Coming Home to Maple Cottage: The perfect, cosy, feel-good romance

by Holly Martin

  ‘Is that all you’re here for?’ Isla asked, then cursed herself. She didn’t want to remind Sadie that there could possibly be any other reason.

  Sadie blinked as if she didn’t understand the question. Had Elliot really not crossed her mind at all?

  She heard movement behind her and then Leo swore loudly.

  ‘Nice to see you too, Leo,’ Sadie said. ‘Are you living here as well? Wow, it’s a big old party at my house.’

  ‘It’s not your house,’ Leo snapped.

  ‘I think you’ll find my name is on the deeds, which makes this house mine.’

  ‘Half yours,’ Leo said. Isla couldn’t find any words. She was still in flight mode, so she was glad Leo seemed to be handling it for now.

  ‘What do you mean, half mine? My name was on the deeds with Matthew. Now he’s dead, the house is mine,’ Sadie said, coldly.

  No sympathy, no sensitivity. This was Isla’s brother they were talking about. And, what was even worse, Sadie had shared a bed with him, a home, they’d had a child together. How could she be so lacking in any sadness or grief?

  ‘You weren’t joint tenants, you were tenants in common,’ Leo said. ‘Believe me, I’ve had the best solicitors I could find look at this in the hope I could get your name taken off the deeds, which I couldn’t. But they assured me tenants in common means you only own half the house. Matthew left his half of the house to Isla. She has as much right to live here as you do.’

  Sadie’s smug smile slipped. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘No, I don’t suppose you do,’ Leo said, tartly. ‘If this goes to court, I suspect we would get a lot more than half the value of this house, as it was Matthew’s life insurance that paid off the entirety of the mortgage. The judge would look at that and how much you put into the house initially. You might only get a few thousand out of this and the court fees alone would take most of that.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘What did you think would happen here? You decide to come back and try to claim a house you haven’t lived in for four years as your own, and you think we’re just going to hand over the keys? I suggest you go and get yourself a solicitor and it better be a good one. Once you’ve had some advice, then we can discuss terms and how you wish to proceed, but for now you’re trespassing on private property and we’re asking you to leave.’

  Sadie stared at Leo in shock. He put his arm around Isla to guide her out of the way and closed the door firmly in Sadie’s face.

  Isla watched as Leo paced across the hall angrily, his fists clenched at his sides. He moved back to the window by the side of the door and peered out.

  ‘She’s gone,’ Leo said. He turned back to her. ‘Are you OK?’

  Her body was shaking, her heart was racing, she felt sick. Tears welled in her eyes. She was the very definition of not being OK.

  ‘Hey, don’t cry,’ Leo said, his hands on her shoulders. ‘It’s going to be fine, we’re going to fix this.’ He pulled her into a hug and, with her face against his shirt, his arms around her back, stroking her soothingly, she cried against his chest.

  ‘She’s not taking Elliot, there’s no way in the world I’m letting that happen,’ he said, instinctively knowing what she was most upset about.

  ‘Why did she have to turn up now?’ Isla said, finding her voice. ‘Two weeks’ time and he would have been mine.’

  ‘I know, but the courts are not just going to hand him over to her. They will consider what is best for him and being with a woman he doesn’t know who completely abandoned him to travel around Australia and Thailand is not the best thing for him. We will fight this every step of the way and, if we lose, I’m dead serious about running away to Canada. I know someone who can do fake IDs, they would never find us. I will take care of you both.’

  Isla pressed herself against his warmth, trying to shut out the pain in her heart.

  ‘I don’t want her anywhere near him.’

  ‘Then let’s go to mine tonight, pack up a few things, camp out there for a few days or until this whole thing blows over, then if she comes back she won’t see him. She’s here for the house, that’s all she wants. She didn’t even mention Elliot.’

  Isla sniffed and looked up at him. ‘She didn’t, did she? God, that makes my heart ache a little. How can she just not care about him?’

  ‘Because she’s a cold-hearted bitch. She’s here for the money, that’s it.’

