‘I’m sure she’ll adore them. It sounds delicious.’ Hannah’s stomach gurgled as if to emphasise the point. ‘Worst comes to worst[HN22], if she doesn’t eat your Brussels sprouts, I will.’
Sylvia patted Hannah’s hand then twitched the curtain aside once more, sending Peter into another fit of laughter.
His laughter stopped short as the purr of a car engine met his ears.
Sylvia jumped away from the window. ‘She’s here. Are we ready? Am I okay? Do I look okay?’ She ran her hands over her emerald-green blouse and beige-coloured three-quarter length pants. ‘Is my hair okay?’
Hannah reached out and smoothed her gran’s already-smooth hair, knowing the act would serve to send her grandmother some relief. ‘You look perfect. Now let’s go greet our guest.’
Guest wasn’t quite the right word to call Amethyst, as she still had nowhere for Amethyst to lay her head at night. Grey had even more studiously avoided Hannah since she’d asked him to house Amethyst, but Hannah hadn’t given up hope that he’d change his mind, or that she’d find a way to change it for him.
Hannah took the lead, and made her way out into the bright sunshine, coming to a stop a few steps away from Amethyst’s sleek, black sports car. The top was down, and Amethyst looked every bit the movie star with her hair covered by a purple scarf, the same shade as her name. Big black sunglasses covered her eyes, and her lips were as red as the berries in the fields. She flashed her famous smile, then left the car and made her way towards them, her hand out and ready to greet Hannah’s family, the skirt of her red and pink striped sundress flapping in the warm breeze with every step.
Hannah glanced at the line-up next to her. Her gran’s mouth hung open ever so slightly, her grandfather wore a giant grin and her dad looked uncomfortable verging on ill.
‘Gran, Grandad, Dad, this is Amethyst. Amethyst, this is Sylvia, Peter, and Duncan.’
Amethyst made her way down the line kissing cheeks and shaking hands. When Sylvia brought her in for a hug she melted into it. Returning the warm gesture with every bit as much enthusiasm.
Hannah smiled to herself. Once Grey met Amethyst he’d be tripping over himself to have her stay at his. She was every bit as wonderful as Hannah had told her family she was. Warm, kind, smart, a good conversationalist, and not in the least demanding. Well, if you didn’t count her determination when it came to having Hannah do her makeup. Even if it meant intruding on Hannah’s time with her family.
Gym-toned arms wrapped around Hannah’s neck, a kiss was pressed to her cheeks, and a ‘thank you’ was whispered in her ear, melting away the last of her irritation. It wasn’t like Amethyst’s arrival was going to change anything. It wasn’t, really. Hannah would still be picking strawberries at the crack of dawn. Working in the shop. Sneaking up to see her mother whenever she could. As long as they could agree on an early-evening shoot – something that should be a given, due to the gorgeous light at that time of day – her routine at the farm wouldn’t be disturbed at all.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Grey turning the corner of the farmhouse. He halted, his eyes widening. He began to swivel on his heel in an escape attempt. Not on her watch.
She disentangled herself from Amethyst’s embrace, cupped her hand to her mouth and hollered, ‘Grey, get over here. Come meet Amethyst.’
The murderous look on Grey’s face morphed into a polite smile as Amethyst followed Hannah’s gaze to where he stood.
‘Well, well, well… what, or should I say who have you been hiding, Han?’ Amethyst’s eyes gleamed as Grey sloped over.
‘Grey, meet Amethyst. Amethyst, this is Grey. Grey is second in charge of the farm. He lives just across the road. Alone. All by himself. Rattling around in that cottage of his day in, day out. You’ll have to forgive him his silent man-of-the-land ways – I fear he’s forgotten how to behave like a normal human being. Say “hi”, Grey.’ Hannah swept her foot out and tapped Grey’s heel, nudging him forward.
‘Hi.’ Grey went to extend a hand but found himself in Amethyst’s embrace.
His shoulders hitched up towards his ears and his expression froze into a rictus smile that had Hannah swallowing a giggle.
