Page 20 of The Perfect Blend
I smiled at him as we finished up the food. “You’ll have to stop complimenting me so much, my ego’s getting too big.”
“Nothing but the truth,” he said. “But hey, if I ever think you need taking down a peg I’ll do the honours. I’ve still got some real zingers up my sleeve about your approach to building a fire and don’t even get me started on your reversing skills.”
I laughed and in that moment I noticed how relaxed I was. The tension of the day had melted away over the course of the meal, sitting here with Zach by the fire in this cosy kitchen.
“Thanks for tea, Zach. That was just what I needed.”
"You're welcome," he said. "Shall we take a look at the barn?"
We wrapped up warm and headed out into the cold. The barn Zach was thinking of using for the event was the one next to the house, sharing the courtyard. Whilst the business plan for the farm shop was to utilise the barn by the road, we needed electricity and a toilet for the event, which only the house had at the moment.
I took stock of the cobbled courtyard. It was flanked by the main barn on one side and the darkness of the fields on the other. Cars could come up the lane and pull through here to park in the field, but there was still plenty of room for the market to spill out into the night.
"This would be a really cute place to put the fire pit we were talking about and the outside stalls to go with it," I said, “Billy Wharton was dead keen on a hog roast out here.”
"Yep. And I reckon the lights I managed to buy should be long enough to zigzag above the courtyard and inside the barn too."
"Great!" I said as we walked toward the barn. "I've no doubt that it will look fabulous, what with your skills for hanging Christmas lights.” I shot a sly smirk his way.
We reached the barn and Zach stepped in front of me to heave open the huge barn doors. The barn, like the house, was a very old stone building, according to the engraved stone on the side of the barn it had been built in 1723. The inside was musty, but surprisingly empty and dry.
"I hauled all the old stuff out once I knew we were going ahead with the market," Zach said. Images of Zach, sweaty, muscles straining as he lifted the old farming equipment out of the barn, jumped unbidden into my head. I almost rolled my eyes at myself; yes he was gorgeous and yes I would love an invitation to watch him work, but first I needed to keep my eyes on the sensible prize - getting this project up and running.
Zach was oblivious to the thoughts running through my head, so I pulled myself out of my musings and cleared my throat. "It's drier than I expected, for a barn of its age," I commented, feeling proud of myself for sounding so normal, and not letting my overeager imagination get lost in the gutter.
"Yeah it seems like only a few years before he passed, Uncle Jim managed to get a grant to fix the roof, so it's probably the soundest roof on the property right now."
"Lucky us," I murmured, eying the space. "I think you were bang on with your estimate for the number of stalls we’ll be able to fit in here."
"Did you expect anything less? This hero up a ladder is also a hero with a measuring tape you know," he teased, mouth set in a crooked, charming smile and eyebrow raised naughtily. He’d made that measuring tape sound distinctly salacious.
I felt my face warm and hoped I wasn't blushing over such a silly thing. That was it, I’d fought valiantly to stay professional, but he’d just given me a prize opening I couldn’t resist.
"Is he now?" I said, giving him a slow once over with my eyes, and lowering my voice, making it as silky as possible. "Is he also a veryconsiderate,skilful,and most importantly,passionate," I paused a beat and watched his eyes darken ever so slightly, "pop up market event planner?"
He threw his head back as he let out a laugh, and I smiled as I admired the strong column of his throat. This man was gorgeous, competent and most of all, fun. I missed this kind of lighthearted flirty banter, but this time I felt like the guy I was flirting with might actually be worth my time.
He looked at me with those piercing blue eyes and said in a low, deep, husky voice, "Ilivefor the thrills of event planning."
And it was my turn to laugh.
∞∞∞
We were just coming out of the barn forty minutes later, market layout sorted and the project plan reviewed, when headlights could be spotted bouncing down the bumpy track towards us.
“Are you expecting visitors?” I asked, glancing at Zach. He was frowning at the approaching vehicle, mouth set in a grim line, more serious than I had ever seen him before.
“No,” he said, “I’m not. Would you go inside where it’s warm while I deal with this, please?”
I thought it was a slightly strange request, but I had no reason to refuse, so I nodded and smiled. "Sure, shout if you need me."
Back inside the house I lingered shamelessly by the large kitchen window, watching as Zach strode toward the oncoming lights. The vehicle stopped, engine still running, blinding lights still on. Zach walked around to the driver’s side and leaned down to speak to the driver through the window. I couldn't see Zach's face, but the lines of his body were tense and I could feel his unhappiness all the way from here. The conversation lasted only a few minutes, and involved some sharp hand gestures from Zach as he punctuated what he was saying. He seemed really frustrated, even angry. I was dying to know what it was all about - who on earth could this be?
The conversation appeared to come to an abrupt end, and the stranger’s car turned around in the courtyard before heading back up the bumpy track. Zach came back into the house. He seemed tense and unhappy, aeons away from the happy, bubbly person I’d been standing in the barn with moments before.
"Hey," I said softly. "Are you alright?"
He nodded tersely and ran a hand through his hair. Once again, the anxious habit reminded me of the boy I used to know, making me nostalgic of the past.
