Page 49 of Be More Capybara

‘Helen?’

A male voice brought him back to reality. He looked up to see a tall man moving towards them through the bubbles. Built like a rugby player and possibly slightly younger than them, for a moment Nigel thought it might be Angus. But why would he be here?

He didn’t like the way the man was looking at Helen, and glancing at her cleavage.

Helen was engaging with the man now. ‘Adrian. This is an old friend of mine, Nigel. Nigel, meet Adrian. Adrian was at that business networking breakfast I went to yesterday. He’s um ….’

‘Your friendly renewable energy expert. I can cut your bills in two.’ He offered Nigel his wet right hand.

Nigel ignored it. ‘So can I if I’ve got a pair of scissors handy.’ He gave Adrian a fixed smile.

Adrian looked him up and down, nodded, then carried on talking to Helen. His body language made it clear Nigel wasn’t wanted. The feeling was mutual. Cheeky bastard. Helen was laughing at something Adrian had said. But she was always polite. It meant nothing. Hopefully.

Adrian got out of the jacuzzi and headed for the pool.

Helen turned to Nigel. ‘Adrian’s a member here. He plays golf.’

‘Fascinating.’

‘We’re meeting for coffee tomorrow.’

‘You’re what?’

‘He’s got some business contacts that might be useful to me.’

‘Does he indeed?’ Nigel leaned back against the side of the jacuzzi again, except this time he was keeping a close eye on Adrian.

35

HELEN

‘I’ve ordered our drinks. They said they’d bring them over,’ Nigel said as Helen sat down opposite him at a table in the bar area. ‘So what do you think of this place?’

‘It’s lovely. Beyond my budget until I get the business established, though.’

‘I was thinking in terms of the experience.’

What was she supposed to say to that? I got hot under my swimsuit, imagining my fingers running over your perfect abs? ‘You can see why it’s pricey. Tasteful decor, mostly. Excellent facilities. Good menu,’ she said, picking up the beautifully designed Brunch & Light Lunch menu from the table. ‘How does it measure up to health clubs in the States?’

‘Very good. Too good. If it weren’t for the accents, I could easily imagine I was there.’

He didn’t sound thrilled by that.

‘And that’s bad?’

‘Possibly,’ he laughed. ‘I’ll stick to the gym by the church for my workouts. More in keeping with my new life.’

‘No jacuzzi there, though?’ Nigel’s physique aside, Helen had enjoyed lounging around in the soothing, bubbling water. The tension in her shoulders that had reappeared after yesterday’s networking meeting had completely gone. She had hoped he’d sign up for membership so he could bring her along as a guest occasionally.

‘Hmmm. I’m sure one of the big hotels up the coast must have a pool and a hot tub. We can give them a test run too - if you’re up for that?’

She felt a warm glow forming in her chest at the prospect of seeing him semi-naked again. Your perimenopausal hormones are really working overtime. Stop it! ‘I can think of worse ways to spend a morning,’ she said.

He began tapping his fingers on the table. Thinking again, obviously. ‘So if you were on holiday in Dashford, would you make the effort to come here?’

‘I’m lazy on holiday, so I’m the wrong person to ask. Where are you going with this?’

‘You said I needed something to keep me busy. What do you think about installing a padel court at the Grange?’ He was chewing his lip. Not as confident as he was trying to sound then.