Chapter III

''So I was right!'' Anna exclaimed when John told her that he did, in fact, work in the publishing industry and also loved woodworking in his free time.

''You were.'' John took a sip of his beer and smiled. When they had finally found the pub, they had ordered themselves a couple of pints and some food, and started talking. Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, she was also funny, intelligent, and the nicest person to be around. She was telling him some story about something, but he was only half listening. The kiss that had almost happened in their room was still very much on his mind. It had really taken him by surprise when he'd found himself flirting with her, and a little proud to know that he could still do it. It had been a long time since he had flirted with anyone, especially with a woman like Anna. She was really beautiful, and just thinking about the possibility that she didn't mind him flirting both thrilled and petrified him.

''Mr. Bates?'' Her voice brought him back from his brooding.

''Yes?''

''Penny for your thoughts?'' she smiled, staring back at him. She didn't know what he had been thinking about, but she found herself wishing that he'd been thinking of her. It was silly, really - they had only met a few hours ago, but something was telling her that he wasn't just another ordinary man. He was different, their interactions felt different, and the way he had been staring at her when they were still in their room at the B&B...she shivered just thinking about it.

''Oh, I'm sorry, please go on,'' John said quickly, hoping that she hadn't noticed him blushing.

''Are you all right?'' she giggled, when she saw that his face was flushed. What had he been thinking about? She really wanted to know.

''Yes, yes...please go on.'' He took another sip, hoping she wasn't going to ask any more questions.

''OK, but you have to promise that you'll tell me if I'm boring you. I don't want to…''

''No, no - you're not boring. Please, Anna, go on.''

''Let me see, where was I?"

" You were telling me about your trip."

"Yes, that's right...so I was on my way to Downton Abbey. You see, my friend Ma-…''

''You're going to Downton?'' John almost choked on his beer.

''I am. Why? Do you know the place?'' she eyed him curiously.

''Yes, the owner is my best friend!''

''Robert Crawley is your best friend?'' Her eyes widened in surprise.

''He is! How do you know the family?''

''Mary is one of my dearest friends. She invited me to stay the weekend with her and…my god, I just can't believe it!'' she interrupted herself, shaking her head. ''What on earth is going on? First we were on the same plane, then both of our cars broke down, and we ended up in the same village at the same B&B, sharing the only available room. Then we discovered that we had somehow managed to take each other's bags back at the airport...and now we find out that we're both on our way to Downton to visit the Crawleys! I don't usually tend to think like this, but it's hard not to wonder whether the universe is maybe trying to tell us something.'' She bit her lower lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

''Maybe you're right,'' he chuckled, feeling like the room had suddenly become much warmer.

''How about you? Why are you going to Downton? If it's not too personal to ask...'' she added hastily.

''No, it's not...'' He smiled weakly, and hesitated. He didn't really feel that he needed to keep it private, but he also was really not in the mood to talk about Vera and his divorce, not when he was having such a lovely time with Anna.

''You don't need to tell me,'' she quickly reassured him, when she saw the expression on his face.

''No, no, it's all right. You see, I just got divorced a few months ago, and Robert invited me to spend some time with the family.''

''Oh, I'm sorry...about the divorce, I mean,'' she said, and without thinking she covered his hand, which was resting on the table, with hers.

''Don't be. It wasn't the best of marriages. She was...well, to put it politely...Vera was 'special,' and not in a good way.'' He smiled wryly. ''But enough about my sad life! Why don't you tell me about…'' He was hoping to redirect the conversation to more pleasant topics, when an older man sat down at a table next to theirs.

''I like seeing tourists coming to the village,'' the man said, smiling at them warmly. ''Where are you from?''

''London,'' Anna replied, removing her hand from John's.

''London, you say?'' He smiled, and before he could ask them any more, a few more of the locals gathered around their table and started asking them all kinds of questions. Keeping their promise to Mrs. Patmore, they did their best to act the whole marriage thing to perfection.

''I'm so glad that young people still get married these days,'' another man said to them during a brief lull in the conversation. ''Me and my missus have been married almost 50 years now.''

''Really? I do hope that we last that long.'' Anna smiled lovingly at John, who replied, ''I'd love that, but I don't know if I'll make it that many years, considering how old I am already.''

''Don't talk like that. You're not old!'' she scolded him, when she saw that he wasn't joking.

''How old are you?'' an older woman sitting at another nearby table asked. The pub was the only public place where the locals gathered in the evenings, and they always loved to chat with any travellers who happened to be there.

''Yes, darling...how old am I, again?'' John grinned at her.

''You're 40,'' she answered, and could tell from his surprised expression that she'd somehow gotten it right. ''I'm 31, and considering that we've been married for 4 years already, I'd say we have a good chance of celebrating our 50th anniversary together.''

