Page 60 of The Jealous Girl

‘Ryan!’ Charlotte’s voice called from the stable outside. ‘The new liveries have arrived. Can you give me a hand settling them in?’

Ryan straightened his back. ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he said, already moving towards the door. ‘Just have a look around, get a feel for things, for now.’

‘Sure.’ I nodded, a flutter of unease rising in my chest.

He disappeared through the open doorway and I turned back and stared at the desk. Where on earth did I even start?

‘It’s a bit of a nightmare, isn’t it?’

I turned to find Ben peering in the doorway behind me.

‘No, it’s fine,’ I said, determined to sound like I had it under control. ‘I was just…’ I turned back to the chaos surrounding me.

‘Debating what you volunteered for?’ he asked with a soft chuckle.

I shrugged weakly. There was no point pretending otherwise. ‘Something like that,’ I admitted, smiling back at him.

He pulled the chair away from the desk and signalled for me to sit. ‘I can’t promise I know exactly how it all works, but I can run through the basics to get you started.’

I glanced up at him. ‘Are you sure? Do you have time?’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s fine. Charlotte and Ryan have everything under control out there.’

My shoulders relaxed. ‘In that case, thank you, that would be amazing.’

Ben pulled up a second chair and sat down beside me. For the first time since I’d arrived, I felt like maybe not everyone here resented my presence.

I smiled faintly at the memory. After that day, he’d become the only real friend I had at Blackwater. Until, one day, he disappeared too.

‘I promised Dad I’ll give him a hand tomorrow,’ Ryan said, breaking the silence that had hung between us as we drove back towards Swanage.

My back stiffened. ‘Tomorrow?’

‘He was only expecting me to be gone for a couple of weeks,’ Ryan said. ‘He wasn’t expecting me to move out and bail on him.’

‘Sure,’ I said slowly. ‘But we were going to the registry office tomorrow.’

Ryan exhaled. ‘It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, does it? We can go another day.’

I turned away and stared out of the passenger window, as a lump rose in my throat.

It felt so familiar. Small changes. Reasonable ones. And then…

‘I just think it might be better to ease them into it,’ Ryan continued. ‘Let Dad get used to the idea of us.’

I swallowed as his words prickled my skin. What was there to get used to? Our relationship wasn’t up to anyone else but us.

‘I can help out for a few days, see about hiring someone to take over. Make sure they’re sorted.’

I nodded. ‘Right.’

A few days. I’d heard that before. It was never just a few days when his family was concerned.

‘Then we can tell Dad about the ceremony,’ Ryan continued. ‘Maybe they could come to the registry office…’

I flinched. When had that become the plan? Our wedding, our lives, were supposed to be ours this time.

Not something to explain.