Page 44 of Wild About You

‘Down,’ I said, looking around to see if there was a spare dog lead anywhere. ‘You have to go back to the flat, mister.’

Hugo looked at me.

‘He won’t listen to you. He never listens to anyone. Bloody beagle,’ muttered Tally.

I tried perking up my tone a bit. ‘Come on! Hugo! Hugues! Huggy bear!’

‘You sound like an idiot. I’m going to record you for TikTok,’ said Tally.

I held up a reproving finger. ‘You don’t have my permission.’

She slammed her phone down on the desk.

‘Please, Hugo,’ I said. He tilted his head and gazed at me with his oil-black eyes.

A sharp whistle sounded across the office. Hugo jumped down and galloped to the feet of Callum.

‘Good boy.’ He rubbed Hugo’s sides. ‘Sorry about that, Anna. Hugo’s going to be an office dog for the next few days. If we could all keep an eye out when we’re going in and out, so he doesn’t disappear off exploring. Jamie’s gone to London and Hugo’s staying with me.’

‘To London?’ My stomach dropped. How long was he going to be gone for?

‘Yep,’ said Callum. ‘He said, though, could you put some content together on the beavers? We need a short clip for social media.’

‘The charity will share all their footage of the release. I’ll ensure we get a social-ready clip.’ I made a show of writing this down carefully. Tally was already batting away Hugo, who had decided that she was a food source of some kind. ‘Callum, get him out of here!’ she called.

Hugo cast me a melancholy look as Callum clipped a lead on him and led him to his office.

Callum and I had our date at the Rising Sun that night, and Hugo came along too. I decided not to try too hard with my outfit, and winged it with a pair of (clean) jeans and a nice jumper, which Callum complimented as being ‘very holey’.

‘It was made by a lady in the village,’ I said. ‘She has all kinds of looms and knitting machines.’

‘Oh, Sandra?’ he said, as Hugo pawed at my leg.

I fed the beagle a crisp. ‘Yes, I think she’s fabulous.’

‘It is mainly hole though, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘I’m not sure she should charge too much for materials. Not that I mind looking at your skin.’

‘Er, thanks,’ I said. This was way too weird. He’d paid me a compliment and all I could do was cringe. When he got up, I asked for another Jack Daniel’s and coke, even though I had only just begun my second. Perhaps Rose was right. More drink was needed.

The thing was, I couldn’t stop myself from being detached from the situation.Oh look, my brain said,Callum is gazing at you. Oh look, he has put his hand on your knee. Oh look…

Meanwhile, it felt as though I was on a date with two men rather than one. Hugo kept prodding me for bar snacks and when I tried to ignore him, focused on me with his seal-pup eyes, glinting in the half-light, so that Callum remarked that I was ‘looking at the dog more than you are at me’.

We managed a kiss or two – clearly noted by the regulars – then we headed out into the night. Walking alongside each other, brushing against each other as Hugo sniffed trails on the pavement, I felt calmer.I can do this, I thought. So when Callum’s hand brushed mine, I slotted my fingers into his, and was delighted to feel him squeeze my hand.

‘Callum!’

The squeal sounded from far behind us, high-pitched and almost childlike, and I turned to see a woman running towards us. When she neared us, she picked up speed, then literally leapt into Callum’s arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as he struggled not to drop her. Ten out often for athleticism, but I have to admit I felt slightly peeved at her clinging to him like a koala on a eucalyptus tree.

‘Cassie!’ he was saying, as he gently lowered her to the ground. ‘Good to see you.’

‘Long time no see,’ she said, and glanced at me with a wrinkled nose. ‘Er, hi.’

‘Hi,’ I said, as Callum handed Hugo’s lead to me and the beagle attempted to drag me away from the squealing being, ears down.

‘Anna, this is Cassie, Cassie, Anna,’ said Callum, before embarking on a brief amount of small talk which covered stuff I didn’t understand, such as ‘did you know Mikey and Jolls were getting married’.

After she’d disentangled herself and headed off in another direction, we continued our wander home, but the rosy glow had worn off and I didn’t attempt to take his hand again.

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