it locked up inside. Whilst she talked he wrapped a blanket round her, warming her from the outside and from the inside with his kind gesture.

When she had finished she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling like she had run a marathon. She wasn’t sure what the future held for her and Henry, but it didn’t seem to matter right then, lying in his arms.

He shifted slightly beneath her and she found her hand instinctively gripping his shirt, before she quickly released him. She opened her eyes to look at him and he smiled at her.

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.’

She smiled and let herself drift off to sleep.

Henry woke the next morning to find he was stretched out on the sofa, Penny lying completely on top of him, her face buried in his neck. Her soft breath on his skin was one of the most wonderful feelings he’d ever had.

He couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss, how it felt, how she tasted. He wanted so much more.

Guilt suddenly slammed into him. For the first time in his life, Daisy hadn’t been at the forefront of his mind. She had specifically asked him not to do anything with Penny and, although he hadn’t promised anything, he had decided to respect her wishes and not take things any further. But that hadn’t even entered his head the night before when Penny had kissed him and he had most certainly kissed her back. Crap. The one thing Daisy had asked him not to do and he’d gone ahead and done it anyway. He really didn’t want to do anything that might upset or hurt Daisy.

But he was already in way over his head here. He really liked Penny. Maybe he’d just see how things went over the next few days, maybe nothing would happen between them at all and there would be no point bringing it up with Daisy. Maybe the kiss would be the last of it. But he had only known Penny for a few days and he’d already kissed her and spent the night with her, albeit in a far more gentlemanly fashion than any other woman he’d spent the night with. Things were not looking good for something casual.

He eyed the clock above the fire and knew he had to get up, even though he would have quite liked to have stayed there all day. He was supposed to go to work for a few hours today so they could show him a few things and he could get used to some of the tools and equipment, meet his line manager and some of the people on his team.

He shifted, trying to get up without waking her, but her eyes shot open.

‘Hi,’ he said, resisting the urge to smooth her hair from her face.

‘Hi.’

‘I need to go. I have to pop to work today and I don’t want Daisy to wake up and find I’m not there.’

‘Of course you don’t.’ She sat up and shifted off him and he stood up, leaving her sitting on the sofa, looking sleepy and adorable.

‘She’ll probably try to hang around with you, but just tell her to sod off if she gets on your nerves.’

‘I’m happy to have her around, she’s lovely.’

He nodded, not really sure how to say goodbye.

‘Thank you for being there last night and staying with me and for…’ she trailed off, touching her lips. She was remembering the kiss and wonderful memories slammed into his mind too.

He smiled and gave her a little wave before walking out. God, that kiss had been sublime, he wanted nothing more than to go back and do it again. He made it halfway across the kitchen before his control snapped. He turned and strode back towards her, immediately taking her face in his hands and kissing her hard.

She started a little before her hands slid round his neck, running her fingers over the fine hairs at the back of his head and kissing him back. She smiled against his lips before she pulled back slightly.

‘You need to go.’

He nodded, kissing her briefly. ‘I’ll see you tonight.’

He walked out, suddenly feeling a hell of a lot better about his day. He let himself through the connecting door and came face to face with Daisy as she came down the stairs. Guilt burned through his gut. Why had he not thought about Daisy when he had cuddled up on the sofa and decided to spend the night with his wonderful neighbour?

Her eyes widened as she took in the same clothes he was wearing the night before.

‘Did you spend the night with her?’

He closed the door behind him. ‘Yes but not like that, she was upset, I was just comforting her. I fell asleep on her sofa but I promise, no clothes were removed, I just stayed with her, that’s all.’

That and two incredible kisses but he didn’t want to tell Daisy about that yet. He had to figure out how he felt for Penny before he told his daughter. She wouldn’t be happy, he knew that.

‘I need a shower and then I’m going to work for a few hours. Will you be OK around here for a bit?’

Daisy nodded. ‘I’ll see if Penny will mind me watching her ice carving again. Or maybe I can walk Bernard with her.’

‘Well, don’t harass her, I’m sure she’s very busy with all the carving jobs she needs to do and I think she has a competition tonight.’

‘I won’t be in the way.’

He smiled. ‘I’m sure you won’t.’

He ran up the stairs. He never wanted her to feel in the way again.

Penny stared at the flowers. There were bouquets of every colour, flower, size and arrangement covering her table. She sipped her tea and wondered if it would be safe to go into town later or whether she would be lifted on people’s shoulders and paraded through the streets. Maybe it would be easier to stay up here out the way.