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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

OLIVIA

“Good morning!” Fred stood on the front step of Roz’s house, beaming at us. “I hope this isn’t too early. I figured farmers are usually up at dawn, and the farm will be opening any minute now anyway.”

“No, no, not at all. We’ve been up for a while now, haven’t we, babe?” Roz gazed at me, wrapping an arm around my waist just as we’d practiced.

I leaned in slightly, smiling up at Roz before returning my focus back to Fred. “We have! Come in.” I stepped to the side, ushering him in as if I lived here.

I suppressed a wide grin. We were acing playing a loved-up couple. It couldn’t have been better timing, Fred appearing at Roz’s place while I was here, the practice session fresh in our minds. If Fred had any doubts after our run-in at Novel Gossip, surely this would put them to rest.

“We were just sitting on the back deck, enjoying the view. Would you like to join us?” Roz asked.

Fred smiled. “That sounds delightful, thank you.”

I followed Fred and Roz down the hallway. Was Fred here to tell us his decision about the investment? My heart beat picked up pace.

We reached the deck and Roz pulled out a chair for Fred. “Please, take a seat.”

I grabbed our empty plates from the table. “Would you like a coffee or tea?”

“A coffee would be lovely, thank you,” Fred said.

“No problem.” I ducked back into the kitchen, put our plates in the dishwasher and began opening cupboards, looking for a mug. Plates. Glasses. Aha, mugs . I grabbed a large one.

Now, where would Roz keep her coffee... I scanned the kitchen, my gaze falling on a large, shiny black espresso machine with an Italian-sounding name. Hmmm . I hadn’t noticed it in Roz’s kitchen earlier this morning. I’d clearly been too distracted by… the eggs and bacon. I stepped forward, examining it more closely. It had a lot of knobs and buttons, none of which were clearly marked. I frowned. Surely Roz had a French press or drip around? Even some instant coffee would do. I opened more cupboards, locating a stash of dark chocolate and a container of ground coffee, as well as a number of standard kitchen utensils, but nothing that would enable me to make coffee without using Roz’s machine. I walked back to it, pulled out my phone and Googled the name of the machine. Surely, there would be an instruction manual online?

Aha! I clicked on a link that looked promising and zoomed in on the PDF document that opened. My stomach sank. It was in Italian.

I pressed my lips together. Why had I volunteered to make Fred coffee? I couldn’t very well go back out to the deck and announce I didn’t know how to use Roz’s espresso maker. That wouldn’t be in keeping with our claimed relationship history.

I went back to the search results, my eyes widening as I saw its price. Three thousand euros. Good lord. I kept scrolling down, only finding instruction manuals in Italian. Had Roz imported the damn thing from Italy? No wonder her coffee tasted so amazing.

I sighed and turned my attention back to the coffee machine. You can do this. I pressed the power button on and the machine lit up. Good. I placed the coffee cup under the machine and pressed a random button. The machine whirred to life. Okay, that sounded promising. Water started dripping out of the machine and into the cup. I peered into it, my brow furrowing. It was very watery. Once the liquid reached two-thirds of the way up the mug, I turned off the machine and studied the mug’s contents. Hmmm . Perhaps if I added some milk it would look more like an actual coffee. I opened Roz’s fridge, grabbed a gallon of milk and poured some in. It still didn’t look great. I grabbed a soup spoon from a drawer, dipped it in the mug, sipped from the spoon and winced. Ugh . It was like warm, slightly milky water with dirt in it. I couldn’t serve this to Fred. I poured it down the sink and rinsed the mug.

Sweat pricked my armpits. I didn’t have all day to press every button on the damn machine. I needed Roz. I leaned against the counter, my mind ticking over, then walked back out to the deck.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m having a few issues with the coffee machine. Roz, would you mind giving me a hand?” Okay, that sounded casual and believable. Good work.

Roz jumped up. “Of course.”

“I don’t have a clue what to do,” I muttered as soon as we were in the kitchen and out of earshot.

“Ah, yes. Do you want one too?” Roz reached for the mug.

I shook my head. “I’m all good, thanks.”

Roz pulled a handle thing out of the machine and emptied it, opened the cupboard, pulled out the container of ground coffee, refilled the handle, pressed a few buttons and before long, the machine was humming and a steady golden stream of coffee poured into the mug.

“There you go. I’ll let you hand it to Fred.”

Our fingers touched as Roz handed me the mug, sending warmth shooting down my arm.

“Do you think he’s made his decision?” I murmured.

“Yes. He just told me that’s why he’s here.”

