After showing Gaby to her room, Jess was waylaid by Len to deal with a problem with the flower refrigeration room. Adam came to help her and when it was sorted they found Will in his office, tapping away furiously at the desktop computer and muttering curses.
‘I decided to reorder some cardboard boxes because we’re running low, but the order site keeps throwing me into a loop. Every time I think I’ve cracked it, I get thrown off the site and have to do it all again. I should be down at the quay now, helping to unload a new load of packing materials. And please don’t mention it’s a bank holiday.’ He lifted his hands from the keyboard and sat back in disgust.
‘Let me take a look. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will help,’ said Jess, bundling him off the seat. ‘Why don’t you make a coffee or something.’
Will hovered by her shoulder. ‘I don’t see how you can do any different. I’ve tried it five times.’
‘Let Jess have a go, mate,’ said Adam. ‘We’ll grab a coffee and you can tell me about the Athene. I’ve been to look at her. Do you think she’ll be ready for us at the start of the new season next spring?’
Will seemed to perk up at mention of the Athene. ‘I hope so. We need a crew for her first. We’re two women short at the moment.’
‘There’s always Jess – she can step in if we’re desperate.’
Jess glared at Will. ‘Thanks a lot! And tough because I’m already committed to the Women’s boat. You might enjoy rowing twice in a race meet, but not me. Now, do you really want this stuff ordered or shall I let you suffer?’
‘It’s your business too,’ said Will with an infuriating grin.
Adam winced. ‘Come on, mate. Let’s make a drink before she takes you at your word.’
Jess heard them discussing the progress of the Athene in the kitchenette before the hiss of the kettle drowned out the conversation. She didn’t mind a bit of teasing from Will and while he could be short-tempered and annoying, he was a loyal brother and friend. He and Adam had been mates almost since the first time Adam had set foot on St Saviour’s. Although Jess’s first encounter with him was when he’d delivered a bag of mail to the farm two summers previously, it was through Will that she’d got to know him better. As Adam had played rugby semi-professionally in his Cumbrian home town, he was soon roped in as captain of the Scilly Corsairs. Will had soon realised Adam would also be ideal rowing material and persuaded him to join the St Saviour’s Men’s crew.
The two of them had hit it off quickly and Adam had been grateful for the excuse to visit the farm to see Jess before he’d eventually asked her out. He’d confessed as much to Will, who’d rolled his eyes and complained he’d never intended to ‘play matchmaker’ and must make sure he never did it again.
Ah. Will. What on earth was Jess going to do about his love life – or lack thereof?
With his rowing in the summer and rugby in the winter, plus the farm, her brother’s life seemingly was a full one. There hadn’t been much time for relationships, although he had dated a few women over the years. The longest lasting one had been with a Belgian woman who’d come to work in the ferry office in Hugh Town. She’d decided to go back to Ghent to study, so that had been the end of that. Will had wandered around in a gloom for a week or two but soon snapped out of it when rowing season started in the spring, so Jess had suspected he wasn’t too heartbroken.
Since then, he’d managed to acquire a reputation for being an impossible catch and even though he’d had a couple of flings with temporary visitors to the islands, he didn’t seem to have fallen hard for anyone special. That wasn’t so unusual because finding a partner among a small and ever-changing community was difficult in itself, not to mention when you were very busy and tied to a business, as Jess had also discovered over the years.
Before Adam, she hadn’t had the best romantic track record herself. A couple of flings that had fizzled out; one with a doctor who’d inevitably left to further his career on the mainland, and one with a policeman: ditto.
She counted herself incredibly lucky to have met Adam. She knew that moving in to his place was on the cards and she was looking forward to making a life together, and fingers crossed, having a family of their own one day.
And then Jess thought of her best mate, Maisie Samson. They’d been friends since their schooldays, although Maisie was a few years older. All the children from the smaller isles boarded at the high school on St Mary’s because it was too disruptive for them to constantly travel back and forth on boats every day. Maisie had taken Jess under her wing in the first year, and during the holidays when she’d returned from sixth form college on the mainland. As Jess grew up, they’d become firm friends.