''4 years and still no children?'' A second woman joined the conversation.

''Oh, we do have children - 3, as a matter of fact,'' John quickly reassured the crowd, looping his arm around Anna's slim waist and pulling her closer. ''Sofia, Oliver, and little Zoe.''

''Where are they?''

''With Anna's parents. You see, we met on this day, the 15th of April, 5 years ago, and this little trip of ours is my gift to my lovely wife here,'' he lied, not losing a beat. He could see Anna biting the inside of her cheek, trying not to burst into laughter. ''How better to celebrate it than to spend the night in the village where we met?''

''You met here? How?'' asked yet another woman.

''Both of our cars broke down and we were forced to spend the night at Mrs. Patmore's B&B,'' Anna continued, and John quickly added, ''In separate rooms, of course.''

''Of course!'' the woman said, making both John and Anna chuckle. ''And then?''

''Yes, darling - what happened then?'' John gazed at her affectionately and tried to hold back his mirth.

Anna eyed him and continued, ''Nothing special really. We spent the evening talking in the sitting room of the B&B, John asked me for my number, and that was it.''

''So...it was all luck?'' the first man remarked.

''Call it whatever you want,'' John replied, and looking at Anna, added gently, ''...but I like to believe it was fate that brought us together.'' He saw her smile at him and snuggle a little further into his embrace. Their eyes locked for a moment, and they could both feel it – the chemistry that had happened in their room at the B&B was definitely still very much present.

''You don't have to be shy in front of us, lad!'' the man said to John happily, when he saw the way they were staring at each other. ''Just kiss the lass!''

Kiss her? Kiss her in front of all these people? He would never dare! John started to panic, but just as he was searching for a way to respond, Anna's hand covered his cheek and slowly pulled him closer, until at last their lips touched. The kiss was soft, slow, and gentle; it was everything John had imagined, and so much more. He buried his hand in her silky golden hair, bringing her even closer to him, and just as he was about to pull back, her tongue gently touched his lips, sending his head spinning.

''Come, let's give the love birds some privacy,'' the man said, and with that all the tables around them emptied, giving John and Anna the chance to explore each other's mouths further.

''Mrs. Bates, what do you think you're doing?'' John gasped, when they finally ended the kiss.

''What do you think I'm doing?' she smiled, her eyes still shut.

''I don't know. You tell me,'' he whispered, resting his forehead on hers, still not letting go of her, and not believing she had kissed him.

''Kissing my husband?'' she giggled, finally opening her eyes to look at him.

Hearing her say that, he deflated a bit, but what had he been thinking? A woman like her could never in a million years fall for a man like him. They were only pretending to be married for Mrs. Patmore's sake.

She saw his face fall on hearing her answer, but wasn't sure why. ''Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.'' She tried to move away from him, but he wouldn't let her. Looking down at his hand still resting on her waist, she heard him say, ''You didn't. I know we're just pretending to be married, but...it's just that…''

''It's just that what?'' She hadn't been planning to kiss him, but it had happened, and she really hoped that it hadn't bothered him.

''…I think I want to do it again,'' he whispered, making the hair on her neck stand on end. His hot breath felt so good against her skin.

''You think, Mr Bates?'' She bit her lower lip and looked him directly in the eye. She knew they were complete strangers, but some powerful force was pulling them together, and who was she to fight it?

''I know,'' he rasped, caressing her nose with his, before tilting his head and covering her lips with his. This kiss was completely opposite to the soft, gentle one that they had shared a few moments ago; this kiss was clearly passionate. And before they knew what they were doing, they stood up, paid the bill, said their goodbyes, and rushed out of the pub hand-in-hand. Bursting through the door of the B&B a few minutes later, they hurried past Mrs. Patmore, who - thankfully - was snoozing in a chair behind the counter, and as quietly as possible made their way upstairs to their room.

''Shhhh...'' John whispered, trying to stifle his laughter and searching for the room key in his pocket. She could see that he was nervous, so she slipped under his arm, placing herself between him and the door. Locking her hands around his neck, she took his earlobe in her mouth, sucking it lightly. ''Annaaa, don't...'' she heard him moan into her hair. But instead of pulling back, she covered his lips with hers and wrapped one of her legs strongly around his thigh. While he desperately tried to unlock the door with one hand, he used the other hand to cup her behind, and with one quick move he lifted her so that both of her legs were now wrapped around his waist.

''Hurry up, or Mrs. P will catch us,'' she giggled into his ear when she left his mouth.

