The grandfather clock chimed the hour, reminding me that I still needed to check Kit’s study, to remove any personal items. I found if I kept very busy with all that needed to be done, I’d have no time to think of Drew, or even to dream about him. I was the new Babs—a formidable woman. And formidable women forged their own futures, with or without a man by their side.
I’d only made it two steps when someone banged the large brass knocker on the front door. I frowned, hoping it wasn’t yet another passerby who’d heard that the house was soon to be opened for tours.
I was still frowning when I threw open the door. “I’m so sorry, but we’re not yet—” I stopped speaking. And breathing. And holding my mouth closed.
“Hello, Babs.” Drew stood there with that grin on his face, all broad-shouldered and tanned and white-toothed. “I was just passing through, and thought I’d stop by.”
“Passing through?” I surprised myself with the calmness of my voice. “Through to where—Land’s End? Because nobody passes through Ashprington. Unless they’re lost.”
His smile faded. “Funny you should say that. I’ve been feeling a little lost these last couple of months.”
I held my ground, clutching the door so that it wouldn’t open any further. “I told you in Paris, Drew. This is my home. I can’t move to New York regardless of how I feel about you.”
“Yeah?” His grin was back. “That’s a relief. Because I just transferred to the London office.”
I might have blinked a few times, as if to make sure he wasn’t a mirage, and that I wasn’t dreaming. But Drew was no fairy tale. He was flesh and blood and he was standing on my doorstep with an open invitation in his eyes.
“Oh. Well.” I might have also said his name. It wasn’t Shakespeare, but the words were just as sweet. I stepped back and opened the door wider. He met me on the threshold and we stared stupidly at each other before he opened his arms and swallowed me in his embrace. Our lips met and somewhere, amid the turmoil of the blood rushing in my ears, I imagined I heard the house sigh, a quiet murmur of approval.
“Would you like some tea?” I asked against his lips.
In answer he swung me up in his arms and brought me inside the house, followed swiftly by the sound of the heavy door shutting behind us.