Jess had supported Maisie through some dark times lately. Maisie had miscarried her previous pregnancy the Christmas before last. Far from being supportive, especially as Maisie has found it difficult to fall pregnant in the first place, her ex-boyfriend, Keegan had left very soon after, saying he couldn’t handle having children anyway. Keegan also happened to be Maisie’s boss at the brewery chain where she worked so after the trauma of losing her baby, Maisie had decided to come home to Scilly and help her parents run the Driftwood. How must she now feel, seeing her best friend, Jess, and Adam loved up? How would she react when Jess told her she would be moving in with Adam? And how would she feel when, hopefully, she and Adam had kids? Maisie would put on a brave face because she was a good friend, and Jess hoped that Maisie would find someone as sexy and just-plain-lovely as Adam, and they could all enjoy their families together. They could have their own little gig crew one day … well, you never knew. Miracles could happen.
But this wasn’t getting the cardboard ordered, and giving herself a stern talking-to, Jess refocused. Ten minutes later, she pushed away the keyboard in triumph and turned to the boys. ‘There. Done and dusted, fingers crossed.’
Will groaned. ‘Really? Thanks. Now I know why you run the operations side of things while I stick to the fields. I’ll get back to Len and see if he’s still freaking out about the flower refrigeration room.’ He collected his phone from the table. ‘Oh, I dropped in on Princess Gabriella before the system threw a wobbly. She’s very smart, but I’m not sure she’s right for the farm. I’ve no idea why she wanted to hide away in the middle of nowhere or where she thought a degree in poetry comes in. Maybe she’s going to read to the Innisidgens.’
Jess recalled Gaby’s quotation about the sea with amusement but decided not to share it with Will. ‘It’s actually a PhD in poetry, and apparently she wanted to try out a new lifestyle away from the city. Plus she did fix the pump.’
‘A lucky break,’ said Will. ‘We’ll see how she gets on.’
‘People have a lot of different reasons for coming to Scilly. Some of them end up sticking around,’ said Adam, shooting a knowing look at Jess that made her skin tingle. She didn’t think she could wait much longer to drag him off to bed. ‘I think she’ll do OK,’ he added.
‘As long as you don’t call her Princess Gabriella in front of Len and the others,’ said Jess.
Adam laughed at Will. ‘I reckon you’ve got a handful there, pal.’
‘I don’t know what you mean. Len will soon kick her into shape,’ he said.
Jess got up and Adam slipped his arms around her waist. Jess put hers around his neck.
Will made a fingers-down-throat gesture. ‘Do you mind not doing that holding hands and kissing thing in here? Why don’t you get a room?’
Adam glanced at Jess, who was still gleeful at seeing Will so wound up by Gaby. ‘Great idea. We might do that, hey, Jess?’ They both loved teasing him. ‘We ought to start practising for when we have kids. I think half a dozen would do for starters – you need a team of unpaid pickers.’
Will pulled a face. ‘Eww. Lovey-dovey stuff. Puts me right off my coffee. I’m off to do some work while you two get on with it whatever it is.’ He walked into the yard, shouting. ‘Leonard! I’ve sorted the cardboard order.’
Jess gasped. ‘Hey! I did it!’
Adam laughed. ‘Leave him. He has to have some victories after losing that spat with Gaby. His face was priceless.’ He pulled her into his arms. ‘Let’s forget about them. I’ve been dying to get you on your own.’
‘Do I have a say in this brood of little flower pickers?’ she said, guessing Will thought Adam was joking about the kids, whilst she wasn’t so sure. Maybe they should have the conversation later at his cottage. Or now. ‘Because two will do,’ she said.
Adam laughed. ‘Like I said, we’d better put in some practice.’
He slid his hand under the hair at the nape of her neck. Closing her eyes, she let her head tip back, anticipating the touch of his lips on hers as he gently pulled her in for a kiss. When it came, the kiss made her knees buckle and her whole body feel as if she’d been dipped in popping candy. It was the weirdest, but most wonderful sensation. No one had ever made her feel like that, not even when she’d been a teenager and had a Christmas kiss with the best-looking boy in the school. Now she was in her mid-thirties she felt she had no right to feel so intensely. She would have been scared by it but she was ninety-nine per cent sure that Adam felt the same way and that their relationship was about to move on to the next level.
Adam held her and she rested her cheek against his chest, enjoying the beat of his heart under the warm cotton and the scent of him. That was what was so amazing about being in love, she thought: being able to abandon yourself to a kiss, and to one person. Sod the world, sod the business, sod everything except the two of them: her and Adam, even if it was just for a few minutes or hours. She’d love to have that feeling of pure joy every day and for the rest of her life – but was it possible? It hadn’t been for her mum and dad – or Maisie – but it could be for her and Adam.