  ‘I haven’t got any of that either. I have around three thousand in my account and with careful planning I can make that last until the new year. I have nothing to give her.’

  ‘I know, it’s OK, we’ll sort this. We can speak to a solicitor tomorrow, get some advice. Don’t worry.’

  Isla couldn’t stop the tears from falling. What a complete mess. But Leo was right, if Sadie was here for Elliot, she would have mentioned him, asked about him, asked to see him. The only thing she cared about was the house and that made Isla feel a tiny bit better.

  ‘Please don’t cry.’ Leo cupped her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. ‘I’m going to take care of this.’ He kissed each eye, capturing the tears on his lips. He kissed her cheeks where the tears had run down her face and then he gave her a brief kiss on the lips. Her breath caught at the sweet, tender intimacy and she looked up into his eyes. He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching her face, and then he kissed her again and this time he didn’t stop.

  Oh god, the taste of her was complete heaven. This was everything that had been missing in his life for the last four years.

  He hadn’t meant for this to happen now. He had just been trying to comfort her. One little kiss of friendship to say that it would be OK. But now he was kissing her, he just couldn’t stop. The timing couldn’t be worse, she was upset, this was not how he imagined them reconnecting again after all this time. But Isla seemed to be as into this kiss as he was, wrapping her arms round his neck, sliding her tongue inside his mouth, pressing her warm body against his.

  He pinned her against the wall, but the movement of it caused her to catch her breath, letting out a little gasp against his lips.

  ‘Leo,’ she whispered.

  God, his name on her lips was like a song calling him home. He moved to kiss her again but she pressed her hand gently against his chest, stopping him.

  Crap. This was all wrong. He couldn’t have picked a worse moment to kiss her.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to—’

  She stroked his face. ‘Don’t be sorry. I just can’t right now, my head is a complete mess and I don’t know what I’m going to do about this whole Sadie situation. Just… hold that thought for a few days.’

  ‘I will, I promise. Come and stay with me at Maple Cottage for a few days, then we don’t have this worry of Sadie turning up and seeing Elliot. If she wants to pursue this, she needs to go through the courts, get a solicitor, do it properly, not turn up on your doorstep and be all aggressive. You don’t need to put up with that crap. Stay at mine until we can sort it out.’

  Isla nodded. ‘Let me go and grab a few things.’

  Leo stepped back and watched her go upstairs. He moved into the kitchen and tidied everything away and loaded the dishwasher. Heading up to the first floor, he saw Isla was finishing off packing some clothes into a bag so he crept into Elliot’s room. He was fast asleep, starfishing across the bed. Once Elliot was asleep you could pretty much do anything with him and he wouldn’t notice. It was cold outside so Leo wrapped Elliot up in his duvet and then scooped him up in his arms. Elliot stirred slightly, his eyes fluttering open for a second before he drifted back off again. Leo looked around. It seemed like Isla had already been in here to grab some of his clothes as the drawers were open but he spotted Elliot’s favourite cuddly rabbit so he picked that up too and then carried him down to the car. He plopped him in his booster seat and somehow managed to get the seatbelt around him without unwrapping him from the duvet.

  He stood back up just as Isla was coming out of the house
with two bags and a rucksack of Elliot’s toys, followed by Luke. He moved to take them off her and she went back to lock up the house. He stowed the bags in the boot and they both got in the car, Luke curling up on the back seat next to a sleeping Elliot.

  It was only a short distance to Maple Cottage and soon they were doing the whole thing again in reverse, Leo carrying Elliot to the room he always slept in whenever he stayed there, which Leo had painted with spaceships and planets. He tucked Elliot into the bed and Luke dutifully curled up right by his feet again.

  When Leo walked back into the hall, Isla was waiting for him. ‘Is he OK?’

  ‘He’s fast asleep and none the wiser. It’ll be a nice surprise for him when he wakes up tomorrow.’

  Isla smiled. ‘Thanks for having us over.’

  ‘You’re very welcome, any time.’

