They sat round the table and munched bacon sandwiches while Toby chatted away, his excitement evident.
‘Do I need to make a picnic?’ Brooke looked at Jed, trying not to focus on his dark jawline and strong neck. He was just a man. Nothing special. She closed her eyes briefly. Who was she kidding? Jed Matthews was one in a million. It was just that he could never be hers. He might find her attractive, but it was no more than that.
‘No. I’ve got plans for lunch.’ His eyes narrowed as they fixed on her face. ‘You’ve gone pale. Is something wrong?’
Everything.
‘Nothing.’ She summoned up a smile and piled the dishes in the washing-up bowl for later. ‘Come on, then. Let’s go.’
Jed drove for about forty minutes and then took a sharp right up a narrow track that led down a valley.
‘Where are we going?’ Toby had his nose pressed to the window, his breath clouding the window. ‘I can see horses—and cows. Wow!’
‘This is my parents’ farm,’ Jed told him, and Brooke swivelled in her seat, her eyes accusing.
‘You’re taking us to meet your parents?’ She stared at him in disbelief. ‘Without warning me?’
‘Why not?’ He tightened his grip on the steering wheel as they lurched into a pothole. ‘I wish they’d sort out this lane.’
‘No, Jed. No!’ She raked her dark hair away from her face with a shaking hand. ‘Who will you say we are?’
‘What’s the matter, Mummy?’
Brooke closed her eyes and sagged against the plush seat. She’d forgotten Toby was there.
‘Nothing, darling.’ She lowered her voice as she talked to Jed. ‘We can’t just suddenly turn up with no warning—’
‘They’ve been warned,’ Jed said quietly, his fingers gripping the wheel as he negotiated more ditches. ‘It’s just you I didn’t warn, because I knew you’d react like this. Relax. You’ll have a nice time. Trust me.’
Brooke nibbled her lip anxiously. ‘Who do they think we are?’
Jed pulled up in front of a gorgeous rambling farmhouse and gave her a lopsided grin. ‘Let’s not worry about that now, hmm?’
He was out of the car before she could stop him, swinging Toby into his arms and making for the front door. She had no choice but to follow, her legs feeling like lead.
‘How could you do this to me with no warning?’ she hissed in his ear, and his eyes gleamed.
‘Would you have come if I’d warned you?’
She bristled. ‘Of course not!’
‘Precisely why I didn’t tell you,’ he murmured, shifting Toby a bit higher as he grabbed the doorhandle and opened the front door. ‘Anyone home?’
He strode into the hall and suddenly there was utter mayhem as four dogs surged towards them, barks and fur flying.
‘Here we are, Toby. You wanted dogs.’ Jed grinned and held him securely in his arms. ‘My parents have four.’
Toby stared, wide-eyed, as the dogs panted and whined around the visitors, and then an attractive woman in her late fifties came down the stairs and gave them a warm welcome.
‘Jed!’ She reached up to hug her son and then gave Toby a special smile. ‘And you must be Toby. I’ve heard about you.’
What had she heard? Brooke felt frighteningly vulnerable but Jed’s mother gave her a warm hug and slipped an arm through hers, making it impossible for her to feel anything but welcome.
‘Come and sit in the kitchen, dear. It’s where everything happens in this house. Jed’s father is out on a call but he shouldn’t be long.’
Brooke remembered Jed saying that he was a vet. ‘I hope we’re not disturbing you, Mrs Matthews,’ she said stiffly, but Jed’s mother gave a shake of her head.
‘Not at all, and, please, call me Ellie. We’ve one vet and two doctors in this family and that’s quite enough of the medical profession, I can tell you. Our dinner-table conversation is quite hideous enough, believe me. Talking of which, Tom is here on a visit.’