''Not a chance,'' he replied, and finally unlocked the door and carried her into the room. Locking the door behind them, he laid them both on the bed so that she was under him, her legs still wrapped tightly around his waist. He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to the other side of the room. While their lips touched, stroked, and explored with growing urgency, Anna's fingers worked desperately to unbutton his shirt, and John tried to kiss every inch of her exposed skin. Before they knew it, they were both lying in their underwear and John gasped when he realized that she was wearing one of the lingerie sets he had seen in her suitcase. His hand slid around her back, but just as he was about to unhook her bra, he stopped and looked at her.

''What?'' she asked breathlessly, when she saw the way he was staring. But instead of answering her, he rolled away and lay beside her on the bed.

''I don't think I can do this,'' he said, turning his head to look at her.

Lowering her gaze down his body, she could see he was more than ready for her. ''Not that,'' he chuckled, when he saw her grinning. ''I mean, you are beautiful and the most amazing woman I've ever met, but I don't think I can sleep with you just like that. We just met, and I've never… ''

''I understand,'' she smiled, resting on her side and looking down at him. ''I've never slept with a man I'd only known for a few hours either. But…''

''What?'' he asked, thankful that she wasn't upset with him.

''This feels different to me…you feel different.'' She rested her head on his chest and looked at him.

''Really?''

''Don't ask me why, but yes - really.'' Her hand found his and started to play with his fingers. ''I've only known you a couple of hours, but it feels right being here with you like this,'' she admitted, hoping that she didn't sound silly.

''It does feel right, doesn't it?'' He smiled, knowing that he felt the same. ''Come here.'' He brought her closer to him, so she rested her head in the crook of his neck. He pulled the covers over them, hugged her around the waist, and started making little circles on the soft skin just above the waistband of her knickers. They lay in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's presence, before Anna asked softly, ''So...what do we do now?''

John chuckled. ''I don't know. What would you think of letting me buy you dinner?''

''You've already done that,'' she laughed, and started to play with his chest hair.

''Well, I was thinking more about…well...a date?'' he laughed back.

''Hmmm...what did you have in mind?''

He turned onto his side and smiled at her. ''How about you and me together, having a proper dinner in a proper restaurant, without any old folks sitting around us, asking us all kinds of strange questions?''

''They were sweet, and they seemed glad we were not some unmarried couple trying to turn Mrs. P's B&B into a house…''

''…of ill repute?'' John burst into laughter with her, their mirth causing the bed to shake and tears to roll down their cheeks.

''Shhhhh!'' he whispered, when he realized that they were making just a little too much noise. ''So...what's your answer?''

She looked at him, still laughing, but instead of answering, she leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

''So, I take it that's a 'yes'?'' he beamed, staring into her beautiful eyes.

''Yes, it's a 'yes,' Mr. Bates,'' she whispered with a mischievous grin.

''You might start calling me John...'' he smiled, the emotion in his eyes taking her breath away. He reached his hand out to cup her cheek and kissed her again. They didn't make love that night, but they kissed and cuddled and talked late into the night before finally falling asleep in each other's arms.

John and Anna were close to inseparable after that night. When they finally made it to Downton the next day, the Crawleys deduced very quickly that not only had their friends already met, but that they were quickly developing what seemed to be much more than a friendship.

At Mary's invitation, Anna extended her visit, and after spending more than a week learning everything there was to know about each other, John borrowed one of Robert's most luxurious cars to take Anna on that dinner date she had agreed to. They spent the evening laughing, talking, and flirting, and when their date ended with yet another heated kiss in front of her bedroom door, they both knew without a doubt that they were in love. When they told the Crawleys that they had decided to be a couple, the whole family was thrilled that such an unlikely string of mishaps and coincidences had brought together their two lonely and deserving friends.

xXx

On April 15 of the following year, John and Anna returned to the village to celebrate the first anniversary of their meeting. John proposed to Anna in the village pub where they'd shared their first meal, and just a few months later they got married in the local church with their family, friends, and all the old folks from the pub, who were by now in on their secret, by their side. Mrs. Patmore acted like a proud mother hen and, of course, had been happy to reserve her nicest room for their wedding night…this time without any worry about the reputation of her business.

The couple returned to their favourite B&B every year after that. And with a little help from Anna's blue garter, which John had discovered in her bag on the day they had met and that had fuelled his dreams for quite some time afterward, in the space of 5 years, Sofia, Oliver, and little Zoe had become a reality.

John and Anna Bates felt like they were the happiest people in the whole world. Then one day, they received a call from their old friends, the Patmores, who had decided to retire and to gift their little B&B to the Bateses, if they would agree to move to Yorkshire and run it. John and Anna didn't need to think twice. Within a month, they had packed up their family and their belongings, and moved from their flat in London to the little village B&B that had changed their lives forever and given them the chance of so much happiness.

THE END

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