  ‘I feel wrecked, like I’ve just run a marathon. Think I’ll just go to bed and then hopefully tomorrow, once I have a clearer head, we can decide on what we’re going to do. Thank you for being there tonight.’

  ‘I’m always here for you,’ Leo said.

  She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. He held her there for the longest time. At least she wasn’t crying now – being here obviously made her feel calmer – but he was happy to hold her as long as she needed.

  Eventually, after they’d stood there for a few minutes, it was quite obvious she wasn’t letting him go any time soon.

  He decided to throw caution to the wind. ‘Let’s go to bed.’

  She didn’t even hesitate, she just nodded against him.

  He took her hand and led her down the hall into his bedroom.

  Christ. His heart was already in his mouth, remembering the last time she had been in his bedroom. He knew nothing was going to happen tonight, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind for that, but he was very happy to just hold her.

  She stared at the bed for a moment. Was she remembering that wonderful night as vividly as he was?

  ‘My pyjamas are in the bag downstairs,’ Isla said. ‘I’ll just go and grab them.’

  ‘Borrow one of my t-shirts,’ Leo said, not wanting her to leave and then change her mind.

  ‘OK.’

  He grabbed a t-shirt and passed it to her. He expected her to go into the en-suite to get changed but she started getting undressed right in front of him.

  He tried to look away.

  ‘Why are you embarrassed?’ Isla laughed. ‘You’ve seen me naked before.’

  ‘Yes, I have,’ his eyes flitted back to her of their own accord. ‘And I’ve forgotten how glorious it was.’

  She smiled and pulled the t-shirt over her, hiding her wonderful body from view, before climbing into bed.

  He quickly got undressed too.

  ‘Do you want me to shield my eyes as well?’ Isla said.

  He was glad to see she was still smiling after tonight’s events. ‘No, feast away,’ Leo said, striking a pose.

  She laughed.

  He pulled on pyjama bottoms, switched off the light and climbed into bed next to her, immediately pulling her into his arms. She snuggled against him.

  It was weird that they were able to do this with such ease. They’d never done this before. One incredible night that neither of them had mentioned again, three years during which they saw each other occasionally, but as soon as she had moved to Sandcastle Bay they had been almost inseparable. Maybe it was that they both needed each other after Matthew’s death. Or maybe, if they’d given each other a chance all those years before, they would always have been this close. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen between them now. He was pretty sure she loved him, and he damned well loved her, though neither of them had said those words. He still felt it was wrong somehow that he should benefit like this from Matthew’s death, especially as he was at least partly to blame. But maybe he had paid his dues. He had looked after Isla and Elliot as if they were his own family. Surely Matthew would be happy to see that. Maybe it was time to find happiness again, to follow the light out of the darkness.

  Isla sighed in his arms. ‘Tomorrow I need to speak to a solicitor and I need to talk to Karie about all this and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But right now this is exactly what I need.’

  He stroked his hand down her hair and she looked up at him. The moonlight was streaming through the window and she looked magical. God, he wanted her here in his bed every night, this was where she belonged.

  She leaned up and kissed him briefly on the lips. ‘And this, I really need this.’ She kissed him again and he damned well kissed her back. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her on top of him, feeling her warmth in every fibre of his body, filling him with a happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time. He stroked his hands down her back, desperate to touch her but not wanting to take this too far. This was heaven, it was everything he ever wanted.

  The kiss continued and this time she showed no sign of wanting him to stop. He rolled her, pinning her to the mattress as she held him close with her arms and legs wrapped round him. Right then, he didn’t care if he went to hell for this kiss, he wanted her, and for once he was going to follow his heart.

  Chapter Eleven

  Isla woke the next day wrapped tightly in Leo’s arms as she lay on his bare chest. She kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment of bliss for a few minutes, not ready to face the world yet. Because right here in Leo’s arms, she could pretend everything was perfect in the world. This was where she was supposed to be. If she kept her eyes closed she could stay in this heaven forever and not have to face the stress of talking to solicitors and social services about Sadie’s return.

