With a heavy sigh, Ed leant on the top of the fence, the barest hint of a smile in place. “You could say that.” Eyeing Oliver curiously, as though wondering what to make of him, he drew his bottom lip into his mouth before seeming to decide something. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot yesterday, and I wanted to apologise.”
“For what, exactly?”
Ed’s eyebrow’s scrunched together. “For mistaking you for a burglar.”
Oliver stood, brushed a few bits of dirt off his jeans, and shrugged. “You don’t need to apologise for that. It was an honest mistake.”
Ed started to smile but stopped and cocked his head to the side. “But there is something I should be apologising for, right?”
“That’s not for me to say.”
Either he knew he’d been a bit of a moody arse, or he didn’t. Oliver didn’t want an apology that he had to ask for.
After disappearing for a moment, Ed folded his arms along the top of the fence and sighed.
Oliver waited, curious as to whether the next words out of Ed’s mouth would make Oliver warm to him or not. He resisted crossing his fingers.
Running a hand through his hair—which Oliver idly noted was almost as dark as his own, with the odd fleck of silver in it—Ed met his gaze. The sincerity in his eyes caught and held Oliver’s attention. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like I did. I was embarrassed and that came out as anger. But that’s no excuse. I’m really sorry. I hope we can put that behind us and start again.” He held out his hand. “I’m Edward Middleton. But please, call me Ed.”
Oliver beamed at him, pleasantly surprised at how heartfelt the apology had been. He took Ed’s hand. “Oliver Walker.” He had a firm grip, hand a little rough from whatever work he did for a living. Oliver liked the feel of it, his mind already racing ahead with images he really didn’t need while talking to Ed over the fence. Letting go of Ed’s hand, Oliver put his in his pockets. “What are you standing on? I don’t remember you being that tall.”
Ed laughed and glanced down. “I’m standing on Elise’s garden bench, which has seen better days, I have to say. I’m a little scared to move.” Nodding at the brambles to the side of him, he added. “I climbed up to cut this bugger off the fence, but...”
But then he’d seen Oliver.
The thought that Oliver’s presence had stopped him in his tracks left a gentle warmth in his chest, prompting his next question. “Would you like to come round for a coffee or tea? Since you seem to be taking a break.” He hoped Ed would say yes. Betty’s other neighbours were all three or four decades older than him—more in some cases—it’d be nice to have someone nearer his own age to talk to.
Ed sighed, which was never a good sign, and Oliver felt a stab of disappointment. “Ordinarily I’d love to, but I have to collect the rest of my stuff from my old house. I was going to stop at the tip on the way.” He waved at the brambles again. “Hence my attempt at clearing some of the garden.”
The offer tripped off Oliver’s tongue before his brain fully engaged. “Need a hand?”
A raised eyebrow was Ed’s first reaction. “Don’t you have better things to do on what I’m assuming is your day off?”
“Nah.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the bungalow. “There’s a few bits inside that I was going to fix today, but Betty’s probably fast asleep in her chair by now. I don’t want to disturb her for a few hours.” He held his hands out. “I’m kind of at a loose end.”
Oliver thought he caught a flicker of excitement in Ed’s eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure. His smile was obvious enough though, wide and infectious.
“That’d be great, then. Thanks.”
CHAPTER THREE
Ed finished hauling the last of the garden rubbish into the back of the van and shut the doors.
The winter sun warmed him as he leant against the van waiting for Oliver, and he closed his eyes for a moment, basking in it. Taking a virtual stranger back to his old house to help him move stuff wasn’t something Ed would normally do, but Aiden had vouched for him, said he seemed like an all right bloke. And they were neighbours, apparently, even if it was only for the next few months, and Ed wanted a chance to put the other day behind them.
And if nothing else, when they eventually came to sell the place, they didn’t want bad blood with the neighbours hampering a possible sale.
Mostly Ed wanted to give Oliver a better impression of him than he probably had after their first meeting. Pride had a lot to do with it.
And ego, if he was honest.
“Hey.”
Startled, Ed snapped his eyes open to find a grinning Oliver standing in front of him. “Ready?”
Oliver nodded. “Unless you’d rather stay here and enjoy the sunshine?”
The thought of relaxing in the garden—albeit a bit of a mess—was far too appealing, but Ed didn’t have much choice. “I can’t. The new owners move in tomorrow, so I really need to get the rest of my stuff out of there.” He fished the keys out of his pocket. “Let’s get this over with.”
