Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green. Eve Devon

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      She looked up. ‘Oh, it’s really not my place,’ she said, bringing her cup of tea to her mouth as if it would help stop her from voicing her opinion.

      ‘You were invited to sit at the table and participate,’ he said tearing his gaze from hers to stare down at his sketches. He couldn’t see anything wrong with them. He’d created gardens within a garden and different views according to where you were inside The Clock House, each taking into account where the sun rose and fell. He’d designed access paths, chosen an easy-to-maintain planting scheme, and most importantly, the three people he’d come to present to didn’t appear dissatisfied.

      In. Any. Way.

      Obviously picking up on the growing tension, Kate carefully placed her teacup back in her saucer and said calmly, ‘What did you want to say, Emma?’

      ‘Well, if you’re sure you’d like the feedback?’ she asked, only she wasn’t looking at Kate, she was staring up at Jake with challenge set on her face.

      ‘Yes, of course. I’d welcome it,’ he answered uber-politely.

      ‘You’re sure?’

      Impatience sparked. ‘I just said so, didn’t I?’

      ‘All right, then.’ Her gaze fell on his design as if she was gathering herself and then her gaze bounced back up to his. ‘So what you’ve designed is stunning.’

      It was so completely unexpected that Jake felt his chest puff out with pride.

      ‘It’s sophisticated,’ Emma continued, ‘It’s contemporary…’

      When she paused, a pulse ticked in his jaw. ‘And yet?’

      ‘And yet, well, it’s not very practical, is it?’

      ‘Practical?’

      ‘Yes. I know that word is probably a designer’s bugbear. You’ve created a space everyone inside can enjoy, but I imagine, during the spring, summer and autumn months the courtyard will get more footfall. I also imagine that if the tearoom and bar is successful,’ she quickly glanced at Kate in askance, ‘you might want to give customers the option of eating and drinking out there?’

      She was right, Jake realised.

      Why hadn’t he thought of that?

      Why hadn’t they?

      Or had they? In a mild panic he started going through the original notes he’d made. He knew he’d been spinning a few too many plates over the last year.

      Ever since…

      He breathed in sharp.

      Had he totally dropped the ball on this one?

      ‘Jake, I must apologise,’ Kate said, interrupting his search through his notes. ‘I completely missed telling you about this. I’m so sorry. I’ve had so much on.’

      ‘It’s not a problem at all, Kate. Honestly, I can relate.’

      ‘I know you can.’

      What he needed to do now was think on his feet and come up with a workable solution that didn’t dampen the creativity of the project either.

      ‘This is only a suggestion,’ Emma inserted into the conversation, ‘but what if you were able to make the walls not solid, but more, sort of, moveable partitions somehow?’

      Intrigued, there was only time to be mildly surprised by her insight while feeling sickened at his oversight. Out came his pencil and he started sketching out the gridwork that would be needed. It would be expensive. Really expensive. Would Kate go for it? She’d already sunk so much of her own money into the place.

      While being given the guided tour, it had been impossible not to recognise what you could do when your budget was so large. Jake’s budget for Knightley Hall, on the other hand, was miniscule. His life a constant juggling act of form-filling and grant-obtaining to help with the up-keep.

      He knew he was still at the setting up part of the whole process at the Hall and that once the gardens were open to the public, he’d be able to make money for the estate. He’d already thought about reserving an area for local schools to learn about gardening, about holding gardening weekend retreats and about selling produce from the kitchen garden further afield than the local village markets.

      Basically he’d been thinking and dreaming, dreaming and thinking about how to make the place pay for itself for as long as he could remember but he couldn’t help wondering if life would be different had he been able to act on his plans sooner and show Alice a glimpse of what their life together would have been like.

      Annoyed at where his thoughts were taking him he concentrated on adding a few more lines to his sketch, determined to capture what he thought Emma had been suggesting. Then, holding out his sketch for her perusal, his gaze bored into her while he awaited her reaction.

       Chapter 11

       Heart of Glass

       Emma

      Emma wanted to squirm.

      It was seriously hot and seriously intense under Jake’s unrelenting gaze.

      And, oh, didn’t he just know it was.

      She shouldn’t have said anything.

      Despite the fact she’d been fuming before she sat down because what was worse than being caught being nervous?

      Yeah – being called out publicly for being nervous.

      So what if she’d been acting more confident than she felt? Whatever got her through, she’d been thinking.

      Right along with wondering whether she’d ever met a more arrogant jerk in her life.

      But then he’d started presenting his ideas and, darn it, because she’d joked that he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body but as he’d talked about his vision, she’d heard the story he wanted to tell with the garden he was creating.

      She’d been seriously impressed and it had made her want to show him how committed to doing a good job at The Clock House she was. How serious she took this opportunity. That she wasn’t some starving actress who’d just pitched up to have a laugh, do a little sight-seeing, and grab a pay-cheque at the end of each week. So she’d taken his idea and given it a good outing.

      The shock on his face when she’d actually ventured her opinion though.

      But instead of going apoplectic, he’d done a total one-eighty on her and listened.

      Proper listened.

      Which she’d found proper sexy!

      No.

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