A Fresh Start on Crumcarey (Crumcarey Island #5)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

LUKE

L uke dangled his legs over the low wall, swinging them as he waited for his uncle to reappear with Maggie. The old man had insisted on picking her up from work so that Luke could finish fixing up the bit of guttering Sue Harcus had sent for the back of Pear Tree Cottage.

The guttering wasn’t the only surprise the pair of them had cooked up for Maggie today. Between them, he and his uncle had managed to fit the mad, swirly carpet. Then Luke had finished all the pipework for the wood burner’s back boiler.

He’d just set out the new windows where they would be fitted – but he’d run out of time for that particular job today. Not that that was a bad thing – he wanted to check Maggie was happy with them before they became a permanent fixture. After all, this wasn’t his place, and the last thing Luke wanted was for her to feel like he was taking over. That wasn’t the point of all this – plus, it sounded a bitch too much like Russell for his liking.

The final surprise - the icing on the cake as far as Luke was concerned - was the new sofa. It had come from Ray at Crum House. Apparently, it was one of the few bits of furniture his brother hadn’t stolen and sold off while Ray had been travelling. Either way, it was a beauty. Sure, it was a bit lumpy, old and saggy… but it was wonderfully snuggly and comfortable. Luke knew this for a fact because he’d taken a five-minute catnap on it in between jobs.

Thankfully, Ray had helped to load it into the truck and had gladly hopped in for the ride to help unload it at the cottage, too. It was just as well, as there was no way Luke would have managed the heavy old thing with just his uncle’s help!

The sofa had only just squeezed down the narrow hallway, and there had been much giggling and yelling of the word PIVOT! before it finally reached its destination in the open-plan living room.

Luke had left it plopped right in the middle of the space for the time being. It would be up to Maggie to choose where she wanted it.

‘Speak of the devil,’ he murmured, a broad grin spreading over his face as Mr Harris’s truck turned into the driveway. Luke leapt down off the wall and did his best to ignore the funny little backflip his heart performed as Maggie climbed down from the passenger seat. She was clearly still mid-gossip with his uncle.

These little heart flips were fast becoming a regular thing… and Luke wasn’t entirely sure what to do about them. He liked Maggie. She was gentle and kind and funny and brave. She was also so beautiful that she quite literally took his breath away.

Then there was the fact that she already felt like family – which was ridiculous, considering they’d known each other for less than a week.

Still… there was no way he could do anything about the weird, longing sensation in his chest. It wouldn’t be fair on her. She’d already been stranded on the island by one bloke. There was no way he was going to be responsible for history repeating itself.

‘Hi!’ said Maggie, turning to him with a sunny smile.

‘Good day?’ said Luke, quickly tucking his troublesome thoughts away in his pocket. He’d stick to the practicalities of back boilers and guttering for now – they were safe and reliable and didn’t threaten to land him in trouble at every turn.

‘Brilliant day, thanks,’ said Maggie. ‘I think I’ve got my social calendar mapped out for the next six months!’

‘She had to get a new diary and everything,’ said Mr Harris. ‘No shark stickers though.’

‘Erm… shark stickers?’ said Luke.

‘Long story,’ chuckled Maggie. ‘I can’t believe you’re here again.

‘Again?’ said Mr Harris. ‘The boy’s been here all day!’

‘Hush!’ muttered Luke, shaking his head at his uncle.

‘All day? Luke, I’m so sorry! I never meant to make so much trouble for you,’ said Maggie, looking horrified.

‘Rubbish,’ said Luke.

‘Aye, that it is,’ said Mr Harris. ‘He’s happy as a pig in sh—’

‘Shall I show you what we’ve been up to?’ said Luke, shooting Maggie a lopsided grin.

‘Great!’ said Maggie.

‘I’m going to head back to the farm,’ said Mr Harris, with a small smile as he shot a wink at Luke. ‘I’ve got… erm… cows to brush!’

Maggie raised her eyebrows, and Luke shrugged. As much as he was grateful for his uncle’s unexpected tact in giving him a bit of time alone with her… could he not have come up with a slightly more believable excuse to make himself scarce?!

‘You’re kidding me?!’ gasped Maggie, staring at the sofa.

Luke grinned. Suddenly, all the swearing and sweating as he and Ray had strong-armed the heavy bit of furniture into the cottage was more than worth it.

