Chapter 5

A little calmer, she carried the tea tray through to the sitting room. Jeremy was standing with his back to the fire, his legs splayed apart, cigarette between his lips. A faint haze of smoke permeated the atmosphere.

Penny paused in the doorway, the picture striking her into immobility, it was as if she were seeing a stage set and most important of all, she knew that it was absolutely right. It was just as she had imagined it would be that afternoon when she realized her little flat needed a masculine presence and the smell of cigarettes to make it complete, perfect. As suddenly as it had come, every trace of Penny's nervousness had left her. She felt curiously cool... Mistress of the situation.

"You look very....domesticated" Jeremy said, coming towards her and taking the tray from her hands. "Where do I put this?" he asked.

"Anywhere" Penny replied, happiness rising inside her in a bright frothy bubble. "On the table"

Jeremy put the tray on the table a