He looked down at me with those storm-cloud, impenetrable eyes.
‘You don’t frighten me, Mr Woods.’
‘I have no intention of frightening you. One, because, why would I? And two, I’m pretty sure you’d kick my arse.’
Now it was my turn to laugh and, I had to admit, it felt good. In these most unlikely of circumstances, with my car thinner than an After Eight and my house given extra ventilation I didn’t ask for, I’d laughed more since I came to this place than I had in what seemed a very long time. I wasn’t entirely sure what that said about my life, but I didn’t think it was anything good.
As we walked out into the sunlight, it was impossible not to notice the furtive glances thrown our way but I did my best to ignore them. Julie hadn’t mentioned a partner when it came to her brother and I’d assumed the fact she was so quick to offer me use of his house meant it was unlikely that there was one on scene. But with him looking like he did, and apparently being a decent man, there was no way that situation would last long. However, it wouldn’t be me filling that particular vacancy. Jesse did seem a good man, but then I’d thought that about previous men too. But I was too cynical to think it would last. At some point, the other shoe would drop and I wasn’t going to be the one it landed on this time. Been there. Done that. More than once and I was not about to set myself up for another disaster. Even when the man was hotter than a white flame.
We drifted into a conversation with Pete and Julie and I smiled privately at the glances he stole at my friend. As she was talking, I accidentally locked eyes with Jesse and he returned the smile. Clearly he’d noticed too. But had Julie? And did she care?
‘So what are you planning to do with that shed now you’ve cleared it all out?’ Pete asked.
‘It’s not a shed.’ Julie turned to him with a fake haughty expression. ‘It’s a garden room.’
Pete pulled a ‘ooooh’ face and they both laughed. Oh yeah, she cared.
‘Whatareyou going to do with it?’ Jesse asked.
‘Honestly? I don’t even know.’
‘It’d make a perfect office,’ his sister offered. ‘You could sit and look out at the garden.’ All four of us turned to take in the unkempt grass – calling it a lawn would be stretching the truth. ‘I mean, if you planted one.’
‘That is a great idea,’ I agreed. The only teeny problem was that I didn’t actually have a job for which I needed an office. At present, I was living off the savings I’d built up. Savings I’d stupidly thought I’d be spending on a house with Adrian but now that that possibility was firmly off the agenda, they were free to be used here. My flat had sold substantially over the asking price so I’d made a pretty hefty profit on my investment there too, which was just as well. Together, those would be enough for a while but at some point, I needed to sort out the chaos that was now my life.
I looked back at the house and then the cluster of men laughing, chatting and joking, all of whom had come to help without even knowing me. It was obvious Jesse was well respected by them, and also well liked. But there was more to it. A sense of community that I’d never been privy to before. I’d been part of clubs and cliques, that was for sure. But this was different and far, far better. Would my previous circle have banded together for a stranger? Unlikely. Unless it meant an invitation to a heretofore unavailable gala or society event.
I was brought back to the present by a gentle nudge from Jesse.
‘You look miles away.’
‘Oh!’ I shook my head. ‘No, just…’ Suddenly, the words wouldn’t form. What was I supposed to say?Sorry, I was just comparing you and your friends to the shallow society I’ve been used to.
‘It’s a lot,’ he said, looking down at me as Pete stole Julie’s attention once more. ‘Honestly, you’re handling it a lot better than many would.’
‘I’m not so sure about that.’
‘I am. You’re being a real trooper, if you ask me.’
‘That’s because I run screaming into the woods at night when no one’s looking.’ I meant it as a joke but a frown wrinkled Jesse’s brow.
‘You’re not on your own here, Fliss.’ He stopped himself immediately. ‘Felicity. Sorry, that slipped out. I’ve got an old school friend with the same name and we always called her that. Habit.’ He held up his hand.
‘It’s fine, really. Actually, I quite like it.’
‘Is that what people call you?’
‘No, not generally but,’ I carried on before he could interrupt, ‘as it appears I’m making a new start here, perhaps I need to reconsider other things too.’
‘Anything else on that list?’
I wrinkled my nose. ‘I’m not sure yet.’
‘Well, you’ve got all the time in the world.’
‘All the time in the world until I run out of money. The only reason I still have any left is because you’ve all been so kind in helping and organising all this. Thank goodness for you!’
Jesse’s eyes seemed to darken just that little bit more and I felt a flare inside me shoot off in myriad directions like an out-of-control firework.