‘Did you mean that, about the room?’ she murmured, looking into his eyes.
Adam’s face was suddenly serious. ‘Of course. We need to talk about it. Shall we go to my place or does Will need you here?’
‘Sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day. Will always needs me here, but I’ve done my bit and it’s technically my day off. I’ll come back later tonight to see how Gaby’s doing.’
Adam kissed her again and Jess thought she might take off with happiness. And lust. Things were going well: for the farm and finally for her love life.
‘Come on then,’ he said. He took her hand as they walked to Thrift Cottage, which nestled behind a stony bay at the far end of the island.
The next couple of hours were lost in some deliciously wicked downtime before the shadows lengthened outside and Jess reluctantly started to get dressed. No matter how much she wanted to stay in bed with Adam or sleep over in the cottage, there was way too much to be done at the farm and she didn’t want to abandon Gaby on her first night. Despite what she’d said to Adam earlier, running a farm meant she never really had a ‘proper’ whole day off.
‘Sorry. Have to go back to work soon,’ she said, pulling her T-shirt over her head. ‘I can’t leave Will on his own for much longer. It’s not fair.’
Adam sat on the edge of the bed, still naked. ‘We can spend more time together when you move in … you’ll be in my bed every night. Come here.’
Jess joined him at the bed and stood between his legs. Even now the sight of him made her long to jump straight back under the patchwork cover with him. In fact, it was crazy not to move in with him as she already spent plenty of nights here each week. There was no reason to wait any longer and it wasn’t as if she had to move any further than half a mile from the farm. Everything could carry on as before, only much better. She held his head between her hands, leaned down and kissed him, feeling as if she could float on air.
‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow evening. Shall I come for dinner?’ she said.
‘Sounds perfect. Stay over and we can start moving your stuff in.’
‘I hope you can find room for my extensive collection of fleeces and wellies.’
‘Of course, but don’t bother with any underwear, will you?’
‘Ha ha,’ said Jess, brimming with excitement while also wondering what her mother’s reaction would be. Will would be happy for her, but her mum had dropped enough hints for Jess to work out that she didn’t think an island postman was good enough for her daughter. Jess wasn’t too concerned. She had long since ceased to care what her mother thought about her choice of partners and where Adam was concerned, she was resolved not to let her spoil her moment.
A buzzing came from underneath Adam’s abandoned boxers.
‘Yours or mine?’ she asked.
‘Sounds like mine. Probably Javid calling me about rowing practice …’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Oh shit, is that the time? I promised to meet him down at the gig sheds ten minutes ago. See how you’ve distracted me. I’ll call him to say I’ll be late.’
Jess moved away as Adam picked up his phone and frowned at the screen.
‘It’s not Javid … it’s a text … I don’t know …’ His voice trailed off and he stared at the screen for a few moments. His smile evaporated and he scrolled down further.
Jess joined him on the edge of the bed. ‘Adam? What is it?’
‘Nothing. It’s nothing.’
Her stomach turned over. ‘It doesn’t look like nothing. You’ve gone as white as a sheet.’
‘I’m fine.’ He threw the phone on the duvet. ‘It was just a junk message. Sick of them to be honest.’ Flashing a smile at her, he grabbed his shirt. ‘I need to get down to the sheds. Sorry …’
‘Oh. OK, I should be getting home anyway. See you tomorrow?’
‘Yeah. Sure.’ Adam pecked her on the cheek before scrambling into his clothes.
Jess looked at the phone lying face-down in the folds of the duvet. Adam’s reaction convinced her the text had been more important than he was letting on, but she certainly had no intention of checking his mobile. She trusted him to tell her if anything was amiss.
Adam saw her to the front door. He always stood in the porch watching her until she was out of sight of him – perhaps longer for all she knew. He still stood there today, but as she reached the point when she would lose that last glimpse of him, she turned around to find the porch empty.
She told herself she was being paranoid and she was tired at the end of a long summer of work … and sex. Then she thought back to the hasty kiss, the eager removal of his hands from her waist and to the empty spot on the cottage porch and shivered. She was probably overthinking things but she had the feeling that whatever was in that text, it had shifted Adam’s world on its axis and, with it, her own.