Page 33 of The Forever Cottage

‘Not sure.’ Tess pondered on the idea, bringing an image of Nico to mind. ‘He’s a great guy, but a dinner date seems loaded with intent. I’m not sure I’m ready to start seeing other men in that way and I would hate to give him the wrong idea.’

‘You’re reading far too much into it,’ Gina scolded her. ‘Think on it as dinner with a friend. You’ll be able to get to know him better and discover if you want to develop the relationship further. If you don’t then you can keep it on a friends-only basis. From what you’ve told us, he sounds like a decent guy.’

‘Yeah.’ She’d thought that when she’d first met him when she was still with Charles. Friendly and open, he was unlike some of Charles’s other colleagues, who could be pretentious and overbearing. Not Nico, though – he was easy to talk to and amusing company as well. Easy on the eye too. ‘I’ll have a think about it,’ she said. ‘And get back to him tomorrow.’

‘Do it now!’ Gina urged, leaning across the table. ‘I know what you’re like, Tess. If you leave it until the morning, you’ll find an excuse not to go and I reckon that would be a big mistake. Just say yes; what have you got to lose?’

It might seem inconsequential to Gina. She’d been on her own for years and had a potted dating history, but for Tess this was a big step into unchartered territory. She’d not been on a date in over thirty years; she wasn’t sure she would even know how to act in that situation and as to what she would wear, she really had no clue. Her gaze drifted across to Suzy, who gave the same imploring look as Gina.

‘Okay, fine,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I know I won’t get any peace until I do, but if this turns out to be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made then I’m blaming you two.’

Tess picked up her phone and fired off a message before she had a chance to change her mind.

What a lovely idea, Nico! Thanks for thinking of me. I’d love to come along.

She felt a mix of relief, freedom and trepidation as she popped her phone into her handbag. It didn’t matter; she still had plenty of time to come up with the perfect excuse as to why she shouldn’t go and, if she needed to, she would obviously make sure to let Nico down gently.

25

Sitting in the taxi which had already dropped Gina and Suzy off at the respective homes, Tess gazed out of the window, taking in the chocolate-box scenery of Lower Leaping. It was good to be home. She’d loved every moment of her trip to Annecy, but the charms of her home village were every bit as appealing in their own way. The honey-coloured stone houses, the bubbling stream that ran through the centre of the village and the old and distinctive St Mary’s church that stood on the hill gave the place a nostalgic yet welcoming atmosphere, and today, everything seemed in much sharper focus. The weavers’ cottages were adorned with overflowing hanging baskets filled with fuchsias, begonias, petunias and lobelia, creating a riot of colour on the drive into the village. In some ways, it felt as though she’d been away for longer than four days.

Pulling up outside Hollyhocks Cottage, Tess paid the driver and collected her bags from the back of the car. She gasped as her gaze ran over the frontage of the cottage, taking in the newly painted front door, now a pretty, dusty-pink colour which suited the house perfectly, complementing the deep-pink rambling rose that climbed up and around the door and over the porch. Leaving her bags in the drive, she wandered across and caressed one of the delicate petals between her fingers, touching them to her nose to inhale the delicious scent, admiring the wonderful facelift to the cottage. If she’d been vaguely toying with the idea of moving away from Lower Leaping, then coming back after her holiday had made her appreciate just how much she valued her home.

She let herself in through the back door, immediately alert to the sound of Barney, expecting him to come running at her excitedly, but there was no sign of him so she wandered across to the French doors, opening them up on to the garden.

‘Barney!’ Her heart sank as she realised, looking over to the annexe, that neither Rob nor the dog were there. She glanced at her watch. Rob had no idea what time she was arriving home so would have no reason to stay in and wait for her, but her disappointment was real. She exhaled a sigh, taking a moment to survey the garden which looked especially beautiful in the late-afternoon sun. The lawn had been newly mown and the edges trimmed, and she thought how inviting the courtyard looked.

She went back into the house, heading to the kitchen to make herself the first decent mug of tea she’d had in days, before returning to sit on the terrace. There were moments and this was one of them when the reality of her situation as a single woman hit hard, reminding her that she was alone now in the world. She had no one waiting for her at home, eager to hear her news, no one to give her a big welcoming hug or to tell her how much they’d missed her and that realisation squeezed at her heart.

Although it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed by that first sip of tea, which was wonderfully restorative and as she caught the sun on her arms, her gaze lifted up to the sky and she realised she had plenty to be grateful for even if it was a different life to the one she’d known for so many years.

‘Ooh, hello, I thought you were home!’

Tess turned to look over at the fence to see Dilly’s head poking over the top.

‘Yes, I’ve literally just got home and having my first mug of tea.’ Dilly nodded, not filling the silence between them until Tess said, ‘Would you like one?’

‘Lovely, I’ll come straight round.’

Tess smiled as she padded back inside, pulled another mug out of the cupboard and re-boiled the kettle as Dilly wandered into the kitchen from the garden.

‘So, did you have a good time?’

‘Brilliant, thanks. Much better than I expected it to be. To be honest, I wasn’t keen on going in the first place, but I was railroaded into it by my friends, and I’m so glad I went. It was exactly what I needed. A change of scene and a chance to relax. And Annecy is a beautiful place to unwind. Anyway, I’m assuming Rob and Barney must be out on a walk?’

‘Yes, I saw them earlier heading down the lane. They’ve become quite a regular sight around here, the pair of them, and Barney always seems glued to Rob’s side. He’s a great guy, isn’t he? Rob. I had a bit of a disaster the other day with a leak in my kitchen. I came back from shopping to find water flooding the floor. I didn’t know what to do, so went running out of the house. I’d seen Rob out in the garden earlier so I called out to him and he came straight round. I was in a bit of state because I couldn’t turn the stopcock off, but he immediately took control.’ Dilly pressed her head against her forearm, showing her relief. ‘He managed to turn it off and then helped me with the clean-up. Honestly, I’m not sure what I would have done without him. I was going to get a plumber in to see what the original problem was, but Rob managed to sort it for me. He got a replacement part for the broken pipe and even did the repair.’ Dilly’s eyes were wide as she spoke, clearly enamoured by Rob. ‘I do like a man who’s good with his hands, don’t you?’

Tess caught the glint in Dilly’s eye and couldn’t help but smile, knowing exactly what she meant. A man who was practical, who could fix things and find solutions to problems was attractive, and something of a novelty to Tess. Charles had been notoriously cack-handed and without a practical bone in his body so when it came to decorating or fixing anything that went wrong in the house, invariably they would end up having to get a handyman in to sort the problem.

‘Well, I’m glad Rob was able to help,’ said Tess. ‘I should hire him out!’ The two of them had gravitated outside again to the stone bench. ‘I must admit, he’s been a huge help to me with the garden and looking after Barney too. I’ll miss him when he leaves,’ she said, realising in that moment the truth of those words.

‘Has he said when he might be leaving then?’ asked Dilly, looking concerned.

‘Not to me. He’s welcome to stay as long as he likes, but I know he’s keen to move on when he can.’

‘Well, I think we should do our utmost to make him stay then. He’s an absolute godsend around here and… come on, you must admit he’s attractive too. A vast improvement on Charles, if you don’t mind me saying. He was a bit of a pompous ass, wasn’t he?’

‘Dilly!’ Tess exclaimed in mock outrage. ‘That’s my husband you’re talking about. My soon to be ex-husband, but still!’ She pondered for a moment, before spluttering, ‘Although you’re not wrong. He was a complete and utter pompous ass!’

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