Page 49 of Happier Days

‘Jack, how lovely to see you.’ She patted the seat next to her. ‘What brings you here on a Saturday?’

‘I thought I’d pop in to see if you’d had time to go through my suggestions.’

‘I promise you me and your dad will sit down tomorrow and discuss them soon.’ She glanced behind him. ‘Is Ava not with you?’

Jack laughed at her expression as she tried to feign disinterest. He thought a little teasing was in order.

‘No, she isn’t. Why would you think she would be?’

‘I thought you might be taking her out somewhere after last night. Lots of people saw you together.’

‘Like who?’

Stella waved away his comment. ‘That’s irrelevant. I just thought you might be spending some time with her over the weekend as you seem to be getting on so well. And the fact that Ava hasn’t gone back to London.’

‘She wanted to sample the lakeside event.’

‘I saw her this morning, actually,’ Stella admitted. ‘She seems to be enjoying herself too much to leave.’

Jack smiled. ‘I’m obviously using my charms to get her to stay.’

‘Good! She has some great ideas for the hotel. It’s amazing how someone else can see things you can’t.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Oh, nothing in particular.’ Stella paused. ‘I do like her, though.’

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Time to leave, I think. You will look over the proposal?’

Stella nodded. ‘And you will spend some more time with Ava this weekend?’

Jack rested his knuckles on the desk when he stood up. He leaned in close as if he was going to whisper something to his mum.

Stella sat forwards eagerly.

‘I’m not telling you,’ he said, leaving her laughter in the room as he made his way to the reception area.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Jack found Ava waiting for him with a huge smile. It was all he could do to stop from cupping her face in his hands and kissing her there and then. But he had to be certain that she wanted to kiss him back the way he wanted her to before rushing in again.

‘Hey, you.’ He returned her smile. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Like a log.’ Ava sighed. ‘I still can’t believe how quiet it is. It sends me off in no time.’

Jack pointed to the door, and they made their way outside. He wanted to reach for her hand but refrained. This wasn’t, after all, a date. He’d simply needed an excuse to see her, and it was the first thing he’d thought of.

‘So, what is it you want to show me?’ she asked once they reached the road.

Jack pointed again, this time to his left. ‘It’s just up ahead, a few minutes’ walk.’

Ava was chatting nineteen to the dozen when Jack stopped outside a property. It was the middle house of a row of terraced cottages, almost squeezed in. The garden was untidy, the roof needed fixing and the windows replacing. Once all that was done, it might become picture-perfect, but it would take some work to get it half decent.

She frowned when he walked through the gate and held it open for her to follow. She was even more surprised when he pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and held them in the air.

‘I thought you might like to see my latest project.’

‘This is yours?’ She tried hard to hide her shock.

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