‘Nope – all yours,’ he said, smiling at her obvious excitement. ‘The old one’s beyond repair, I’m afraid. I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do with it…?’

‘Burn it?’ laughed Maggie.

‘That’s doable,’ said Luke. ‘It’s mostly wood, anyway.’

‘This is amazing,’ breathed Maggie.

‘So… the next question is - where do you want it?’ said Luke. ‘I didn’t want to decide for you – obviously!’ he added quickly.

‘I don’t want to be too much trouble…’ said Maggie again.

‘Hush!’ chuckled Luke. ‘You might as well make the most of me while you’ve got me here.’

Luke caught a small flinch as some kind of emotion he couldn’t quite place flashed across her face. It was gone as fast as it had appeared, and before he could wonder if he’d said something wrong, a bright smile reappeared on her face.

‘In that case, I’m not sure,’ said Maggie. ‘The carpet looks even better than I imagined… so now’s definitely the time to change things up a bit! What do you think? Where would you put it?’

‘Well… you’ve got some options,’ said Luke. ‘Wait just a sec.’

Grabbing one end of the bulky sofa, he dragged it over towards one of the walls, before dropping it in place and waiting for her verdict.

She didn’t say anything.

‘So, this is option one!’ he prompted.

Holding up one finger, Luke executed an elaborate dive into the cushions before striking a pose. With his head resting on one hand, he grinned at her as he lifted one leg in the air, doing his best to point his toes like a ballet dancer.

Maggie snorted with laughter.

‘You’d get the dappled light in the mornings – streaming in through the window and hitting you while you enjoy your breakfast,’ he said, putting on a posh accent and pretending he was presenting an interiors TV show.

‘Dappled light?’ chuckled Maggie.

‘Okay, you’re going to have to use your imagination until I’ve had the chance to get rid of those boards and fix that window,’ said Luke, reverting to his normal voice as he struggled to sit up. ‘What do you think?’

Maggie cocked her head. ‘Hmm… maybe… but it’s not quite right.’

‘Okie dokey… how about this then…’

Luke got to his feet and towed the sofa in a semi-circle until it had its back to the window so that it was now facing the wall. Once again, he bounced down into the cushions, this time grabbing an imaginary remote control and pointing it at the wall.

‘Just imagine a fifty-two-inch flat-screen TV right there,’ said Luke. ‘Chillax and watch non-stop adverts and those appalling mini-series back to back!’

Maggie shook her head, looking horrified.

‘No?’ he said, fluttering his eyelashes innocently at her.

‘A definite no to the TV,’ she laughed. ‘And I don’t fancy staring at a blank wall either!’

‘Thank heavens for that,’ said Luke. ‘Alright, gimmie a hand for the next one?’

Maggie nodded. ‘Where are we going.’

‘Swing it around to you?’ said Luke.

Maggie dragged one end in a wide arc while Luke lifted the other and angled it towards the wood burner.

‘There?’ she said, stepping back to take a look.

‘Let me model it for you!’ said Luke, shooting her a grin before pulling on his poker face. Then he raised his arms above his head like an Olympic diver and leapt onto the lumpy cushions. Milking it for all it was worth, he turned to face Maggie, arms and legs akimbo.

‘I like it!’ she chuckled.

‘You wait till you’ve tried it!’ he said with a wink, waggling his eyebrows and patting the cushion next to him with an exaggerated invitation.

Maggie didn’t hesitate. Throwing herself down onto the sofa next to him, she let out a contented little sigh that instantly made Luke’s heart do a triple-turn and dive of its own.

Breathing slowly, he did his best to relax… and let his arm fall across her shoulders. Maggie snuggled into him.

‘You’re right,’ she sighed. ‘I needed to test it out for myself.’

She glanced up at him and Luke suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe… like he couldn’t look away from her.

‘Definitely a good sofa,’ said Maggie. ‘Not bad company, either.’

‘Mm-hmm,’ said Luke as her face inched towards him.

He couldn’t look away. Their faces were close. Very close. Suddenly, it felt like she was a magnet and he was utterly helpless - caught in her field, speeding towards her. He couldn’t pull away… even though he knew he should.

‘I guess we’d better sort out the rest of the room,’ he said, his voice low.

‘I think the rest of the room can wait,’ said Maggie with a small smile, before closing the gap between them.