Love (6 page)

“
Is this where you write?” asked Karen.

“
No,” replied Adam, “It would be far too distracting to work up here. I would always be watching the birds or the people on the beach. I have a study downstairs.” He pulled out a chair for Karen at the elegant dark-wood modern table, another designer original mused Karen. The seats of the comfortable dining chairs were upholstered in a nubbly blue linen. The floor echoed the sitting room floor below, in the same bleached white pine. The overall effect was like being on the deck of a ship.

Adam went through an archway into the kitchen beyond.
“White wine okay for you?” he called. Before she could answer he reappeared bearing an open bottle of White Burgundy and two long-stemmed blue wine glasses.

Karen was about to ask if there was anything she could do to help when she noticed that the table was already set for two; heavy white octagonal china plates with dark blue napkins and some gleaming modern silverware with angled handles. He really had exquisite taste. Karen was beginning to see why her grandmother was so impressed by Adam.
It was all so perfect, the thought flitted through her mind that he was gay, but that did seem unlikely. Perhaps it was possible for heterosexual men to be sensitive. It would be a first.

Adam returned
with a steaming platter and a wooden salad bowl. “Just the bread now, I think,” going back for the promised French bread and a plate of beautifully pale butter.

Karen was surprised to find that she enjoyed the fish as she normally
wasn’t too fond of seafood but this firm white fish with its delicate chanterelle stuffing was mouth-watering. Dessert was grapes and cheese. He was clearly a renaissance man: author, cook, interior decorator, even the dog liked him, probably small children were entranced by him, was there anything he couldn’t do? He definitely had to be gay, not that there was anything was wrong with that, but it might mean they were going to fall into bed.

If
he was straight and seemingly so wonderful, why had some woman not snatched him up before now? He was to all intents and purposes a handsome and eligible bachelor, there should have been a queue of women at the door. No doubt there were lots of women in his life, he was probably just being kind to her because her grandmother had asked him to keep an eye on her. The old babysitter to the rescue.

“Do you do windows too?” she asked as she sat back from the table, unable to eat another morsel of the delicious food.

Adam raised an eyebrow,
“Actually, no. I believe Mrs Maybury’s husband takes care of that. Now, never mind about the windows. I’d like to hear about your work.”

Karen soon found that her usual reticence about herself and her work disappeared under his gentle, intelligent probing. She found that he already knew a good deal about her
paintings from her grandmother. They talked intensely about art as they sipped the crisp wine. Karen felt her cheeks grow warmer and wondered whether it was the wine or her host. It was only an indignant bark from Humphrey which made Karen realise that the afternoon had all but flown past.

“
Poor Humphrey!” she cried. “He has been waiting all day for his walk. Let me help with the dishes and then I really must take him down to the beach.”

“
Never mind the dishes, that’s what dishwashers are for. Let’s get old Humphrey out first. The wind has come up I’ll lend you a coat and then we can go straight from here. I have my own path down to the beach from the garden.”

He donned his
barbour and offered Karen a large navy peacoat. “This ought to be a bit warmer than that anorak you had on the other day.”

Karen slipped the heavy coat over her shoulders. It smelled of wool and aftershave, a comforting sort of smell. It was also a very masculine smell. Adam handed her a woolly hat and mittens.
“Perfect,” he said tying a striped woollen scarf around her neck. “Now you look just like Paddington bear.” She wondered if Paddington Bear ever felt as horny as she did now, still she remembered her vow not to get distracted by men.

Karen was glad, as they headed into the
cold wind that was blowing off the sea, that she was so warmly dressed. They picked their way down the steep path to the beach below. Humphrey was delighted when Adam found a thick strand of seaweed and threw it for him. The tide was far out and they followed the waves edge along the damp sand. The beach was empty, the regular dog-walkers had already been and gone. The sky had an eerie light as the clouds glowed pink and orange in front of the setting sun.

With sunsets like this, she could see what had drawn her grandmother and many other artists to this part of the country.
It really was beautiful. But sunsets were so clichéd and she could imagine the scorn of her London friends if she arrived back with a clutch of sunset paintings for her next show.

As though he had read her thoughts, Adam, slipped an arm through hers,
“It’s too beautiful to paint. You can’t do it justice in words either. It just sounds hackneyed and sentimental. It is probably because it has been done too many times by too many bad artists and writers. There are some things which should only be lived not reproduced.”

Karen shivered as the wind picked up, whistling round their legs. Humphrey too
looked chilled, having exhausted the joys of seaweed chasing. Adam, continued to anticipate her every thought, “It’s getting far too cold to stay out. Let’s go back to the fire and finish off that bottle. Humphrey better have something to eat after all his exercise. I don’t suppose that seaweed was terribly nourishing.”

They hurried back to the house. As they reached the top of the private path from the beach, Adam tapped Karen on the shou
lder and whispered in her ear, “Last one in stacks the dishwasher.”

“
Right,” said Karen, sprinting ahead with Humphrey at her heels. Adam dashed after her, surprised by her burst of speed. She beat him to the door by a short head and turned triumphantly to face him, “Hah, I’ll do anything to avoid housework.”

The house felt warm after the beach. Adam put some more coal on the fire which had burned quite low. Humphrey settled himself on the rug in front of the blazing hearth to clean his paws. “Now, you join Humphrey and I’ll go get the wine for us and a tin of corned beef for him,” said Adam, gathering up their coats and hats.

Karen watched him put the coats away before disappearing upstairs. She thought what an organised man he was. She seldom hung up anything unless pressed to do so, though her studio was always ordered and workman like. It was just that she
didn’t like wasting her time with unnecessary domestic chores, there were too many other things in life to enjoy. She wondered how long she ought to stay. Where was the evening leading? Did she want to spend it with him, or he with her? Was he so neat and tidy in bed? She liked men to be a bit wilder.

