Wedding Bells at Butterfly Cove

by Sarah Bennett

  He let his hands shape her hips, drawing her in closer still. He tugged her lip free and teased it with the tip of his tongue. ‘So, are you saying you can find room for a little afternoon delight in your busy schedule, love?’

  With a breathy sigh, she sank into him and he lost himself in the warm, soft heaven of her mouth. They were both panting a little by the time they came up for air and the roses on her cheeks had spread to heat the delicate skin of her décolletage. ‘I thought you needed to sleep?’ she teased.

  ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’ Sliding his grip lower, he boosted her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her across the gravel yard, pausing every few steps to claim another kiss.

  It took them longer than expected to get to their room on the top floor, and by the time they reached the upper landing, neither of them was wearing much more than their underwear and a pair of matching smiles. The door to the spare room opposite theirs stood half open and Daniel froze, a silent curse on his lips. In their haze, they’d forgotten about Luke. He placed a hand over Mia’s mouth to stifle her giggle, and held his breath to listen. A loud snore rent the air and he sagged against the wall in relief.

  Grabbing Mia’s hand, they tiptoed over the creaky floorboards and into their room. He eased the door closed behind them and swiped his brow in an exaggerated gesture, which sent Mia off into a fresh round of giggles. With an arm hooked around her waist, he dragged her across the room and tumbled backwards onto the bed, tugging her down on top of him. Her giggles faded into soft moans and Daniel lost himself in the scent, taste and feel of her.

  Daniel frowned critically at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he used his clippers to finish tidying up his beard. ‘I’m going to stop trimming this. I swear I’m just cutting out the black and leaving the grey behind.’

  ‘It’s very distinguished, darling.’ Mia’s slightly absent-minded tone said she wasn’t paying attention. He turned around and leaned against the edge of the sink. Up to her chin in her favourite bubble bath, her eyes were fixed on another of her myriad notebooks. He flinched at the sight of it —the infernal wedding book.

  Getting married was great, he was a big fan of it. It was the actual wedding itself that stressed him out. Yes, he’d been busy getting the barn up to scratch, and yes, women traditionally did the majority of the planning, but he couldn’t help a pang of guilt. He’d done bugger all towards organising what should be, what would be, the most important day of their lives together so far.

  Finally noticing his silence, Mia turned towards him. ‘What are you staring at?’ Her lips curved in a sweetly cheeky grin.

  ‘Tell me about your dress.’

  Her eyebrows rose. ‘You want to talk about the wedding?’ Shit. The surprise in her voice proved he had every reason to feel guilty.

  ‘Yes. Please. I need to think about what I’m going to wear and I have no clue. I thought if you told me about your dress it would give me some idea.’

  She sat up a bit higher in the water, sending a delicious waft of cherry blossom his way. Her favourite bubble bath just happened to be his favourite, too. It left her smelling like a sexy Bakewell tart. Sweet and sinful. He checked his watch; their first guests were due to arrive at the station in the next half an hour. Not enough time for the plans he had in mind. He pushed them aside with a pang of regret and turned his focus back to the matter in hand.

  Mia pursed her lips. ‘I can’t show you my dress because it’s bad luck, and there’s also the small matter of Madeline’s still making it.’

  She was getting her dressed made? Damn, he’d missed way too much. Covering another pang of guilt, he put on his best innocent expression. ‘I’m sure Madeline will do a grand job. Those curtains she made for the bedrooms are lovely.’

  ‘Wanker.’ Mia laughed and threw a handful of bubbles at him.

  He bent down to mop them up with a towel then remained crouched beside the tub so they were nose to nose. ‘I’ve been rubbish, leaving everything to you. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. I think I have it mostly under control.’ She rubbed their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.

  ‘Can you make me a list of the stuff you don’t have sorted? The garages won’t take nearly so much work to sort out. I’ve got time.’ He stroked her damp fringe back from her forehead. ‘I’ll make time.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She sounded just relieved enough for him to know he should have made time sooner. ‘Nothing in the magazines appealed so Madeline and I put a design together from the bits and pieces I did like. It’s not a meringue! One of those is enough for any bride.’

