Rory grinned. It was a devastating grin, white teeth in a tanned face, with enough wickedness to turn any girl’s heart. ‘All right, m’darlin’. You’ve sold the idea, now give me a time-frame.’

Thea watched him moving easily backwards and forwards as he pulled the boat through the water. ‘How long can I have?’

‘Three months, or I go to America. I already have a contact over there.’ He shook his head as if trying to get water out of his ears. ‘I must be mad! There I have a very lucrative bird in the hand and I’m turning it away for some hair-brained chicken portion in a bush.’ He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘It must be love.’

Thea swallowed. She knew perfectly well that Rory didn’t love her, but he did want her and he might, not entirely unreasonably, expect a little something in return for his forbearance. ‘Three months isn’t very long to get an entirely new project going from scratch.’

‘Tell you what, why don’t you come to my American show instead and I’ll tell everyone you discovered me.’

‘But I’m sure I’ll manage. We’ll need to get the drawings and sketches mounted and framed. Do you know someone who can do that?’

‘Do you know someone who can give us a bit of a loan to pay for it? I already owe him money.’

‘I’ll sort that out,’ said Thea, knowing she’d already got in far over her head. With luck she could ask Molly for the ‘bit of a loan’.

‘Good.’ Rory shipped the oars. ‘Now, Thea. Just a kiss to seal the deal.’

Thea allowed herself to be pulled into his arms. They were strong and his mouth was cold and firm. Very pleasant, really.

‘So you’re going to stay here, on your own, with Rory?’ Molly was drying up glasses, covering them in bits of lint when they would have been better left to drain. Thea, who wanted to talk to her, didn’t stop her doing it.

Molly was suspicious, although since Thea had told everyone of her plans to open an art gallery she had become an enthusiastic supporter. ‘But won’t that waste a lot of time?’

I’d like to stay while the puppies are so little and while I organise getting his drawings framed. It’s bound to be more expensive in England and besides, I can’t trust Rory to do it. He’ll just forget and we must have them to show, or no one will be able to afford to buy anything. There’s nothing much to lure me back home just at the moment. Just a dirty house. I’m sure they’ve found someone to replace me at work.’