The True Love Travels Series Box Set

by Poppy Pennington-Smith

Sam smiled. It made his cheek dimple. “You believe that, don’t you? That people can be anything they want to be?”

  Lottie tilted her head to the side and breathed in slowly. Sam’s arm was still resting on the couch cushion. If he moved forward just a little, he could let it drop down and rest on Lottie’s shoulder, maybe pull her closer, wrap his other arm around her…. “Yes, I do.”

  Sam smiled affectionately at her. “You’re a very nice person to be around, Lottie.”

  Lottie laughed. “Am I?”

  “Yes.” Sam reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You are.”

  As his fingers brushed her skin, Lottie shivered.

  “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head and moved a little closer. Sam’s other hand was resting on the top of his leg. Slowly, she put hers on top of it and slipped her fingers between his.

  Sam looked at their entwined fingers and then at Lottie.

  She leaned forward, looking up at him and feeling her lips part, just a little. And then Sam wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes and melted into his kiss.

  She had expected them to kiss once, and then spring nervously apart and bumble apologies to one another. But they didn’t. As they broke away from one another’s lips, Lottie felt herself leaning into Sam’s chest and, seamlessly, as if it was something they’d done a million times before, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

  “That’s something we definitely should have done sooner.” Lottie smiled up at him, and Sam breathed out a long slow whistle.

  “I should say so.”

  “Why didn’t we?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Lottie found herself stroking Sam’s arm. The dark grey of his sweater was making his eyes look unbelievably blue.

  Shifting slightly, Sam nuzzled into her neck. “The others might be back soon.”

  Lottie glanced at where her phone was laying, face down, on the coffee table. Reading her mind, Sam passed it to her and she swiped open her messages.

  You okay Soph? Sam said you might be going to Cambridge?!

  Almost instantly, Sophie replied: Got a cab. Cost a flipping fortune. In a bar near train station. Not sure when we’ll be back. Don’t wait up. Love you xx

  The kisses at the end indicated that Sophie wasn’t mad, but she clearly had no intention of rushing back, so Lottie waved her phone smugly at Sam. “Looks like we have the place to ourselves for a while.”

  “Looks like we do…”

  9

  Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

  Lottie’s eyes fluttered but refused to open. She was remembering last night. The fire, and Sam, and the way he’d just kissed her. So many times. Such unbelievably good kisses.

  Tap Tap Tap.

  And between the kisses, they’d talked. About their work, and their families, and their dreams for the future. Sam had eventually confessed that he’d always wanted to be a carpenter. And, somehow, the thought of his big strong hands had made Lottie start kissing him all over again.

  Tap Tap Tap.

  Someone was gently knocking on the studio door, and it was making Duke’s ears stand on end. Lottie patted him and stumbled clumsily to her feet. It was only just getting light outside.

  “Sam?”

  “Morning.”

  Lottie looked down at her dishevelled pyjamas and wrapped her arms around herself. “Are you alright?”

  Sam’s hands had been behind his back, but now he revealed them to her. He was holding a flask of coffee. “I thought we could go for a walk? See the sunrise? Is there a good spot?” The shadows in the doorway were hiding his features, but Lottie was almost certain that he was blushing.

  “Yes,” she said, slowly. “I mean, yes, there is. And, yes, that would be lovely.” Suddenly, she felt like a school girl being asked to hold hands for the first time. “Just let me grab some clothes. I’ll be right there.”

  Pulling on last night’s jeans and her large grey sweater, Lottie raised an eyebrow at Duke and whispered. “I think he might actually like me, you know. Like, actually, like me…”

  Duke wagged his tail. Clearly, he agreed.

  Stomping across the field behind the cottage, their breath puffed out in billowing clouds in front of them.

  “When I was younger, I used to love it when it was cold enough to see your breath,” Sam mused, forming an ‘O’ shape with his lips and breathing out forcefully. “Every morning when we walked to school, Tom and I would pretend we were smoking. We thought we looked so cool.”

  Lottie had only met Sam’s brother once, but she remembered him being very similar to Sam, just shorter and more filled out. “How is Tom?”

