Twenty minutes later, Nell and Guy had finished eating and made themselves comfortable on the rug in front of the fire with a bottle of wine.
‘I see you’ve come prepared’ said Guy, unfolding the plans and ideas that Nell had gathered together.
‘You sound like a boy scout,’ she teased.
Nell watched Guy as he looked over the plans.
‘So, what do you think?’ urged Nell, impatiently waiting for an answer. ‘I’ve opened up the back of the foyer and got rid of that ramp, the box office would go here,’ she pointed at the drawing, ‘and the popcorn machine here, with maybe a small bar here, serving refreshments. There will be a seating area here, which can be enjoyed by everyone. I was thinking on a Wednesday afternoon there could be reduced rates for the senior citizens with maybe a free drink with each ticket and film nights for the kids on a Friday at a special family rate. I want everyone flocking in here – a feel-good community atmosphere bringing all the generations back together. Ollie would have loved that. Come on … tell me what you think, for heaven’s sake.’
‘Did Jacob draw these plans?’ asked Guy with a grin, jokingly putting his arm around her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
‘You what?’ giggled Nell, ‘I have many talents you know … well actually, drawing obviously isn’t one of them, looking at these!’
‘Many talents, you say? I hope to find out very soon,’ he peered up under his dark eyelashes and brushed his fingertips against hers. She looked straight into his eyes, his gaze was still fixed on her. She lowered her eyes to his perfect lips, the gentle lift of his mouth was mesmerising. Guy leant forward and kissed the tip of her nose lightly. Nell felt her heart hammering against her chest and a smile etched all over her face. Even though she barely knew Guy she knew she’d clicked with him. He was so easy to be around and, not to mention, drop-dead gorgeous.
Nell clapped her hands in excitement, ‘Come on, let’s have a look at your figures, then,’ she said, grabbing the spreadsheet from beside Guy.
‘Figures, you say. All is looking good from here,’ he nudged her and gave her a mischievous grin.
‘Money figures,’ she said, mindful she’d turned a bright shade of crimson.
Nell was finding it hard to concentrate but she forced her eyes over the sheet of paper.
‘So, what do you think?’ asked Guy.
Nell didn’t answer. After digesting the information, her mind was whirling. She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. Taking another gulp of wine, she pondered.
He noticed the shift in mood, ‘Hey, you okay? You’ve suddenly gone very quiet, not to mention white.’
Take a deep breath, Nell.
Nell’s smile had suddenly plunged into despair, her heart sank to a new level, her stomach churned and reality had hit, ‘Jeez, that’s an awful lot of money,’ she said slowly, taking in the proposal and digesting all the information. ‘I think I need more wine.’
Guy smiled and promptly filled up her glass.
‘It’s an awful lot of money, but remember, this is worst-case scenario, and I’m sure it won’t come to that.’
Thoughts of letting Ollie down filtered through her mind.
‘I’m kidding myself, aren’t I?’ she sighed heavily and stared towards the fire, her eyes threatening tears. Had her mum been right after all? Was this one of those ‘told you so’ moments? Nell looked at Guy incredulously and exhaled. ‘I’m not sure I can afford this …’
‘Oh Nell, I don’t know what to say to you. I’ve been as honest as I can be with the maths. The last thing I want is for you to get into any sort of financial difficulty.’
‘I know and I’m thankful, really I am,’ she leant over and squeezed his knee, ‘But it just doesn’t leave much money left over, if any,’ she rested her head on his shoulder.
‘It really does have to be thought about carefully.’
She nodded, ‘You know, when Ollie died, my whole world stood still. Recently, it’s felt as though I was getting a little bit of me back, something to work towards and look forward to. I’ve got that horribly gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach again. What if it is all too much for me?’ Her chest tightened and her eyes glazed over.
Guy instinctively turned towards her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear and wiping away a tear. She smiled a sad smile at him.
‘Come here. It’s natural to have doubts,’ he said, taking her into his arms. She snuggled into his chest and the pair of them sat in a contemplative silence while Nell blinked away more tears and swallowed a lump in her throat. Could she do this? Could she actually do this? She made herself take a breath.
Her eyes flickered up towards him, ‘What am I going to do?’
‘Only you know the answer to that one,’ he said softly.
‘If only it was that simple.’
‘It’s a huge task, but if anyone can pull this off you can. From what I’ve seen so far, Nell Andrews, you are an amazing woman. I mean look at all this,’ he gestured to the plans and the ideas she’d drawn up. ‘Take the spreadsheet home and sleep on it. The auction isn’t for a while yet – there’s ample time to make your mind up.’
‘Look at me stumbling at the first hurdle.’
‘Don’t panic, no one is stumbling, because I’d catch you,’ he smiled warmly. He hesitated slightly before moving his lips closer to hers. Her stomach fluttered with a hundred fireflies. She wanted him to move closer, she wanted to feel his lips on her and taste his kiss. The intensity of his gaze made her shiver in anticipation and a warm feeling that had been missing for far too long flooded through her body. He finally lowered his head and kissed her tenderly on the lips, leaving her wanting more.
‘That made me feel a little better,’ she smiled, resting her head against his.
‘Only slightly? We’ll have to see what we can do about that,’ he whispered softly.
‘Please do, and Guy – thank you,’ she said softly.
‘What for?’
‘Just this, helping me out.’
‘Believe me, the pleasure is all mine,’
He hugged her, his grip was firm, then kissed her gently on the top of her head. ‘What do you want to do now?’
‘The options being?’ asked Nell, casting her eyes upwards.
‘I can either walk you home or we can open that other bottle of wine.’ He tilted her chin towards his gaze and his eyes didn’t leave hers. Nell’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of spending more time in Guy’s company and she reminded herself to breathe normally. It felt so good being with him and she pressed her lips together to try and hide the delight that was about to burst out at any second. Nell was a strong believer in fate. Things happened for a reason, in her book, and she was thrilled Guy had come into her life when he had.
‘Second bottle sounds good to me.’
‘Me too.’