  She heard a noise next to her, a shuffling, and her eyes flew open. There was Elliot, standing next to the bed, his eyes wide as he contemplated the scene before him. Her heart leapt in panic as she tried to see it through his eyes. Isla and Leo, lying half naked in bed together, wrapped in each other’s arms as if they had spent the night in the throes of passion, even though nothing had happened other than a kiss, one incredible kiss. How could she even begin to explain this to him?

  She just had to act normal.

  ‘Morning, beautiful boy,’ Isla said, her usual greeting for him, though her voice had taken on an edge of panic.

  ‘Why are we at Leo’s house?’ Elliot said.

  ‘I thought we could have a sleepover. You like sleeping over at Leo’s house,’ Isla said. She was glad he had led with that question; it showed he wasn’t that bothered about finding them in bed together. It was going to be OK.

  ‘Why are you in bed with Leo?’

  Crap.

  She felt Leo stir and stretch beneath her as he woke.

  ‘Oh hey buddy, how you doing?’ Leo said, his voice sounding a lot calmer than hers at Elliot finding them together.

  ‘Elliot was just wondering why we are in bed together,’ Isla said.

  ‘Because Isla was a bit sad last night and needed a cuddle,’ Leo said, without any hesitation.

  She smiled. It was the truth and it was very simple.

  Elliot nodded, then frowned. ‘Why were you sad?’

  ‘It’s OK, I’m not sad any more,’ Isla lied. ‘Why don’t you brush your teeth and then we can have pancakes for breakfast.’

  ‘Yes! I love pancakes!’ Elliot ran from the room.

  Isla looked up at Leo and cringed. ‘I can’t believe he caught us in bed together.’

  Leo shrugged. ‘We weren’t doing anything, just hugging, he’s seen us hug plenty of times before. Besides, he’s probably going to have to get used to us sleeping in the same bed together.’

  Her heart leapt. ‘Are we going to do this again?’

  His eyes searched her face as he stroked his hands down her back. ‘Well, when we get married we will.’

  She laughed. ‘And we should probably practise for that.’

  ‘I think that’s a good idea,’ he said. ‘We need to know who lies where and other such
important details.’

  ‘Yes, those are things we need to sort out before we walk down the aisle.’

  ‘And as you’re staying here for the next few days I think it makes sense to practise tonight as well.’

  ‘I agree.’

  He smiled. ‘Well, as much as I’d like to stay here all day, we have pancakes to make.’

  ‘Urgh, can we just stay here? I don’t want to face everything I have to do today to sort out the mess Sadie has created.’

  ‘We’re going to do this together, you’re not in this alone,’ Leo said.

  ‘You have to work.’

  ‘I have people who work for the company who can take care of stuff for me. You’re more important.’

  ‘You don’t even have an assistant. Maybe I can do a few hours this afternoon—’

  ‘This is more important, you don’t need to worry. Emails can wait, phone calls can go to answerphone. A few days isn’t going to make any difference to my company. Besides, I have more business than I can handle, I don’t think a few missed calls is going to hurt me. Sort this out, take the time you need.’

  She sighed and nodded.

  ‘I need to talk to Karie. I guess this means my adoption hearing will be postponed.’ Her voice caught. This was spectacularly unfair. All she wanted was to give a loving home to her nephew, to give him stability. She had been fighting for the last year to give him that and, just when it finally looked they were going to get it, Sadie had to return like the Wicked Witch of the West.

  ‘We are going to fix this, I promise. She’s not interested in Elliot, and the stuff with the house is a pain, but we’ll sort it.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Do you think we should tell Elliot about Sadie?’ Leo asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Part of me thinks we shouldn’t say anything. I want to keep everything normal for him. I don’t want to worry or confuse him. He has no memory of her, he was only one when she left. If all this blows over then he doesn’t even need to meet her, but my heart says this is not going to be as simple as we would like. Maybe I should prepare him rather than suddenly landing it on him.’