  Sam glanced at her and shrugged. “He’s good. Married. Two kids. They’re living in Norfolk actually. Near the coast.”

  “Do you visit much?”

  “Not as much as I should.”

  Lottie nudged him gently in the ribs. “Well, see, that’s why you need to slow down with your high-flying career. Family’s important.”

  Sam smiled at her. “Yes. It is.”

  They had come to a stop in front of a short rickety gate, and Lottie waved at it. “After you.” Sam tried to push and Lottie laughed. “We have to climb over it, I’m afraid.”

  On the other side, they reached a small copse of trees.

  “Where are you taking me, Charlotte?”

  The sound of her full name came as a surprise, and so did the slightly cheeky tone in Sam’s voice. “Wait and see, Mr Burrows. Wait and see…”

  The copse was dark, the eerie early-morning light barely managing to filter its way through the branches. And, somehow, it felt colder beneath the trees. Lottie felt herself edging a little closer to Sam as they walked, but then they emerged on the other side.

  Sam stopped and breathed out slowly. “Wow.”

  “Not quite the Gherkin,” Lottie replied, smiling at the sweeping landscape in front of them. “But pretty good.” Bending down, she unclipped Duke’s lead, and instantly he went lolloping off into the field.

  “Will he come back?”

  “Oh yes,” Lottie smiled. “He used to run away from his previous owners but with me he always comes back.”

  “I guess he found where his heart belongs.” Sam was watching Duke, but the way he said belongs and the way he glanced at her, quickly, bashfully, made Lottie’s stomach flutter.

  Gesturing to the grassy floor behind them, Sam said, “Shall we sit?”

  “It’s a little damp,” Lottie replied, not really wanting to walk all the way back with a soggy bottom.

  “Ah ha, but that’s precisely why I came prepared.” Sam swung his backpack down from his shoulder, reached inside, and unfolded a large checked picnic blanket. “I hope you don’t mind. I found it under the kitchen sink.”

  “Of course not.” Lottie sat down and tucked her knees up under her chin.

  “I also found…” Sam put down the flask of coffee, and then produced a brown paper bag and handed it to Lottie.

  “Croissants?” She frowned. “I definitely didn’t have these under the sink.”

  Sam cleared his throat and glanced down at his hands. As he looked away, a strand of hair flopped over his forehead. “I went to the shop where we got the pizzas. They open at five every day, apparently, even on Sundays.”

  “You got up at five a.m. to buy me croissants?” Lottie was still clutching the bag, and she could feel the pastries dimpling under the pressure of her fingertips but she couldn’t make herself let go.

  “Well,” Sam shrugged. “Four-thirty, actually. I wanted to be sure I was back in time.”

  Lottie handed him back the bag, and Sam gently tore it open, spreading it out in front of them. Then he poured the coffee and raised his plastic cup in the air. “Happy birthday, Lottie.”

  Lottie tapped her cup against Sam’s, meeting his eyes and smiling in disbelief. “This is amazing, Sam. Thank you.”

  “Wait,” he said, raising his hand. “There’s one more thing…
” He was peering into his bag and rifling around inside it. Were his hands shaking? “It’s in here somewhere…” Sam’s face crumpled and he looked up at her. “I forgot it. Your gift. I must have left it–” He shook his head and muttered, “I can’t believe I forgot it.”

  Putting her cup down, Lottie shuffled closer to Sam, so close that she could feel the warmth of his body humming against her. His left hand was resting on the blanket. Slowly, holding her breath because she couldn’t believe she was doing it, she rested her hand on top of it and laced her fingers through his.

  Sam looked down at her, then at their hands, turning his palm so that it was pressed against hers, then back at her.

  “I don’t need a gift. This is the nicest gift anyone’s ever given me.”

  Sam’s pale cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck. The sun was starting to peek out over the horizon. He moved closer and brushed her hair behind her ear. His cold fingertips on her skin made her shiver.

  “Sam?”

  Sam opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

  “Could I have a birthday kiss?”

