“You’re in a good mood today,” I said.
“It’s a good day, that’s all,” Milo said and I hummed, my suspicions instantly raised. But I didn’t have time to deal with that now. Whatever he was up to, I was going to leave him to it. As long as he didn’t end up getting arrested, it wasn’t my problem.
“By the way,” I said as I let go of Alfie’s hand to finally finish cleaning up the spilled chai custard. “If you look in the freezer you’ll find a surprise. Owen made you a test batch of the banoffee. He wants your opinion.”
“Fuck yes!” Milo clapped his hands loudly. “Best day ever!”
I smiled. At least he was happy.
I had a lot more to go through before I could feel like that.
Chapter Seventeen
Owen
“Here we are,”I said as I opened the gate outside of Dad’s cottage, gesturing Darcy through it as I fought to calm my racing heart. This was simply dinner as friends, nothing more. But no matter how many times I told myself that, it didn’t help.
“Wow, this is gorgeous,” Darcy said, an awestruck smile on his face as he looked around at the front garden, where the last of the summer blooms basked in the remnants of the evening sun. “It’s like a palace garden.”
“Dad’s pride and joy. Well, part of it anyway. The back garden is just as impressive, especially now me and Matthew aren’t churning the grass up. He’s got a load of fruit and veg beds out there too.”
“That’s amazing. I can’t even keep succulents alive. I’d like to, but I forget about them.”
“A good garden is a lot of work,” I said as we walked towards the front door of the terraced, honey-coloured cottage. It was part of a row that sat on a quiet street overlooking the bay. “This garden, and the ones at the castle, are Dad’s prideand joy. They’re his lifetime obsession. I don’t think he’ll ever stop wanting to be out in them, and I don’t think he’ll ever retire either. He’ll still be lurking in the castle rose garden when he’s ninety, terrifying the new under-gardeners with all his questions.”
I was only half joking because I genuinely didn’t think Dad would retire. It would be easier to pry superglued LEGO apart.
Matthew had tried suggesting it once, before Dad had gone in for surgery, and Dad had turned around and said he intended to die in those gardens, and nobody was going to stop him.
Neither of us had brought it up since. And I didn’t think anyone at the castle had either. Besides, even if they did force him to retire, he wouldn’t listen. He’d simply turn up for work again the next morning and dismiss any attempts to escort him off the grounds.
“What’re you saying about me?” Dad asked as he opened the front door, smiling wryly as he looked between me and Darcy.
“That you’re gonna be a menace to society until you’re ninety,” I said with a grin.
“Ninety? Pfft, why stop there. Better make it a nice, round hundred.”
I chuckled, because I believed him. He was stubborn enough to make it happen.
“Nice t’ see you again, Darcy,” Dad said, stepping back and waving us inside. “Come on in. Don’t stand on ceremony.”
“Thanks for having me,” Darcy said, bending down to slide his shoes off and tucking them neatly alongside my sandals.
“It’s lovely to have you. Anyone who’ll put up with this one is worth getting to know.”
“Hey! I’m not that bad,” I said. “You’re acting like I’m a difficult stray cat.”
Darcy chuckled. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re like that. I mean, I’m still baffled you like going in the North Sea at half-six in the morning.”
“It’s nice. Peaceful. Good for the soul.”
“I don’t think my soul would like being frozen.”
“It’s not that cold. You get used to it.”
“Which is it?” Darcy asked teasingly, a smirk playing across his lips as he followed me into the kitchen. “Not that cold or actually cold but you get used to it?”
I rolled my eyes, wishing I could smack his arse playfully and pull him in for a kiss. But it would mean admitting there was something between us to my dad, and I didn’t know how Darcy would feel about that. “It’s cold but after a few minutes you don’t notice it. And it’s perfect when it’s hot because it cools you down after you’ve spent the whole night sweating your arse off.”