  Daniel grinned. He’d seen a photo of her and Jamie’s wedding. Her dress had been an elaborate confection of silk with a train, which had gone well with the traditional morning suit her first husband had worn. ‘So, no top hat and tails for me?’

  ‘Lord, no! Comfort is the watchword. I’m going to be barefoot. It’s about us, Daniel. Who we are, what our life is about. Just our closest friends and family. No performance.’

  Jamie’s parents, Pat and Bill, were travelling down, and Mia had been quietly pleased to let him know her dad had decided to come with them. He didn’t have much in the way of family, but Aaron and Luke would be there and he’d invited Maggie Sinclair, the gallery owner who’d done so much for him at both the beginning and end of his career as a photographer. Family was what you made it, and he wouldn’t change his for the world.

  He stood up and let his gaze travel out of the bathroom window across the garden to the waves dancing on the beach beyond. This was his place—their place. He didn’t know what lucky star had shone down on him, but he would count his blessings, every single one, and be thankful for them.

  Water swished behind him and a few moments later he felt Mia at his back. Lifting his arm, he made room for her to cuddle close. The smell of cherry blossom filled his senses and he turned into her. Content. Happy. Home.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘This place, man. I knew Daniel was close to the edge, so it was no real shock when he dropped off the grid, but you?’ Leo Taylor shook his head as he looked around the small crowd spread across the back lawn at Butterfly House. ‘You’re the least impulsive person I know. It’s one of the reasons I trust you with my money.’

  Aaron sipped his beer and tried not to let his irritation show. This was the second conversation on the theme of how bloody boring his clients thought he was. Leo meant no harm, so he kept quiet and let the chatter flow over him. The ten per cent stake he had in the studios project would only pay off if Leo and the other guinea pigs went back to town raving about their amazing experience.

  Leo took an exaggerated breath. ‘The air here, it’s incredible. And the colours…’ He raised his head to stare at the porcelain-blue sky. ‘I get it, man, I get it. I wish I’d booked longer than a week.’

  Aaron allowed himself a little smile. It had taken less than an hour for Butterfly Cove to weave its spell. ‘I’ll speak to Daniel and check the schedule. We have some space in the autumn. Daniel’s got some fantastic pictures of the sea in the middle of a storm. You feel the full fury of nature just looking at them.’

  ‘Yes. Yes.’ Leo’s eyes glazed a little and Aaron knew he was lost somewhere in his imagination. He didn’t get some of the art a few of his clients produced—abstract and highly modernist things left him cold. Leo’s stuff, he almost understood. He worked with oils and produced what would be considered traditional landscapes were it not for the outlandish colours he favoured. Luke, even more of a philistine than Aaron, had compared them to Oz and claimed all that was missing was a few Munchkins.

  Aaron liked him—liked his work, too. He’d started working for him when Leo was fresh out of college and had barely had two pennies to rub together. His first payment had been a small original, which now held pride of place on Aaron’s study wall. It was worth more than his current pension pot and he’d offered it back when Leo’s career took off.
His friend had refused—thanks to Aaron’s steady guidance, he had a broad portfolio which would protect him from the fickle vagaries of the art world.

  ‘You should set up a house-hunting service.’ Leo’s blue eyes sparked with excitement.

  ‘How do you mean?’ He’d floated the refurbishment business with Luke, but so far his brother seemed set on staying in London. It was selfish of him to expect Luke to move just because he had, but they’d never been more than half an hour from each other since Aaron first went up to university. Not satisfied with his job and crippled by the sky-high London prices, he couldn’t understand what the attraction was. Maybe Aaron was just the country versus town equivalent of a reformed smoker—and just as zealously annoying with his constant pressure on others to quit.

  ‘Think about it. If I’m like this after an hour, imagine how in love with the place I’m going to be in a week’s time. If you had a picture-perfect little cottage lined up to show me, I’d probably bite your hand off.’ Leo winked. ‘I’ll back you.’

  Aaron laughed. A frisson of excitement stirred in his belly, but he knew his friend was only teasing. ‘Don’t even joke about it or I’ll hold you to it.’