Adam reappeared
with the wine and Humphrey’s dinner on a saucer. Adam sat down next to her on the sofa, handing her a glass of wine.

“
Are you doing all this on Gran’s instructions?” she asked.

“
What do you think? Does it feel like I’m acting out of duty?”

“
No. No, it doesn’t. But I don’t know you well enough to be sure.” Karen stared at his face, searching for clues.

“
Your grandmother has talked about you many times. She’s very fond of you. I’ve grown very fond of her, she’s a very intelligent person, your grandmother, and so perhaps I’ve been biased by listening to her. But basically, I make up my own mind about people. Travelling, as I have, around the world, one often has to trust people and make fairly quick judgements. Does that answer your question?”

“
I think so,” replied Karen. She was surprised by the seriousness of his answer. She was more accustomed to the light banter of her friends who would have replied to her question facetiously. She was liking him more and more. “But do you not think I’m still a bit too young for you?” she wondered if he remembered that summer’s night as well as she did. She could see by the expression on his face that he did indeed remember as different emotions flashed across his face.

But then he smiled and said,
“I’m afraid that it was I who was too young that night. I am a good deal older and I’m hopefully a little more mature than that callow youth who kissed the enchanting girl in the white dress.”

Before she could reply, Karen felt a familiar pain pierce her shoulder.
“Ouch, ouch!” she cried, rubbing at her shoulder.

“
What’s the matter?” Adam looked alarmed.

“
It’s a muscle spasm. No need to panic. It’s caused by sitting in the same position, painting usually. Like tennis elbow only painting shoulder. My studio is draughty and I shouldn’t have thrown that seaweed around so much.”

“
Would it help if I rubbed your shoulders?” Adam asked. “Come and sit here in front of me.”

Karen
felt a rush of blood to her most sensitive parts and heard the alarm bells ringing. It was far too cosy, and too intimate. She wasn’t looking for to fall in love, especially not now or in the near future. Adam wasn’t a one night stand sort of proposition. Maybe someday they could get together, once she had established herself as a successful painter and an income of her own. Then she would have time for marriage and possibly children. There was no way she could be a painter and have a baby. She had seen one of the most promising girls in her final year at art school fall for a fellow student and get pregnant. Now she was supporting both her child and husband. He was still doing his own thing and she was working full time in a boring office job. He still swanned off to art openings while she went home to clean, cook and look after the baby.

No thank you, thought Karen. Get out now while you still can, she told herself. The attraction to Adam was so strong that when he touched her
whole body felt weak. Then when he’d remembered the kiss and the dress she had been wearing, it was all too perfect. She was almost grateful for the pain in her shoulder. She needed time to think.

“
No. I think I had better get home and get into a hot bath. It’s the only thing which makes it feel any better,” said Karen. She was only telling a half truth as a massage would have been heavenly, but she couldn’t risk losing control of herself. This man was in a different league from the ones she normally slept with and easily kept emotionally at arm’s length. “It’s been a brilliant afternoon. In fact it’s been a brilliant day. Thank you for an incredible lunch and for feeding the beast too.” Karen stood up and called Humphrey, “Come on Humphrey, bedtime for you, bath-time for me.”

Adam offered to walk her home. He seemed puzzled by her sudden mood
swing.

“
No, It’s not far. Don’t worry, I think I’ll find my way.”

“
Well at least take a coat,” said Adam firmly. “I can hear the wind whistling, it’s freezing.” He fetched her the pea coat and held it out for her.

Somewhat reluctantly Karen slipped her arms into the coat and moved quickly away from Adam lest he offer to button it up for her. She must get away from him. She was in danger of losing the very firm control she always kept on her emotions. As she hurried back to the cottage, Humphrey at her heels, she shone the torch Adam had insisted she take ahead of her. She felt a sense of disappointment mingled with relief. On an emotional level she felt as though she were on a wall looking into a secret garden which held exciting and yet unimagined pleasures. Dare she enter and if she did would she be trapped there forever?
What kind of lover would he be, controlling and firm like he was about everything else?

Back in the relative safety of the cottage, Karen heated herself a tin of soup and made a cheese sandwich. Not quite the gourmet standard she had experienced at lunch and the little black and white terrier was not quite as exciting a dinner companion as Adam but he was certainly far less dangerous.

Karen spent most of Thursday avoiding Mrs Maybury and her vigorous cleaning. Mrs Maybury had obviously decided that the absence of her employer was a perfect opportunity to get at all those dusty corners and spider webs that artistic folk were inclined to ignore. Karen felt that her presence only inhibited Mrs Maybury in her wholehearted pursuit of dirt. Humphrey’s bed was hung on the line to air so Karen collected up Adam’s coat and torch and decided to drop them off on the way to the beach for Humphrey’s walk.

She rang the bell and admired again the gothic effect of Adam
’s front door. There was no reply and she was surprised to find how disappointed she felt. After all this was the man she was going to avoid, bringing back his coat was just plain good manners. She walked over to peer through the garage window. The car was gone. That was that. She would have to drop the coat and torch back at Gran’s.

She wondered where he
’d gone. He’d not mentioned any trips and at first she thought he must have just gone somewhere locally. But then she noticed that there were no lights at his house when she looked out from her bedroom window, as she did every night before she went to sleep. The mystery was solved the next day when she dropped in at the village shop and Sandy, who knew everything about everyone in Trelawney Cove, informed her that Adam had gone up to London.