Page 32 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘You’d do that? For me?’
‘Go online and order you flowers?’ He grinned as he got in the van and she followed, grateful for the heat inside. ‘Of course I wouldn’t. I was talking about the meadow.’
‘Zac?’
‘What?’
‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
On the way back, Alice asked if he would drop her at the barn instead of Halesmere. ‘I’m going to keep the bike at home and cycle to work instead of walking. Every bit helps, right?’
‘Definitely. And that’s fine.’
When they arrived, she opened the gate so Zac could park on the drive. He got out of the van and slid the door open to unload her bike.
‘Would you like to stay for dinner, to say thank you for today?’ she asked casually. It was a crazy thought that had been running through her mind for the last twenty minutes and she threw it out there before she decided she didn’t dare. She took her bike from him and the sight of it all dirty made her proud. She’d started training; she was on her way to the triathlon. ‘It won’t be amazing, just pasta or something I can make quickly. Don’t worry if you can’t; it was only an idea.’
‘No, I’d love to.’ Zac glanced down at his muddy kit. ‘I could probably use a shower, though.’
‘That’s okay. You can have one here if you like.’ Alice hadn’t really thought this through. She would also need to shower and change, and the picture in her mind of him doing that in the barn was a total distraction from wondering about what food she had in her fridge.
‘Are you sure?’ His eyes narrowed as they found hers.
‘Of course.’ She paused, still stuck on thoughts of him undressing in her house, getting wet under the shower. ‘I can lend you a towel but not much else. Even my sloppiest T-shirts would be too tight for you.’
Oh, that sounded wrong! Like she was expecting him to sit around in his underwear or something, while she merrily cooked them a meal. ‘I just meant that I haven’t got…’
‘It’s okay, I keep a bag in the van for after the gym or taking the bike out.’
‘That’s great.’ Alice found keys in her rucksack, and Zac locked the van and followed her inside. The barn was snug, the underfloor heating cosy beneath her feet when she took her trainers off in the utility room, aware of him doing the same. As she switched on lamps and drew the curtains against the day becoming dark, she couldn’t help but note how the house felt more of a home.
‘What about your dad? Won’t he be expecting you to eat with him?’
‘No, he said he was sorted. I think he’s arranged something with Sandy.’ Zac was leaning against the breakfast bar, a sports bag at his feet.
‘Again? That’s, what, the third time now?’
‘Must be, and they’re going to the pub as well. Do you think there’s something we should know?’
‘No.It’s just lovely that they’re enjoying themselves together.’
‘Agreed. He seems in no rush to go home.’
‘Does that mean you’re still on the sofa?’ She was picturing Zac hunched on it in that tiny flat, legs dangling over the end.
‘It’s fine, I’ve slept in far worse places.’ He picked up the bag, glancing at the doors leading from the kitchen. ‘So where do you want me to take that shower?’
‘There’s an en-suite in my bedroom,’ Alice said calmly. She could, should, show Zac to the guest room instead, right behind him. ‘It’s just through here.’
She wasn’t quite used to the layout of this upside-down house yet and a few seconds later she opened her door. Switching on a lamp, the soft light illuminated the patchwork quilt on her bed. She still slept on the left side, her book on mindfulness in nature sitting beside it. For months after she and Gareth had separated, she would wake and reach out, finding an unfamiliar, cool space on the other side. Opening the bathroom door, she chattered blithely about shower gel and hot water, that there was no rush and Zac should help himself to towels and anything else he needed.
‘Wouldn’t you prefer to go first?’
‘What?’ She turned, almost bumping into him right behind her, and they both apologised. ‘No, it’s fine, you go ahead. I’ll have a think about dinner.’
She closed her bedroom door, leaving him on the other side, and returned to the kitchen, gathering glasses for drinks and unloading the dishwasher. She found her phone to put on a playlist – something cheerful, nothing too intimate or heavy with other meaning.