Poor Grey. He was never one for public displays of affection, and the level of attention he was getting from Amethyst would be mortifying for him. What he didn’t know though, was that it was Amethyst’s way of gaining loyalty quickly in situations where she would be in close quarters with people for a decent length of time. Disarm them with her innate kindness, erase any thoughts that she was a hoity-toity type, then settle into an easy relationship, where they liked her so much they wouldn’t be tempted to race to a gossip site or tabloid.
Loyalty through liking. It was a tactic that worked for Amethyst. Especially because she genuinely liked the majority of people she met. Was keen to connect with people. To get to know them. Amethyst said the more people she got to know the greater the pool of emotional depth she had to draw on when embracing a character, but Hannah suspected it had more to do with her being an only child who had moved a lot due to her father being in the army that had given her the ability to quickly form friendships. She’d learned [HN23]to survive, to thrive, by creating connections from an early age.
‘Right.’ Amethyst released Grey and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Where should I put my bags?’
‘The thing is, dear…’ Sylvia’s cheeks flushed a deep red as she looked to Hannah for help.
Hannah hooked her arm through Amethyst’s. ‘How do you feel about sleeping on a blow-up bed in the sitting room? Or, if you want more privacy, in the storage shed out back? It’s not too chilly at night and the spiders mostly keep to their webs, so it wouldn’t be the worst.’
As expected, Amethyst’s smile remained in place, but her muscles tensed. As wonderful as she was, she was used to people moving heaven and earth for her, not because she asked them to, but because she was Amethyst Jackson. People naturally bent over backwards to accommodate her. To make her life simple.
‘We wouldn’t usually ask any guest to sleep in either of those spots, but I’m in my old room and Dad’s in the guest room so that his snoring doesn’t disturb Mum’s rest.’
Hannah smothered another laugh as her father’s face turned strawberry-red.
‘Oh, yes. Of course.’ Amethyst sucked in her bottom lip, then released it. ‘How is your mum? Is she on the mend?’
Hannah nodded. ‘Slowly but surely she’s getting better. I’ll take you up to meet her later on. Having you here will really cheer her up.’
‘I’d love to spend time with her.’ Amethyst’s hand fell over Hannah’s and she gave it a squeeze. ‘And the sitting room or shed will do fine. But, er, remind me to book an appointment with my chiropractor? A blow-up bed will do all sorts of damage to my back.’
Hannah glanced over at Grey. His hands were tangling around themselves. Their knuckles blooming white. One foot swung to the other, touched, swung back. Its opposite matching the motion. His brows knitted together as he fought an internal battle: to invite Amethyst to stay and do right by his good-sort ways, or to not let Hannah have her way.
Hannah would wager everything in her bank account as to which argument would win out. Grey might not think much of her, but he wasn’t one to withhold help if he could offer it. His grumpy demeanour, his standoffish ways, hid a heart of gold. Or, at least, once did.
She sent up a prayer that his heart hadn’t turned completely to stone since she’d left.
‘Er.’ He coughed into his fisted hand. ‘She could stay at mine. If she doesn’t mind.’ He closed his eyes and his nose bunched up. ‘What I mean to say is…’ His eyes opened again as his stance stilled. ‘Amethyst, I’ve a spare room. It’s warmer than the shed. More private than staying in the sitting room. And the bed’s not the best, but better than a blow-up mattress. You’re more than welcome to it, as long as you don’t mind my getting up early. I’ll try not to make any noise, but I’m useless to anyone until I
have coffee. So you might hear the kettle boiling.’
‘Really? You wouldn’t mind?’ Amethyst ran the few steps to Grey and launched herself at him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she jumped up and down chanting ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’. Grey held his hands up above his head, his expression verging on horrified at the enthusiastic response to his kindness.
‘Breathe,’ Hannah mouthed at him, then blew a long, slow, silent breath out to emphasise her point.
Grey’s shoulders inched down, his hands fell to his sides, the lines corrugating his forehead retreated. A smile found its way to his lips, a genuine one, as Amethyst landed a loud kiss on his cheek, then stepped away.