  Leo took a draft from his own bottle, then levelled Aaron with the most serious look he’d ever seen on his face. ‘No joke, man. Think about it. The rates on a couple of my accounts are so piss-poor it wouldn’t do any harm to draw some out. It wouldn’t take much—a decent website and you on the ground to scout for places as well as advise on mortgages. Daniel must have some good trade connections after all the work he’s done on this place, if any refurbishments are needed.’ Leo nodded over his shoulder at the barns.

  It wasn’t exactly what Aaron had in mind for his longer-term plan, but it was pretty bloody close. ‘As your financial advisor, I can’t recommend it. Too risky.’ He couldn’t hide his excitement, though.

  ‘Ha! Sod that. At least think about it. Let’s sit down before I go back and have a proper talk about it.’

  Aaron nodded. ‘All right. You might hate it here by then.’

  ‘I seriously doubt that. Well, hello…’

  There was something in Leo’s tone that made Aaron raise his head to see what had caught his eye. His friend was staring at a small group gathered close to where Daniel held court behind the barbecue. Mia and Kiki were talking to Madeline, Richard and a couple of guests staying at the house for the weekend. Aaron immediately scanned the area for the children, relaxing when he saw them sprawled on the ground in front of where Simon and his wife were sitting chatting to Luke and Alison, the celebrant Mia and Daniel had found to carry out their wedding. Getting a venue licence from the council had proven too complicated, so they’d compromised: Alison would host the wedding they wanted in the garden and they would follow it up with a quiet ‘official’ ceremony at the local registry office.

  Aaron’s attention turned back to Kiki, and stayed there. Dressed in a shocking-pink sundress, hair loose and held off her face with a pair of large-lensed sunglasses, she looked glamorous and very different from her usual understated style. The colour choice suited her more than the neutrals and pastel tones she favoured and there was something about it that tickled a corner of his memory.

  Tearing his eyes away, he glanced at Leo. With his shaggy blond hair, stubble and paint-spattered clothes, he looked every inch the bohemian artist. The expression on his face suggested he might have found the perfect muse. Aaron swallowed and tried not to think about planting his fist in that too-handsome face. Maybe he wasn’t looking at Kiki. Maybe it was just Aaron’s own attraction to her that made him assume every other man would be drawn to her as well.

  ‘Who’s the brunette?’ Or maybe he was looking at her.

  ‘The short-haired one? That’s Mia, Daniel’s fiancée.’ It had to be worth a try, right?

  ‘Not her. She’s pretty, but I like my face too much the way it is, thanks very much. The one next to her. The one with the hair.’

  Damn. He could lie and claim he didn’t know her, but what would be the point? If Leo decided to talk to her, he’d find out soon enough. Aaron forced a polite smile. ‘That’s her sister, Kiki. Struggling with a nasty divorce.’ She wouldn’t thank him for sharing her private business, but he really didn’t like the way Leo was looking at her.

  ‘Really?’ His friend raised an eyebrow in his direction then turned his gaze back towards the sisters. ‘She doesn’t look like she’s struggling. And if she is, I’ve a shoulder she can cry on. Unless you can think of a reason why I shouldn’t offer it to her?’

  Leo’s eyes were back on him and Aaron fought to keep his features relaxed. No white-knight routine, remember? Kiki was an adult. If she wasn’t interested in Leo’s attentions, she could let him know herself. ‘Knock yourself out.’

  The painter grinned. ‘You sound like you want to do it for me.’

  Aaron straightened. ‘She’s a good friend. If you hurt her, or upset her in any way, you’ll be sorry. Consider that your only and final warning. I’m going to grab another beer, you want one?’ He walked off without waiting for a reply. Not because he was in a huff or anything, Simon and Nancy were his guests and he needed to make sure they were having a good time.

  He fished around in one of the tubs of ice and grabbed a handful of long-necked beer bottles on his way across the lawn. Reaching the group, he offered them around then claimed a spare seat next to his brother. If it afforded him a side view of where Kiki was standing, that was merely coincidence. Leo strolled across the grass, and he threw a knowing grin at Aaron before he reached his target. Aaron ground his teeth and tried to pay attention to those around him.

