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“How lovely. I’m sure you’ll learn a lot. I hear Josh is quite the miracle worker, second only to St Francis of Assisi.” Kitty frowned. “I’m joking. I’m also a little jealous, so you’ll have to make it up to me.”

As Kitty nodded, the sun dipped around the side of the cottage, and the golden glow that lit her hair dimmed as if a spell had broken. Daniel looked at his watch.

“Damn, I have to go,” he said. “Amber is off tonight, so I actually have to work.”

“Thank you for the flowers,” Kitty said as he let go of her hand. “They’re beautiful.”

“And so are you, Katherine. But please, don’t have too much fun tomorrow.”

25

KITTY

Long after Daniel left,Kitty sat on the patio, gazing into the fading light of the day. The early evening bird song lulled her into an almost hypnotic state. Even the silky brush of Herod, weaving through her legs and crying for food, couldn’t shake her from her thoughts.

Kitty never expected to roll into Tottenbridge and find two men who made her heart beat so wildly. Two men she liked for such different reasons. While she’d willingly flirted with Daniel, she’d never factored in her preoccupation with Josh. It was true he’d spent most of the last week AWOL, but this morning, seeing him in the barn reminded her of all the reasons she spent far too much time thinking about him.

Kitty sighed. With Josh, she was all at sixes and sevens. Awkward and shy. He was handsome and kind and felt like home. But was he interested? She may have a raging crush on him, but he still had her in the friend zone. He’d told her his work and family life were all-consuming, and while it would be hypocritical to judge him for that, it didn’t leave time for romance.

Josh wasn’t a no strings attached kind of guy, though. That didn’t bother her, but she’d find it hard to leave for London if she slaked her thirst for him. Long distance never worked. A million romcoms couldn’t be wrong.

On the other hand, Daniel was a wild card in all senses of the word. He was dangerous and sexy. He filled her with a confidence she’d never known, and it felt good. Every minute with him was exciting. Ronnie could be right. Maybe she should just get laid and live a little. Daniel was interested, alright. His motivation might be sketchy, but just like he’d told her, he’d be perfect for a quick, no-strings fling.

Daniel wouldn’t interrupt her plans, and he’d always be nice to visit if the mood took her. Kitty’s mouth curled up as she thought of what a quick fling with Daniel would look like. She was sure he’d know his way around the female body. How could it hurt?But what if Josh found out? What would he think?

Kitty reminded herself he might not even care.

Indecision rattled around in her brain, and she rubbed her temples. Her head thumped from the heat of the day, and her thoughts drifted to the animals in the paddocks. Time to put them to bed, then herself.She had an early start with Josh.

Tomorrow. She’d know more tomorrow.

26

KITTY

After gettingup at ridiculous o’clock to sort out Julia’s animals, Kitty took a freshly brewed coffee to the old wooden bench in the front garden to wait for Josh. In the mugginess of the morning, glistening dew hung on every petal and leaf-like they were dressed in diamonds.

Another hot day was on the cards, and Kitty wore a sky-blue vest top, a pair of denim shorts, and her work boots. Butterflies skittered in her empty tummy, and she wasn’t sure if her heart’s thump was down to Josh or her strong coffee.

Perfectly on time, Josh pulled up outside the cottage in his old, mud-spattered Troop Carrier.Be still my fastidious heart.Punctuality was in Kitty’s top five sexiest traits.

Josh opened the door, and before he could get out, an excited Wendy leapt over him and raced out to fling herself at Kitty’s legs. She had a hard time stopping herself from falling into Julia’s rose bushes.

Instead of the bushes, though, Kitty fell into Josh’s sparkling eyes. She stood there, dumbstruck by his beauty, holding her coffee cup in two hands like Oliver Twist. Please, sir, could she have some more of him?

“Sorry,” Josh smiled.

“You should learn to control your crazy mutt!” Kitty said as she crouched down to tickle Wendy’s ears and accept her slobbering kisses.

“What can I say? She likes you.”

If onlyhewere so obvious.

“If you give me a slug of your coffee, I’ll show you what Wendy brought you,” Josh said.

He headed to the back of his truck and returned with a pair of pale pink and white polka-dot gum boots. Kitty’s face instantly cracked into a grin.

“I can only apologise for Wendy’s taste,” Josh said. “She couldn’t wrap them either. Obviously, she doesn’t have thumbs.”