Page 30 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

‘That’s a terrible word,’ he told her, attempting some humour to lighten the moment. ‘Serious.’

‘I’m sorry.’

Nico nodded and gulped. ‘Yeah, well, that’s life.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me and Grams any of this?’ she asked, a frown creased between her brows.

‘Because I didn’t want to think about it,’ he admitted. ‘Because life has been utterly dreadful these past six months and, for once, I wanted to remember what it was like to smile. I had nothing left, you see. Nothing but Dad’s old Ferrari and a promise to visit your grandmother and repay the favour that we owed her.’

‘You should have said,’ Flora told him.

‘Would you have believed me?’ he asked.

She looked away and withdrew her hand. He was shocked to feel how empty his felt without her soft skin on his.

‘But I googled you and all I saw were loads of tabloid stories of you being some kind of playboy,’ she told him.

‘Perhaps in my twenties. But hard work and no money makes Nico a dull boy.’

‘I don’t think I’d ever describe you as dull,’ she replied, turning to look at him.

He gave her a small smile. ‘I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’

‘It must be the cold,’ she told him.

He shivered once more. ‘You may be right. It’s freezing in here. It’s only mildly above the temperature of Mrs McKinley’s blood, I imagine.’

Flora gave a soft laugh. ‘She is a little severe,’ she replied.

‘Thanks for listening,’ he said, after they had locked eyes. He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. That at least someone knew the real him at last.

‘Thanks for coming all this way to help out me and Grams,’ she replied.

‘For what it’s worth, I truly believe we can do this,’ he told her, suddenly anxious to reassure her about her own home. ‘Between us, we can build a great campsite and help save the farm.’

‘I hope so.’ Flora hesitated before speaking again. ‘And I’m sorry. For not giving you the benefit of the doubt when you arrived. For not believing that your intentions were well placed in helping us.’

Nico looked over at the extremely uncomfortable looking hard chair in the corner. ‘You take the bed,’ he told her. ‘I can sleep in the chair.’

Flora looked at him and, to his surprise, shook her head. ‘It’s okay. We can share. Besides, there’s only one set of bedding.’ She hesitated before adding, ‘I trust you.’

He was unable to stop himself from breaking into a wicked grin. ‘Of course, there’s lots of different ways to keep ourselves warm overnight.’

Flora laughed, her pretty face lighting up. ‘Just when I was starting to believe you.’

‘Hey, it’s your mind that’s one got only one track,’ he told her, laughing. ‘Not mine. That’s not what I meant.’

‘Wasn’t it?’

He gave her a warm smile. ‘Maybe a little. You bring out the worst in me.’

She smiled as she headed into the bathroom.

Nico lay back on the bed, thinking that for once he was doing the right thing. He was helping Flora and that felt good. He could make amends for his rotten father.

He wanted her to believe that he wasn’t a playboy. He wanted her to think the best of him, not the worst. He realised that her opinion mattered to him and he wondered why.

But it was nice to have finally told someone the truth. That it was Flora surprised him even more, but he trusted her, perhaps more than anyone else in his life at that moment.