Free Pastures New by Julia Williams Page A

clothes on. Why don’t you make yourself at home? I’ll bung the kettle on.’
    ‘Well, if you’re sure …’ Amy sounded doubtful. ‘I was just bringing the DVD back. We can come back another time.’ She seemed destined to always meet this man in the most awkward of circumstances.
    ‘Why, have you got any better offers?’ he said.
    Amy laughed. ‘Hardly,’ she replied. ‘Go on then, where do you keep your teabags?’
    While Amy hunted for mugs, Josh was getting bored.
    ‘Can I go in the garden?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes, so long as you don’t get into mischief,’ said Amy, ‘and remember, it’s not our lawn so don’t scuff it up.’
    Two minutes later, Ben appeared just as Amy was taking two cups of tea into the lounge. Casually dressed in blue shirt and jeans, with his hair still slightly damp from the shower, Amy was totally unprepared for the effect he had on her. Maybe it was the thought of having seen that body so recently unclothed, but Amy was coming out in a cold sweat. She must have been blind not to have noticed how gorgeous he was.
    His dark hair was slightly mussed up, and his brown eyes were lively and curious, while his mouth – which seemed to be shaping words that for some reason Amy wasn’t hearing – his mouth was eminently kissable. Her heart beat a little faster and she felt faintly sick. She hadn’t felt like this – well, since she’d met Jamie. Jamie’s face shot into her head. And she felt a sudden lurch of guilt.
    They reached the doorway of the lounge at the same time, and Ben stood aside to let her pass. The guilty tension she felt was churned up with a desire she couldn’t repress. She felt dizzy. Then the words he was forming seemed to make sense.
    ‘Ladies first,’ he said, his smile illuminating his face.
    Squeezing past him, a sudden vision hit her of being held by those arms, kissed by that mouth, pressed close to that chest. What was going on?
    Understanding for perhaps the first time in her lifewhat was meant by going weak at the knees, Amy mumbled something about tea being ready, before collapsing thankfully on the sofa.
    Ben perched on a chair opposite her. There was a long silence, neither of them knowing quite what to say.
    ‘So, did you enjoy the film?’
    ‘Have you been on the allotments?’
    They spoke simultaneously, and then laughed.
    ‘You first,’ said Ben.
    ‘No, you,’ said Amy.
    ‘After you,’ said Ben. ‘I insist.’
    ‘I was just making small talk,’ said Amy, feeling faintly silly. ‘But yes, we did. Well, Josh did.’
    ‘Me too,’ said Ben. ‘But as it happens, I have been on the allotments.’
    They sat for a moment, saying nothing and sipping their tea. After a few moments the silence between them grew in magnitude. Amy felt paralysed by the strangeness of her new feelings, and totally unable to say another word. This was ridiculous. She wasn’t a teenager any more. And she had no interest in Ben. None at all.
    ‘So what do we talk about when we run out of small talk?’ asked Ben eventually.
    ‘Ooh, I don’t know,’ said Amy. ‘The weather?’
    ‘Whatever turns you on,’ said Ben, laughing. Then thought, damn, that was a crass thing to say.
    Luckily, Amy didn’t seem offended.
    ‘We-e-ell, I can’t say that the weather is a topic that really gets me going,’ she said, ‘but now you’ve made me curious. What does interest you?’
    ‘Oh, I don’t know, all sorts,’ said Ben. ‘Formula One.’ Amy pulled a face. ‘Okay, we won’t talk about cars. I’m interested in health issues, which we won’t discuss because that’s work. I like politics, but if we think differently we might fall out. Books are usually a safe bet. Oh, and I’m also keen on local history –’
    ‘Ah, now there you have found a subject close to my heart,’ said Amy. ‘I find local history fascinating. I had to research a lot about Barnet for school trips with Year5. It was really interesting. The kids always laughed when I told them the