  “I’ll go grab your gift. Wait there.” Sam looked like a kid at Christmas as he shrugged off his backpack and coat and left them at the studio door. “I’ll be right back.”

  Unlocking the door, Lottie could feel herself grinning. Whatever the gift was, she didn’t care. The picnic and the sunrise would have been enough. But she was still fizzing with excitement.

  Inside, she quickly splashed water on her face and tried to tell herself not to get carried away. But when the door behind her tapped on its hinges, she spun around so quickly she almost tripped over herself.

  “Pleased to see me?”

  “Richard. What on earth…?” Lottie’s excitement instantly plummeted to the pit of her stomach and she felt her grin settle into a forced smile. Richard was wearing nothing but a towel. His hair was damp. His chest muscles ridiculously chiselled.

  He closed the door slowly behind him. “No hot water, I’m afraid.”

  Lottie narrowed her eyes at him. “Your hair’s wet.”

  “Well,” he said, smoothly, “It started off warm but by the time I got to the apply-shampoo stage of the proceedings, it had turned to ice.” He nudged forward, but Lottie moved back.

  “I’ll see what’s going on. But you should probably get back in the house. You’ll freeze without anything on.” She was speaking in a clipped, tight tone of voice and glancing furtively at the door. Any second now, Sam would be back and she couldn’t bear the thought of Richard ruining it.

  But Richard wasn’t leaving. Instead, he was moving closer. “Lottie. Last night, in the pub, I was a jerk.”

  Lottie felt her eyebrows twitch; Richard had never ever admitted to being an idiot before.

  “It’s just been so hard, seeing you again.” He was making a doleful puppy-dog expression and his voice had a slight whine to it. “I feel so ashamed of how I treated you when we were together. I came here thinking maybe I could make it up to you, but you’ve been so frosty towards me…” He shook his head and shrugged. “But last night I was childish, and cruel. I was just feeling so… pathetic. I mean, look at you. You’re amazing. You look amazing. You’ve got this incredible career. You’re really killing it, Lotts. Really. And I guess I was jealous too…”

  “Jealous?” Lottie clenched her teeth together.

  “I’ve seen you with Sam. Laughing at each other’s jokes… a look here, a glance there.”

  “There’s nothing going on between me and Sam.” As she said it, Lottie’s heart jittered in her chest. She needed Richard to leave. She needed Sam to come back and give her his birthday gift. She needed to know if there was something between them, or if it was all in her imagination.

  “Really?” Richard was leaning over her now. His arm balanced on the shelf behind her. His face too close to hers. And then he was pressing his too-wet lips on top of hers, and his tongue was prodding at her mouth, and his hands were on her waist.

  With all her strength, Lottie shoved her palms into Richard’s chest and pushed him. She pushed him so hard he stumbled backwards, tripped over the edge of the coffee table, and clattered into her desk. Pens and brushes went flying. And Duke stood up, the hackles on the back of his neck standing to attention and a deep throaty growl escaping from his curled lips.

  “Get out.”

  “Lotts?” Richard was smiling, as if it was all a big misunderstanding.

  Lottie walked over to him and shoved him towards the door. “Get out, now.”

  “Lotts, please, listen. I–”

  “No, Richard. You listen. You were right. You are a jerk. You’re self-centred, insecure, needy, and mean. You don’t care about anyone but yourself and – I’m actually ashamed to say this– the way you treated me when we were together has stayed with me for ten years.”

  Lottie was standing close to him now, gesticulating wildly but managing to keep her voice calm and measured. “For ten years, I pushed people away. I didn’t trust anyone. I didn’t think I was good enough for anyone.” She suddenly thought of Sam, and the way it felt when he’d taken her hand, and the way she felt when she was near him. And she smiled. “But I am. I am good enough. In fact, more than that… I’ve realised that the problem, actually, wasn’t that I was too boring or too plain or too unbothered about fancy things. The problem was that I was far too good for a vacuous, talentless idiot like you.”

  As she finished speaking, she folded her arms across her chest and widened her eyes at the door.

  Richard looked at it, then at her, then shook his head, turned around, and left.