Our eyes locked and the enormity of the situation sank in. The moment we’d been working toward for the last two weeks was finally happening. The future of Sapphire Blooms and Red Tractor Farm would be revealed any minute. My stomach fluttered with nerves.

We walked back outside together and sat back down on the wicker chairs. I handed Fred his mug.

Two small children ran past, screaming with excitement, a man jogging after them. Despite my nerves, I managed a smile. The farm was open for business.

Fred took a sip of his coffee and leaned forward. “So, as I was saying to Roz, I’ve reached a decision about the investment.”

I clutched my mug, my heart pounding, and took a steadying breath. Oh god.

“And I’ve decided that I’d love to come on board as an investor.” Fred beamed at us.

My heart leaped.“That’s fantastic news!”

Blinking away happy tears, I placed my mug on the table before I splashed it all over me in excitement.

“I’m so happy to hear that, Fred.” Roz was smiling ear-to-ear. “I won’t let you down.”

I fought the urge to jump up and fling my arms around her. We’d done it. Sapphire Blooms was saved. The farm was saved. Thank god.

A ring tone sounded. Fred pulled his phone out of his pocket and frowned at the screen.

“Apologies, I’d better take this one.” Fred jumped out of the chair, and walked down the back steps of the deck, holding his phone to his ear and his coffee in his other hand. He strolled down the side of the house and disappeared out of view.

I stood up, my body still buzzing with adrenaline at the news.

Roz rose to her feet and stepped over to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, pulled me to her and then swung me around, laughing. I was giddy. Giddy with the news the flower fields were safe. Giddy from being swung around. Giddy at Roz’s uncharacteristic show of excitement. I joined in, laughing, and circled my arms around Roz, squeezing tight.

“I can’t believe it!” I pulled back to look at Roz’s beaming face.

Our gazes locked. Her face was only inches from mine. Her mouth, red and soft, was only inches from mine. My pulse quickened, my tongue darting out to wet my lips. Were we…? Adrenaline shot through my body. Goddamn, I wanted to. I really wanted to.

Her eyes drifted to my mouth, and I leaned in.

Our lips locked.

Tingles zapped through all the way down to my core. Our bodies pressed together. I closed my eyes, a soft whimper escaping my throat as Roz’s tongue teased my lips apart. My mouth parted, my body turning into a puddle of molten lava as our kiss deepened. Oh god.

Roz’s hand cupped my cheek. She let out a small moan, sending my stomach swooping. I fisted the back of her flannel shirt with my hand.

Kissing Roz was just as amazing as I’d remembered. My mind felt like mush. Why hadn’t we been doing this all along?

My mind cleared enough for the reasons to bubble up. We are friends and, until very recently, enemies. Roz doesn’t want a relationship. I do.

My eyes snapped open. My cheeks flaming, I disentangled myself from Roz’s arms, and focused on tugging down my shirt, which had ridden up slightly during the kiss. What the hell were we doing?

We’d just gotten carried away in the moment. It didn’t mean anything.

I studied Roz’s face for clues as to how she was taking this development. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing labored. She reached out her hand and my breath hitched. What is she doing? She gently swiped her thumb across my cheek, her gaze soft.

“You had a little egg on your face,” she murmured.

I swallowed. “Oh. Thank you.”

Movement behind Roz caught my eye. Fred was heading back toward us. I stepped away from Roz and straightened my shirt.

“Sorry about that, ladies,” Fred said as he sprang back up the stairs. “A work emergency. Unfortunately, I have to head back to my bed and breakfast to sort it out, but I’d love to celebrate tomorrow night if you’re both free? I’ve heard good things about Rivers Edge.”

“That sounds lovely.” Roz glanced at me. “Are you free then, babe?”

“Yes. I’d love to come,” I said, smiling. My only plans this weekend were working and catching up with my brother and his family who were in town.

We shook hands with Fred and walked him back to his car.

I exhaled loudly as we watched Fred drive off down the dirt road. “What a relief.”

Roz nodded. “I just wish he hadn’t suggested dinner.”

I glanced at her. “Why?”

Roz scratched her hand. “Until the investment documents are signed, Fred can pull out. I’m worried about just the three of us spending so much time together tomorrow night. There’s a lot of opportunity for us to slip up.”

“We’ve come this far. Surely we’ll be fine,” I said as we began walking back toward the farmhouse. “I thought things went pretty well this morning, all things considered.”

“But that’s exactly it.” Roz frowned. “We’re so close now. What if we fuck it up and lose everything?”