Free The Antique Love by Helena Fairfax Page A

you before. One of my exes does interior design in Chelsea. He’d have sorted you out with something really stylish.”
    Kurt was beginning to think Jemima was more down-to-earth than he particularly felt comfortable with. He poured himself another glass of wine and started again. “I kinda liked her antiques. I guess they weren’t all shiny and new, but they had a story behind them. Some of it was real interesting.”
    “Hmm.” Jemima pushed the remains of her meal to one side. “The only time I ever bought an antique, it turned out to have woodworm. Had to burn it in the garden.”
    “Uhuh.” Kurt tried hard to think of something to say to this but failed. Maybe this date wasn’t quite right for him. Jemima seemed to lack something. Some sort of…imagination.
    He took another sip of his wine and found his mind wandering again. He wondered what Penny would be talking about if she were sitting opposite him and then suddenly realised he missed her company. He let his mind dwell on this surprising fact for a few minutes and then shrugged inwardly. He missed his kid sister, too. It didn’t mean anything. He turned his attention to his steak.
    * * * *
    Kurt had found himself thinking of Penny surprisingly often during the course of the week, and when Saturday finally arrived, he gave a sardonic grin as he pushed open her shop door. Looking forward to spending a day going through invoices. If someone had told him that a few weeks ago, he’d have told them to go suck on a lemon. But the strange thing was he was relishing the prospect of spending time with Penny in her shop. She had a way of making everything seem fun—a quality Kurt’s date had singularly lacked.
    By the end of their meal that night, it had been obvious to both Kurt and Jemima that their relationship was not going to progress. Kurt tried a few avenues of conversation, but none of them had raised a single spark. During the course of the evening, he had become increasingly taciturn. They parted cordially enough but with relief on both sides.
    Although Kurt arrived at the shop bright and early, Penny was already behind her desk, talking on her mobile in a worried way. She lifted her head when she saw him and gave such a wide smile he blinked. Then she dropped her eyes quickly and finished off her conversation with a few rapid words before jumping up to greet him.
    “Hi, you really came,” she said.
    “Well, of course. We had a bargain, right?”
    “Yes, well…” She waved her hands uncertainly. “I thought something more important might come up.”
    “This is important.”
    “Well, I’m really glad you’re here.” She was smiling up at him with eyes that positively glowed. Her delight spread a delicious warmth through Kurt. Was she really so pleased to see him? He felt a ridiculous surge of happiness at the thought.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” she said again, moving a hand in the direction of her desk. “There’s a lot to do. I’m so grateful.”
    * * * *
    Penny found herself gabbling out her words. She was madly happy to see Kurt again and trying not to show it. She turned to her desk and began systematically pulling out the relevant files, trying to hide her over-the-top response to his appearance behind a façade of cool professionalism. Her attempt at creating a distance between them obviously succeeded, because when she turned her head to glance at Kurt, she found the smile that lit up his eyes on seeing her had disappeared. He looked over to her desk and gave a cool nod.
    “You’d better tell me where to start.”
    Penny had filed every relevant document she could find in chronological order, going back the previous twelve months. She’d also opened up the business software on her laptop, all ready for Kurt’s inspection. Now she lined everything up for him and went through it all as efficiently as she could.
    Kurt sat in her usual chair whilst she stood behind, pointing things out on the laptop. She looked down at his dark