A Taste of Home by Heidi Swain (the beginning after the end read novel TXT) 📕

Before I could object, he took my hand, twirled me around and pulled me close. Without a care for the tune, he then enthusiastically joined in with the singing and I didn’t have time to feel self-conscious, but then, looking at his happy face and shining eyes, I found I wasn’t. I just wanted to dance and sing and sway and stay in his arms as we all laughed, danced and drank the night away.

We weren’t quite the last to spill out into the square, but we were somewhere among the stragglers. The Cherry Tree and Skylark crews had left with cries of how much they were looking forward to the supper club and I was so relaxed I didn’t feel panicked about it at all.

‘I’ll follow you back,’ said Eliot, turning his bike around as I grappled with the seatbelt in the Banana-mobile.

‘That was a great night,’ I said to Bec. ‘Thank you for inviting me along.’

I’d really felt a part of the community and I appreciated Bec including me. I hadn’t felt that sense of belonging among a crowd in a while and it was wonderful to feel welcome both at the farm alone with Grandad and further afield among the friendly Wynbridge folk.

‘I’m pleased you had a good time,’ she laughed, coming to my rescue because I couldn’t seem to make the belt fit into the holder.

It turned out I was trying to shove it into the seat.

‘That was a typical Saturday night in town, so you’ll have to get used it because you’re one of us now.’

I rather liked the sound of that.

‘And I have to say,’ she impishly added, ‘you and Eliot looked really good dancing together.’

‘He danced with everyone,’ I pointed out.

‘But he kept coming back to you,’ she quickly batted back.

I couldn’t deny that because he had.

‘I’ll give you a hand next week, getting everything ready,’ she kindly offered. ‘I know there’s only so much you’ll be able to do, given the time limit, but I’ll do whatever you ask of me so you’ll have the hours to make it look as close to what you’re imagining as possible.’

‘I’d really appreciate that,’ I told her, feeling suddenly more sober again. ‘I’m going to start making some lists tomorrow and working out what to prioritise. Even though this is just a trial run, I need it to go well if I want to get Jake and Amber onboard.’

We were soon back at the farm and I clambered out and waved her off, but unlike the other night, Eliot stopped.

‘I bet you’ve forgotten your key, haven’t you?’ he said, once he’d pulled his helmet off and climbed off the bike.

‘Oh bugger,’ I said, clapping my hand against my forehead. ‘I have. I didn’t give it a thought.’

The house was in darkness, so I didn’t think Grandad had realised or waited up just in case.

‘Lucky I’ve got mine then, isn’t it?’ said Eliot, pulling a chain out of the neck of his T-shirt.

‘What else have you got tucked down there?’ I giggled.

‘Never you mind,’ he said. ‘Come on.’

I’d only taken a couple of steps towards the house when I happened to look up.

‘Oh wow,’ I gasped, tugging at his arm, ‘look at the stars.’

It was a completely cloud free night and the moon was little more than a crescent so we could easily pick out the constellations. It looked very much like the sky I used to spend my evenings gazing at in Puglia. There was no light pollution there either. It didn’t cross my mind then, that stargazing with Eliot felt far more romantic than me noticing the pinpricks of light when Anthony took me home after our meal. I’d been aware of the illuminated night sky then, but not in the same way.

‘It’s a beautiful night,’ Eliot whispered. ‘That’s Venus, isn’t it?’

I looked to where he was pointing.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I think so.’

‘Associated with beauty and love and…’

‘Desire,’ I swallowed and then, for the second time that day, I found my lips on his, only this time, he was the one who kicked the kiss off.

‘I was going to say prosperity,’ he whispered, when we finally broke apart.

‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered back.

‘What are you apologising for?’ he grinned.

‘For interrupting,’ I smiled back.

‘Not for kissing me?’

‘No,’ I squeaked. ‘That was definitely you this time.’

‘Well,’ he said, holding my gaze. ‘I wanted to level things up a bit, so you didn’t feel quite so guilty about earlier.’

‘Was that the only reason?’

He shook his head and, still smiling, leant around me, unlocked the kitchen door and gently pushed me inside. Then he turned and left without another word.

Chapter 22

The next few days were a whirlwind of frenetic activity. Together, Bec and I picked the fruit early in the day and then she kindly took it with her to town as she was working in the café. After she’d gone, I would carry on making lists, giving the barn its basic makeover and devising a simple menu, incorporating the succulent Fenview Farm strawberries, to give a flavour of the potential supper club events to come.

There was also the added excitement of getting the internet sorted and knowing Fenview Farm’s connection to the world wide web was imminent. I couldn’t wait to have my first video call with Marco, Alessandro and Nonna. As wonderful as my new life was, I missed being able to include them in it and I was looking forward to combining my two fabulous families. I just knew Grandad and Nonna were going to get along.

However, even with the hectic schedule, I was never quite busy enough to stop thinking about what had happened between me and Eliot after our evening in the pub. He might have said that he had kissed me with a view to alleviating the guilt I felt for throwing myself at him first, but his impish actions served to confirm that I wanted to kiss him and I wanted