  Luke was regaling them with some outlandish story about a new client his firm had landed. The gentleman, of Russian extraction with a murky past, had buckets of money and absolutely no taste. ‘I don’t know if I can bring myself to do it,’ Luke said. ‘When we took him to the samples room, he made a beeline for the marble and stayed there.’ His brother shook his head. ‘His wife had on more jewellery than that fella with the mohawk who does those ads on telly. Calls everyone a fool…’

  ‘Mr T?’ Simon sputtered on an inopportune mouthful of his beer. ‘Oh God! How did you keep a straight face?’

  ‘I kept telling myself to think about the commission. Even if it’s not my taste, they want high-end stuff and the mark-up on the materials alone is more than my annual salary. I never considered myself a snob before, but it’s like the more money they have, the more they need to show everyone.’ He sighed. ‘All that history, all those beautiful mansions gutted for apartments or transformed into tarts’ palaces.’

  ‘The commission, Spud, think of the commission,’ Aaron reminded him, and everyone raised their drinks.

  ‘The commission!’ They toasted Luke and he joined in their laughter with a rueful grin.

  Aaron eased back in his chair and glanced towards the group by the barbecue. Leo had them all enthralled, hands waving as he described something, face animated. The others were transfixed, clearly enjoying the tale he wove. Kiki’s laughter rang out, a melodic cascade that should have lifted Aaron’s heart. Black, bitter bile stung the back of his throat and he was halfway out of the chair before he realised it. He cursed himself silently, told his feet to turn away as every step took him closer.

  ‘…And she was just waiting for you in your room?’ Kiki sounded part shocked, part thrilled.

  Leo grinned. ‘Yup. Naked as a jaybird.’

  Daniel stopped in the middle of flipping the burgers laid out on the grill to brandish a set of metal tongs at Leo. ‘Now tell them the rest of the story, Stud.’

  Aaron had seen this routine before. Knew the performance word for word. He folded his arms across his chest, and inched closer to Kiki, giving Leo his best dirty look. Ignoring him, Leo ducked his head, casting his best aww-shucks look at Kiki. ‘I turned on my heel and ran. Mo Farah couldn’t have outkicked me during that sprint down the corridor.’

 
; Kiki and the others laughed in delight as Daniel chipped back in. ‘I’m out like a light. We’d drowned our sorrows pretty heavily in the hotel bar and at first I thought the banging in my head was from too much brandy. I stagger out of bed, open the door, and Leo nearly knocks me flying trying to get in the room. Spent the night in the spare bed.’

  And just like that, he won them all. The story was perfect—Leo set himself up as a braggart, reeling them in with a story of conquest, only to turn the tables at the last minute and make himself the butt of the joke. Not only that, but it showed the nice guy beneath the confident, cocky artist. Aaron sighed. That was the worst thing. Leo was a nice guy. He watched him soaking up the attention and teasing from the others, and there was no artifice to him. God had gifted him with good looks, natural charm and a healthy dose of modesty. Bastard.

  He couldn’t stand by a moment longer. Reaching out to touch the warm skin on her bare arm, Aaron drew Kiki’s attention away. ‘Hey, can I borrow you for a minute?’

  Her smile fell instantly. ‘Is everything okay?’ She was already looking past him, seeking out the children.

  ‘Yes, yes. Everything’s fine. I just wanted to show you something if you have time?’

  Ignoring the collection of knowing and curious looks from the others, Aaron placed his fingers on the small of Kiki’s back and steered her away from the group. She paused to double-check the children were okay and only let him continue to lead her away once she saw they were engrossed in watching Luke play the thumb trick. It was a silly thing their dad had done when they were little, and Aaron couldn’t help but smile. They’d pestered him for hours, fascinated as he appeared to pull the tip of his thumb off, then put it back on again. Funny how, even with all the bells and whistles of modern technology, it was the simplest things that never went out of style.

  ‘Watch your step.’ Aaron placed a hand under Kiki’s elbow as her wedge-heeled sandals crunched across the gravel of the driveway.