Past, Present and Passion

Intensely Yours

Kelsey left the estate still reeling from her find. She just had to get home and do some more research. There had to be something to find. She dug her phone out of her purse and called Meredith. She didn’t say much about the princess find, but just gave her an update and checked in. As Meredith was updating her on how she was feeling, Kelsey got another call. She looked down at her phone and saw Charles’ name. Her heart skipped a beat. Even though she knew he would call, she still felt a crazy excitement when he did. She figured that would eventually go away, it’s just the newness of the relationship she told herself.

“Hey Mer, I’m just heading into the store”, she hated lying to her friend but she wasn’t about to tell her about Charles. “Could I call you back later?”

“Yeah yeah no worries. Let’s talk later. But if you call and I don’t answer it’s cause I’m sleeping. I’m tired all the time now! Anyway love ya!”

Kelsey smiled and said “love ya too girl”, then hit the button to switch calls. “Hello?”

“Hey, what are you doing right now?” Charles’ sexy voice made her melt.

“I’m just heading home to make some dinner. You?”

“Well I’m sitting in the pub, I was hoping you were coming for dinner.”

“What? You are back? I didn’t think you would be back so soon!” Kelsey changed direction and headed towards the pub, her pace picking up dramatically.

“Would you believe me if I said I missed you? I worked really hard to get back here as quickly as possible so I could have dinner with you.”

Kelsey couldn’t stop smiling. It made her so happy to hear him say he wanted to spend time with her. He missed her? He barely knew her. But she felt it too. How do you miss someone you don’t even really know? She didn’t fully understand it but it was true. Their connection was instant, special, different. “I’ll be there in 5. Order me a beer?”

“You got it.”

Kelsey hit end and hugged the phone to her chest, doing her best not to squeal in excitement. She practically ran the last few minutes to the pub, but stopped at the door to pull herself together. She didn’t want to seem too eager. She needed to play a little hard to get.

She walked in and immediately her eyes found his. He was sitting at the bar, watching the door, waiting for her. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he stood up. She made her way over to him and stopped awkwardly in front of him. What was the appropriate greeting for them? A hug? Kiss on the cheek? They almost had s*x for goodness sake, but she had no idea where they really stood.

Charles did though. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He kissed one cheek and then the other, but slowly and in an intimate fashion. Kelsey felt as if she could literally melt into him.

“Hello again!” Kelsey was startled and pulled away as Eric called out to her.

“Hey Eric!” Kelsey sat on the stool next to Charles, shaking off the desire to jump in his lap and kiss him. “Back again! What’s the special today?”

“We got a nice roast and Yorkshire pudding tonight. Sound good?” Eric was grinning at them from ear to ear.”

“That sounds delicious. Thank you.”

“Make that two, Eric.” Charles held up 2 fingers and nodded at Eric. He nodded back, still smiling and headed off.

Kelsey took a sip of her beer and said, “does that man ever not have a smile on his face? He always seems to be in a good mood.”

“Yeah, he’s always been like that. Even when he was a kid. But it got worse when he met his wife. She’s great and he adores her.”

“So wait, you’ve known him since you were kids? Did you go to school together?”

“Uh, no. Not school. I spent my summers here and we became friends. We would play tennis and cricket. We’d go fishing and just get into general shenanigans.” Charles let out a little laugh. He looked thoughtful and even sexier than normal, but Kelsey still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something from her.

“So how long has he been working here at the pub?” She ignored the nagging feeling in her head. Of course he was hiding something, probably many things. She also wasn’t telling him everything. They just met. She needed to calm down and just enjoy the moment.

“Actually he doesn’t just work here, he owns the place. He bought it a few years back actually. Pretty proud of him. He’s worked hard to make it the best pub in the village.”

“That’s amazing! Good for him. All the food I’ve had here has been great.” Just as she said that, Eric appeared with their food. It didn’t disappoint.

After they are quietly for a few moments, Kelsey decided to tell him about what she had found that day. She couldn’t hide her excitement. He held on to her every word and seemed genuinely excited for her.

“Wow, so that gives you new info but also just creates more questions huh?” Charles was smiling at her in a way that made her feel truly seen and appreciated. And turned on.

“Definitely, but I’m so glad to have found it. You could feel her desperation in her writing you know? She really loved this guy, whoever it was. There was so much passion in it. Ugh it’s all so romantic and tragic. I just wish I could talk to Mr. Scottsfield about all this. You know I still haven’t met him? I asked Ms. Smith, who was a bit rude to me today, to ask him for an email or call or something, anything. I mean, it’s his stuff right? Shouldn’t he be interested in what I found?” Kelsey looked at Charles, her frustration showing on her face. He looked a bit taken aback. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to complain. I just had hoped he would be excited about this stuff. But I guess I should have assumed that he wouldn’t since he wants to get rid of everything anyway.” She sighed and took a bite of her food.

Charles seemed to be thinking hard about what to say. “Listen, Andrew Scottsfield is a busy guy. He’s not a bad guy, he just has a lot going on. A lot of people depend on him. I don’t think he doesn’t care, I think he hired the best person he could find and he simply trusts you to do it. He probably thinks that he would be micromanaging you so he’s just leaving you to your expertise.” He smiled and squeezed her hand.

She looked at him with feeling in her eyes. “I know that’s probably not the truth but wow what a sweet thing to say.” Somehow he knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. He actually cared about how she was feeling. Or he was a player. Either way, what he was doing was working. Her mind slipped back to the passion she felt between them at her place before they were interrupted just two nights ago. She was ready to feel it again.

He looked at her intently. His hand slipped over onto her thigh and she could see a question in his eyes. She let her eyes say yes back. He glanced over his shoulder then, taking her hand, whispered, “follow me.”