  10

  “Sam?” Lottie was lingering on her front doorstep, hopping from one foot to the other. After recomposing herself, she’d gone to find Sam. But he was nowhere in the house. And then she’d heard the front door close.

  He was holding his bag in one hand, and his car keys in the other. And he didn’t look happy.

  Lottie wanted to go back inside and put on some shoes, but she felt that if she took her eyes off Sam he’d evaporate. “You’re leaving?” The words trembled as they left her mouth. “Without saying goodbye?”

  Sam was standing at the gate, blinking as if he was looking at something far too bright. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his waiting Audi. He pressed his keys and the car bleeped. “Sorry. Something’s come up.”

  “Wait…” Lottie pulled the door closed behind her and scurried down the path. “I thought you were going to help me with dinner.” She smiled, but Sam didn’t.

  “I’m sure you’ll manage.”

  Lottie felt her forehead crease into a frown. Her feet were cold. The damp from the stepping stones was working its way through her thin black socks and, shoeless, she felt even shorter than normal. Tucking her hands under her armpits, she shivered. “I thought…”

  Sam slid open the lock on the gate. “I’ll be seeing you Lottie.”

  Lottie took hold of his arm and gave a little tug. Half an hour ago, Sam had been bursting with excitement at the thought of giving her a birthday gift and now he was leaving? “Did I do something?”

  “No. It’s work.” Sam was saying the right words, but they didn’t sound right. They were thin and monotone and the sparkle she’d seen in his eyes this morning wasn’t there any more.

  Lottie laughed and shook her head. “Sam. Come on. Something must have happened… we were… I mean, I thought we were…” She trailed off and whispered, “It’s my birthday…”

  Sam narrowed his eyes at her. “Yes, well, you clearly don’t need me to help you celebrate.”

  “I’m sorry?” Lottie felt a knot forming in her throat. The Sam she’d just spent the weekend with had evaporated. This was old Sam. Sam who didn’t want to be around her, who was cold and frosty and distant.

  Sam folded his arms across his chest and looked down at his feet. “I saw you with Richard.”

  Lottie’s stomach twisted into a sickening kno
t of realisation.

  “I was standing outside the studio. I was nervous. I was trying to figure out...” He shook his head. “And then I heard Richard.” Sam swallowed hard and looked up. “I heard him and I looked through the shutters.” He met her eyes and spoke slowly. “I saw him. Naked. And I heard you. You said...” Sam shook his head and looked away.

  Lottie felt her mouth drop open. She’d told Richard that Sam and her were just friends.

  “I saw you kissing him Lottie.” Sam’s eyes were big and watery and his neck was flushing a deep shade of red.

  At first, Lottie thought she was going to cry. But then a stinging heat spread from her fingers to her cheeks and she made a kind of Pah! sound. “Really, Sam?”

  Sam’s expression changed, and his forehead creased into a frown.

  “Richard came to tell me there was no hot water. He wasn’t naked – he was wearing a towel. And yes, he did try to kiss me but I pushed him off and told him he was a jerk.” The words were falling over themselves in the rush to get out. “I told him there was nothing going on between us because I wasn’t sure whether there was…” She breathed in sharply. Any second now, she’d start crying. “And I didn’t want to discuss it with him. I was waiting for you…”

  Sam reached out as if he was going to take her hand but she pulled away.

  “I can’t believe I thought–”

  “Thought what?” Sam bobbed down a little, trying to make Lottie look at him. “Thought what, Lottie?”

  “I thought I’d finally found someone who got me. I thought you saw me, and liked me. But you don’t see me. You don’t know me. You think I’d kiss Richard after spending the morning with you?” Lottie waved her hands in the air and let out an anguished cry. “You know what? Never mind. Have a safe trip back to London.”

  “Lottie, wait…”

  But Lottie was already stalking back to the cottage. “Goodbye Sam.”

  Closing the front door sharply behind her, Lottie leaned against it and tried to steady her shaking hands. She didn’t often become angry, let alone assertive. And the short sharp burst of adrenaline that had helped her turn her back on Sam was now making her feel wobbly and short of breath.