‘Really, Grey, I so appreciate you helping me out. Especially because…’ Amethyst bit her bottom lip and looked up at him through naturally long, thick lashes. ‘I might have fibbed a little when I said it would be a night or two. The photographer can’t make it for a few more days than expected, and I thought I may as well take advantage of that and have myself a proper country break.’ She looked over her shoulder at Hannah. ‘I figured Han wouldn’t mind, since we’re good friends, but that was before I knew I couldn’t stay with her.’ She turned her attention back to Grey. ‘Do you mind? I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I’ll take you out to a fancy restaurant, buy you drinks at the swankiest bar in the area. Every night that I’m here. I’d offer to do your housework, but that would just make things worse, so dinners in restaurants and drinks in bars it’ll have to be.’
‘Er, if you’re looking for bars and restaurants you’ll be disappointed to find out that that extends to the pub. And, honestly—’ Grey waved his hand back and forth ‘—it’s really not necessary. Just pick up after yourself and you can stay as long as you need to.’ Grey stepped back, putting distance between himself and Amethyst. ‘I better get back to work. Duncan, you know which key’s for the cottage. Would you mind giving Amethyst a tour?’ He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her father, who nodded his assent.
Not her, Hannah noted. Grey didn’t want her in his space. She tried to ignore the hurt that sat in her gut like a lead weight. Tried not to take it personally. But how could she not?
There had to be a way to make things right with Grey. To make him if not like her, at the very least hate her less. She just had to figure out how to get through to him, how to make her mistakes up to him.
She watched his broad-shouldered form as it made its way towards the packing shed, tried to ignore the cut muscles of his calves, the distracting curve of his bum. She turned her attention to Amethyst, who – by the way her gaze was trained on Grey – had noticed the joy that were his muscles as well, and was part of the appreciation club.
Her mind turned as an idea flourished. Maybe that was the key to making things right. Maybe she needed to give Grey something to be happy about. Maybe Amethyst was the key?
Grey was single. Amethyst was single.
Maybe a little summer flirtation might ease Grey’s grumpiness. And if he saw Hannah as being the person who brought said happiness into his life, maybe he could begin to forgive her?
Perhaps love would bring them back together?
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘I can’t believe you grew up here. It’s so… country, and you’re so… not.’ Amethyst dropped down into a crouch, plucked a strawberry from its leafy home, placed it between her plump lips and bit into it. A soft mmmm of pleasure followed. ‘So good. So sweet. And I love that it’s warm. I’m sure it makes it even more delicious.’ She popped the rest of the strawberry into her mouth, tossed its green head to the side and continued walking down the rows.
‘There’s a spot out in the back field that could be interesting. There’s a bunch of old farm gear that Dad refuses to let go of because it has history. Carts, a tractor and whatnot.’ Hannah pointed in the general direction and they continued their companionable walk. ‘Is it really that hard to believe this was my home?’
She glanced down at her nails. Her polish, perfect a few days ago, was now chipped. The top edges of her nails ragged. Dirt had made its way underneath and no amount of scrubbing or excavating the area with nail scissors had been able to get it all out.
Amethyst slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. ‘It really is.’ She glanced over at Hannah, her eyes narrowing. ‘Although, maybe not.’ She eyed her speculatively. ‘Underneath that perfect hair of yours, that immaculate makeup, I always thought you were too nice, too friendly, too open to be a city person.’
Hannah wrinkled her nose and let out a disgusted ‘pah’. ‘You make me sound like some sort of Pollyanna. I’m not that nice.’ Just ask my family. Just ask Grey.
Amethyst’s hearty laugh bounced over the fields, sending a flutter of birds flying from the trees. ‘No, you’re not that nice. If you were you would have done my bidding and come to me. Not forced me to come to you.’
‘“Do my bidding”. Honestly.’ Hannah snorted. ‘Who even says that anymore?’
‘Superstar actresses who are used to getting their way?’ The tip of Amethyst’s tongue appeared between her lips. ‘Or actresses who are reading a period script where people do their bidding an awful lot?’
‘Ah, that explains that.’ Hannah slowed down as the spot she thought might work for the photoshoot [HN24]came into view. ‘Good script?’
