The silence continued for a moment longer then Flynn spoke. “This looks great.” This time, he did put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in closer. “With some helpers, I think it’s actually feasible.”

Keely relaxed and allowed herself to smile.

“Perhaps you could throw in some boiled potatoes for the Irish touch.”

Euan’s voice startled them. Flynn’s hand fell from her shoulder and they both spun around. Euan stood in the room behind them. How long had he been there? He gave her a speculative look. What was he thinking? She dropped her gaze. Once again, she felt torn between her allegiance to Euan for his kindness and her interest in Flynn because…because of what? She wasn’t sure.

“I’m only joking about the potatoes. C’est bien.” Euan crossed the room and replaced the phone in its cradle then moved to the outer door. “Flynn, you’ll have another slave for the weekend. Maggie is coming to stay. There’s work to be done, you know. I don’t like the look of this weather.”

Keely looked again at the sky, which was now a brilliant blue with big white clouds. It was warmer now than it had been all day.

“We might be in for a storm,” Euan said before he shut the door and walked away.

Flynn glanced through the glass behind him and straightened up. His look was serious for a moment, then he turned to Keely and broke into a smile again. “Euan’s losing the plot. Those clouds are like big white cauliflowers.”

He had the most gorgeous smile but Keely could only manage a forced grin in return. She wasn’t so sure she was looking forward to meeting Maggie Levallier.

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

“I can’t believe it.” Flynn shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket. In the moonlight, he could see the white sparkle of ice over the ground. “That storm came from nowhere.”

“October weather can be beautiful but it can also be treacherous. We’re lucky we’ve only suffered bad hail damage at Levallier Dell once before.” Euan’s hat was stuck firmly on his head and his bony fingers gleamed from the ends of his fingerless gloves.

Flynn looked towards the easterly skyline, where a faint smudge of light signalled the arrival of dawn. He wanted to be able to see the sky. Not that seeing it the day before had given him an indication of the wild storm they’d had in the night. They were insured against hail loss but that didn’t put their wine in the bottle shops.

He arched his shoulders, rubbed his face then pushed his hands back into the warmth of his pockets. He had been up since four am, when the pounding of hail on the roof had drowned the sound of the wind.