A Winter Wedding at Primrose Hall (Primrose Woods #6)

Chapter 25

25

Pia closed the kitchen door on the last of the coffee morning visitors and exhaled a sigh of relief and satisfaction. She looked across at Ivy, who had been a complete star as usual and had unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, washed up some of the remaining crockery and put away what was left of the cakes and biscuits into Tupperware boxes. The kitchen looked almost back to normal, aside from the profusion of plants and gifts on the dresser. Pia would go through them each individually, making a note of who had brought them, and would find the perfect spot for them later around the hall.

‘Come on, Ivy, you haven’t stopped all morning. Sit down with Ronnie and we’ll have another coffee. We should do our best to eat some of these goodies too. It’s a shame to see them go to waste.’ Pia bit into a bar of Christmas rocky road, which was filled with biscuit, marshmallows, nuts and dried fruit, and made an appreciative groan of delight.

‘I need to get off actually,’ Ivy said, ‘I’ve got a big pile of presents waiting to be wrapped at home, but I’ll take some mince pies and fruit cake with me. See you both tomorrow!’

‘Thanks for your help,’ Pia called out after her. ‘My goodness, these are really moreish, Ronnie. Will you have one? I shall have to have another slice because, well, someone’s got to eat them,’ she said, laughing.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Ronnie. ‘With our lot, they won’t last long at all so I should get in while you can. Talking of which, where is everyone?’

The kitchen had been a hive of activity all morning with chatter and laughter ringing out around the room, a definite air of Christmas goodwill, but now Pia relished the sense of peace and calm.

‘Well, Jackson has gone into the office to make some calls and Rex… ah… talk of the devil.’

As if he’d heard his name mentioned, Rex wandered in through the back door, a smile on his face.

‘We were just wondering where you’d got to,’ said Ronnie.

‘I’ve been surveying my estate,’ he said with an extravagant flourish of his hand, making them laugh. ‘It’s blooming cold out there, but a beautiful day and the grounds look first class, just right for a winter wedding.’ Rex gave Pia a friendly wink. ‘I had a word with Twinkle and Little Star, and the alpacas, whilst I was out there. They seem to be settling in well.’

‘Definitely. It’s as though they’ve always been here,’ said Pia, gesturing to Rex to come and sit down at the table, while she went to fetch him a coffee.

‘A bit like me then,’ he said, laughing. ‘Thanks for having me, love. Not everyone would relish the idea of living with their in-laws, especially when some of them can be quite tricky and difficult. No names mentioned, of course.’ Rex stuck his tongue into the inside of his cheek and widened his eyes, deliberately avoiding Ronnie’s gaze.

‘Hey, talk for yourself, Rex Moody!’ she said good-naturedly.

‘This is as much your home as it is ours,’ Pia reassured him. ‘Can you imagine the two of us rattling around here on our own? I wouldn’t like that. There’s so much space that it seems only natural we would want to fill it with the people we love. The hall should feel like a home, not a museum.’

At that point, Teddy decided to take a friendly swipe at Bertie’s tail, which sent the spotty dog into a frenetic whirl of giddiness, as he leapt down on his front paws, his behind wagging in the air. The two of them bounced around the kitchen like a couple of puppies, banging into chairs and skidding across the floor.

‘Steady, you two!’ Pia chastised them, but they were having far too much fun to listen, their antics making them all laugh.

‘That’s the thing. Looking at this place from the outside, you might think it would be stuffy inside, but it’s not. It’s a proper family home, warm and welcoming,’ said Rex, who was obviously having a sentimental moment.

‘Yes, well, that’s all down to Pia,’ Ronnie chipped in. ‘All we need now is a few kids running about the place and we’ll be set!’ Ronnie had a mischievous glint in her eye and Rex immediately chastised her.

‘Stop it. That’s none of our business. For all you know, Jackson and Pia might not want to start a family. You shouldn’t be putting pressure on them.’

‘Oh…’ Ronnie put a hand to her mouth, looking suitably contrite. ‘I was only teasing. I didn’t mean anything by it…’

‘It’s fine,’ Pia laughed. Why shouldn’t Ronnie have been thinking along those lines? Pia certainly had, and maybe one day they would be lucky enough to have some cute children to fill the spare bedrooms at the hall, but there was plenty of time ahead for that. At the moment, Pia was busy enough with managing the social calendar of events and looking after their family of animals.

‘Hmmm, I always manage to put my foot in it, one way or another,’ Ronnie muttered.

‘That’s true, love,’ said Rex, helping himself to a berry muffin, ‘but we wouldn’t have you any other way.’

‘Actually, I’ve been thinking,’ she said airily, lifting her chin. Pia suppressed a smile, recognising the gesture. Ronnie was about to say something provocative, something for Rex’s benefit, no doubt. ‘I expect it’s time I moved back into the van.’

Rex and Pia both turned to look at Ronnie, aghast.

‘Why would you want to do that?’ Rex’s brow furrowed and he gave a questioning look.

‘Well, I only moved in to keep an eye on you while you were recovering. And, well, look at you, you’re better now. Back to your independent self. I just thought you probably don’t want me cramping your style.’

‘Why would you think that? We don’t need a formal arrangement to sleep in the same room together, do we?’ He glanced across at Pia, who gave a barely perceptible shrug. ‘Besides, I thought you liked snuggling up with me of a night. There would be a big empty space in that bed if you were to leave. How would I keep my feet warm?’

Rex threw an arm around Ronnie’s shoulder, and Pia was relieved to see her grinning, obviously buoyed by his reassurance.

‘I mean, I know how much you’re attached to that ruddy van of yours so if you really want to go back out there, then don’t let me stand in your way, but I can’t promise I’ll come with you. I’m rather fond of my creature comforts these days.’

‘Especially at the moment, Ronnie, when it’s so cold out there?’ Pia wasn’t certain if Ronnie meant what she’d said or if it had been a cry for some attention from Rex.

‘Well, no, but I was thinking of Rex. I moved in without a proper invitation; you didn’t really get much say on the matter. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.’

‘Oh, darling, you don’t need an invitation. You’re welcome in my bed anytime, you know that.’ Rex chuckled and his laughter was so infectious it was hard not to join in with him. ‘Besides, I look upon it as our bedroom now.’ He took her face in his hands and planted a kiss on her mouth and Ronnie seemed appeased. Pia gave a smile and eased herself up from the table, thinking it was probably time to leave Rex and Ronnie to their smooching and canoodling.

She didn’t know about having children of their own yet; she had enough on her plate dealing with these two big kids.