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‘I kissed Tasha earlier.’ He hadn’t meant to come out with it, but he needed to talk to someone and he knew he could trust Ben to keep it to himself.
‘Ah.’
‘That’s all you’ve got to say?’
Ben shrugged. ‘What did you want me to say? She doesn’t look particularly traumatised by it, so it can’t have gone that badly. Maybe you need to work on your technique?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with my bloody technique. That kiss was the best one of my life and I’d bet the farm, the title and the whole bloody estate that it was the best damn kiss of her life too.’
Ben raised his eyebrows, an amused expression on his face. ‘So why are you over here sulking instead of over there with her?’
‘I’m not sulking,’ Rhys snapped back in a decidedly sulky manner. ‘She said she doesn’t want things to get complicated between us.’
‘Then don’t let them get complicated.’
‘You can be bloody infuriating, you know that, right?’ Rhys took a frustrated swig of his beer and sighed. ‘And then she said she wants us to think about it before we take things any further. And you know what that means.’
‘It means she wants you both to think about it, which is probably a good idea.’
Rhys snorted. ‘It was a polite way of shutting me down. I told her I’d get Hope to take over supervising her role, which obviously spooked her. I was just trying to do the right thing, to make it clear to her that her job was safe and nothing that happened between us would have any bearing on her future here.’
‘A nice sentiment, but we both know that’s not true.’ Ben held his hands up. ‘Before you bite my head off, I’m not saying you’d use your position against her, but Juniper Meadows is too small a world to have a relationship with someone you work with and not expect there to be any repercussions if it doesn’t pan out. What you have to decide is whether or not the chance to be with Tasha is worth the risk you might lose her altogether.’
‘Like you did with Amelia, you mean?’
Ben nodded. ‘And like Hope did with Cam. Like Ziggy did with Daisy and like your parents do every day. You can’t control everything, Rhys, sometimes you just have to let events play out and hope everything works out.’ He tapped their beer bottles together. ‘Good luck, brother.’
Rhys watched the man who was indeed as much his brother as Hope was his sister weave his way through the crowd towards Amelia. He didn’t miss the way she lit up when she saw him, the way she threw her arms around him and began to chatter a mile a minute, her infectious excitement making Ben laugh.
He looked to his left and saw Ziggy and Daisy standing on the threshold of the kitchen. Ziggy had one arm around Daisy, holding her back to his chest as the pair of them smiled out over the happy evening they’d pulled together at the last minute. Everywhere he looked were familiar faces: friends, employees, family in many more ways than blood. This was his home; these were his people. Their laughter was the beating drum of his heart, their happiness his to nurture and protect. The best place in the world to live. If Tasha needed time to think then he’d give her all the time she needed. But giving her time didn’t mean he needed to give up on what he wanted. Mind made up, Rhys straightened up and strode across the yard towards where Tasha and the others were standing.
He didn’t miss the slight widening of Tasha’s eyes as he slipped into a gap between Cam and Barnie, nor the faint blush that coloured her cheeks. There was room to stand next to her, but he didn’t want her to feel crowded. He slung a friendly arm around Barnie’s shoulders. ‘You going to give me a hand with the barbeque in a few minutes?’
‘If my lady will spare me,’ Barnie replied, lifting his and Meena’s clasped hands so he could place a gallant kiss on the back of hers.
‘As if I would try and keep you away from the food,’ she teased, patting Barnie’s admirably flat stomach. ‘Make sure you eat up,’ she added. ‘Because you’re going to need your energy later.’ A chorus of oohs and cheers went around the group as Barnie plucked his hat from Meena’s head and used it as a shield while he planted a kiss on her lips that left her cheeks flushed and her eyes merry.
Rhys couldn’t resist a quick glance over at Tasha, who was laughing along with everyone else. When she met his eye he sent her the ghost of a wink then turned to chat with Cam about their new set-up at the dig. ‘Hope told you about what happened to Declan?’
Cam frowned. ‘I can’t believe how badly they’ve treated him. You know I asked if he wanted to work for me directly this summer and he refused because he wanted to show loyalty to his firm. Shame they couldn’t do the same for him, bastards.’
‘Well, it’s worked out better for us all in the end,’ Hope said as she pulled out her phone and checked the time. ‘The cabins arrived an hour ago so I’m hoping Declan and his lads will be here soon. Let me give them a call and see how they’re getting on.’
‘Tell him if he needs a hand then we can head back there,’ Cam said as she began to cut through the group to find a quieter spot. Hope nodded, but didn’t turn around, her phone already at her ear.
‘I can run you up there if you need me to,’ Rhys offered, holding up his bottle, which was still more than half full. ‘This is my first drink.’
Tasha crossed the group to them. ‘I saw Hope on the phone just now, is everything okay?’
Rhys stepped to his right a fraction to make room for her. ‘She’s just checking on how Declan and his team are getting on with the cabin installation. We don’t want them to miss the party so I was going to drive Cam and a few others back if they need a hand.’
‘I can drive as well,’ Tasha offered. ‘I’m only on water at the moment. I decided I’d wait until I’ve had something to eat before I risk one of your dad’s gin and tonics.’
Rhys laughed. ‘Probably not a bad idea. Let’s see what Hope says.’
She returned a few minutes later, all smiles. ‘They’re just locking up the compound. The guys delivering the cabins stuck around to help them and they’re going to drop them off on their way out so they should be here in the next five minutes. Did you get a chance to speak to Tasha yet about utilising Declan?’
‘No, I, uh, didn’t get round to raising it. We were busy with other things, weren’t we?’ Rhys knew he was being mean, but he wanted to see that lovely rosy blush on Tasha’s cheek again. She’d told him to think about it and he was definitely thinking about how delicious she’d felt pressed up against him.
