Page 29 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
Jayde shot her a sharp glance. “You’re engaged.”
Vicky felt that heat in her cheeks again. “That doesn’t mean I can’t look, does it?” She yawned. “I think I’ll have a snooze for a while.”
She lay down on her towel again and closed her eyes, and tried very hard not to see the images that seemed to be engraved on her retinas — of that hard body, with its sculpted muscles and smooth sun-bronzed skin.
She absolutely would not let herself weave any steamy fantasies about him.
Chapter Six
“Okay, you’re going to need to replace four of the windows.” Dan, the builder that Tom had recommended, glanced down at the notes he had made. About the same age as Tom, he had a reassuring air of competence about him. He had spotted things that Vicky had missed, but hadn’t invented problems that weren’t there. “You could think about replacing them all while you’re at it.”
“Oh, yes.” Jayde nodded eagerly. “You might as well have them all matching.”
Vicky hesitated. “I have to think about the cost...”
“You’ll get that back when you sell the house.”
“Well . . . yes. What about the roof?”
“It’s basically sound, but I’d suggest replacing those chipped tiles at the back. The gutters will need to be replaced — cast iron, in keeping with the house. And I’m afraid you’ll need to go for a complete rewiring.”
“Right...” Vicky was tallying up the bill in her head. But after all, it was an investment.
“Then with the replastering and decorating, central heating and the new kitchen and bathroom...”
“Why not put an en suite in the main bedroom?” Jayde suggested. “Jer... er... I’ve heard you can get a good return for that.”
Vicky shot her a sharp look. “Jeremy told you that?”
“No... I mean, he may have mentioned it sometime. A couple of weeks ago. When we were talking about one of those television shows about renovating old houses. You know how he likes to rant on about them.”
Which was true enough — Vicky suspected that he fancied himself as one of the presenters. But there had seemed to besomething oddly defensive in her sister’s manner — though she couldn’t imagine why.
The builder left, promising to email the quote over within a few days.
“How about a coffee?” Vicky suggested. “Then I want to make a start on bringing down some of that junk from the attic before lunch. Most of it can probably go to the skip.”
“Okay.” Jayde didn’t sound enthused by the idea. “Well, if you’re going to be all morning doing that, I think I’ll have a bath.”
* * *
“So he’s going to email the quote in the next couple of days.”
“Good.” Jeremy didn’t sound enthused either. “What about the others?”
“Others?”
“The quotes from the other builders. I told you to get at least three.”
“Oh... it wasn’t necessary.” Vicky shifted the phone to her other hand. “This guy was recommended to me.”
“By whom?” Jeremy’s voice was edged with impatience. “You haven’t been there long enough to know who you can trust to give you a good recommendation.”
“It was the farmer — the guy who owns the farm next door.”
“Huh! It’s probably his cousin or something. They saw you coming.”
Vicky bit back the sharp retort that rose to her lips. “He recommended the garage that fixed my car, and they were very good. Anyway, there aren’t that many builders in the area. This is South Devon, not London.”