Amethyst shook her head. ‘Terrible. I’m going to have to pass. Kills me to do it because the director attached is one I’d love to work with. Young, up and coming, done some great indie movies, but I don’t think even she could save it. I just hope it doesn’t tank her career…’
‘You can’t say anything to her?’ Hannah swept her hand over the mishmash of farm equipment. ‘Here we are. What do you think?’
‘I think if I said anything I’d be a fool. She’s so excited I don’t want to pop her bubble. And she could prove me wrong and make something amazing. And if that happened and I’d warned her off it, I could find myself out of the running for jobs if word got around that I tried to interfere. Better to keep my lips zipped shut.’ Amethyst placed her hand on the rickety old tractor, its once vibrant red paint now faded by age and weather to a rusty colour. She pulled herself up onto the seat. ‘This is perfect. Can you imagine me driving this while wearing a voluminous couture gown and dripping in diamonds?’
‘It’d certainly stand out. Make an impression.’
Hannah grinned as Amethyst began to make ‘brrrmmm brrrmmm’ noises as she turned the tractor’s wheel back and forth.
‘Speaking of impressions… tell me about Grey.’ She waggled her eyebrows up and down, a cheeky grin appearing on her lips. ‘He sure stands out.’
Hannah offered Amethyst her hand as she got off the tractor. ‘He does.’
Amethyst swatted Hannah’s arm. ‘Look at you, playing it cool. Like you haven’t noticed? Those shoulders are so, so…’ She held her hands a metre apart and let out a happy sigh. ‘And his legs? You’ve seen his legs right?’
Hannah laughed. ‘I’ve seen his legs. They’re great legs.’
Was it going to be this easy getting the two of them together? She thought getting Amethyst to notice Grey would be the hard part. There was no way Grey wouldn’t [HN25]notice Amethyst. Amethyst, however, was picky. She could afford to be.
An elbow nudged against her waist.
‘What do you know about him? Has he worked here long? Is he a nice guy? Discreet? Or a blabbermouth? Can he be trusted? More importantly…’ Amethyst held up her left hand and waggled the ring finger ‘…is there a significant other on the scene?’
Hannah shook her head and tried to ignore the unexpected tug-of-war taking place in her gut, one side roaring for the love – or lust – match of Amethyst and Grey to go ahead, the other taking on the role of Team Possessive and urging her to ditch her plan. Grey was hers and no one else could have him. She shook the feeling that was verging on jealousy, but surely was not, off. Grey wasn’t hers. Hadn’t
been for years. She had no rights over him. Not now. Not ever.
‘Not that I know of. He seems pretty single to me. Shall we head back to the house? It’s nearly time for dinner, and I know Gran’s keen to test her famous ice cream on you.’
Amethyst patted her flat stomach. ‘Famous ice cream, you say? If it’s that good I’m going to have to get up super [HN26][KW27]early so I can go for an extra-long run.’
‘Whatever you’re thinking extra-long is, double it. Gran does not hold back on the serving size.’
‘My kind of woman.’ Amethyst threaded her arm through Hannah’s and brought her close. ‘Now, how about on the way back to the house you spill the beans on this Grey fellow…’
Grey sat up straighter in his chair as Hannah and Amethyst made their way into the kitchen. A strange mix of excitement and trepidation had his stomach swirling and his heart rate elevated, and he half-wished he’d turned down Sylvia’s invitation to dinner that night. Invitation? More like a demand. Still, how could he say no given the situation he found himself in?
Amethyst Jackson was in his presence. She’d be staying in his home. An actual, honest to God famous person was in his sphere.
This was the stuff you saw in movies or read about in books. Never in real life did an assistant manager of a farm cross paths with someone who earned doing a movie probably ten times what he’d earn in his lifetime. And only in movies or books would said famous person be smiling openly in a way that could only be described as overly friendly, possibly bordering on flirtatious, at said assistant farm manager.
A shiver rippled over his body, sending a spray of goose bumps over his bare forearms. Goose bumps in high summer? How would he explain that away? He hid them under the table before anyone could notice them and ask about them, or worse, put two and two together and hassle him.
Unemotional old Grey, star struck.
Sunrise at Strawberry Farm: As delightfully delicious as strawberries and cream, this is the perfect summer romance to read in 2020. Page 7
