Page 12 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“Kate, Frank sent me here! But if you’re implying I’m running away from Adam, I’m just putting a healthy distance between us.”
“Okay but, at the risk of you blocking me, I’m just going to put it out there, Jess. I think you’re avoiding dealing with important stuff.”
“Kate, I don’t think –”
“Hear me out, and then I’ll shut up. You spent a solid month last year keeping secrets from pretty much everyone in your life, including me, the guy you slept with on your hen weekend, and the guy you were supposed to marry! Never mind lying to yourself about your real feelings. But what you’re doing now is worse. You’re acting like all that didn’t happen, or that it didn’t affect you. Mostly, you’re acting like –”
Jess jumped at a sudden, loud ringing.
“Kate, that was the doorbell, sorry. Talk to you soon.” She hung up. She’d bet her next pay cheque that Kate had been just about to mention the pregnancy. She was going to hug whoever was at the door! The bell rang again.
“Coming!” Jess walked across the room and pulled back the latch, giving it a slight tug to open it.
Standing outside was the tall, fair-haired man from Ted’s store.
CHAPTER 7
“I brought you that wine.” The man gestured vaguely in the direction of a van parked near the house.
Jess frowned at the van and then flicked her gaze back to the guy standing in front of her. Had someone sent her a welcome present? More likely he had the wrong address.
She smiled politely. “Do you do deliveries for Ted? Because I think you probably have the wrong house. I didn’t order any wine.”
He gave her a long look and for a few moments Jess wondered if she’d offended him. Then he burst out laughing. “Actually, I did bring you wine.” He held up a wrapped bottle in one hand. “And this too.” In his other hand was a flattish, rectangular box. “It’s a selection of cheeses. Consider them a housewarming gift from me.”
She definitely wasn’t in Dublin anymore. But maybe giving wine and boxes of cheese to total strangers was a normal, small-country-village thing?
“Do you like wine and cheese?” he asked, as the silence lengthened.
“No, I mean, yes, I do.” She kept smiling. “Thank you.Um, I didn’t get your name?”
“Robert Collins.” He stuck out his hand. “The Doyles asked me to check over this place for you before you moved in. And if you’d known JJ Cahill, you’d know why.”
She shook his hand but hesitated a moment longer before stepping back. “Please, come in.”
Robert followed her into the sitting room. “Good idea to open the windows. Although the place smells a lot better since it was cleaned.”
He gave her an appraising look, and Jess mentally trawled through her chat with Anthony in an effort to remember whether he’d mentioned that somebody had checked over the house. Maybe? Still, she only had this guy’s word that it was him. He could be anyone – an axe murderer who happened to be passing through Linford Village. He could have just pretended to know Ted earlier on. All he’d had to do was turn on the charm and he’d managed to find out just enough to make the rest of his task easy. And now she’d invited him in just because he’d brought her wine and cheese! Was it even cheese? She brought the box slightly closer to her face and gave it a cautious sniff.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Itischeese. And I’m actually quite safe, I swear. We structural engineers make that our business.”
Had that not been in her head? What waswrongwith her? She’d forgotten how to behave around good-looking men bearing gifts. Not that it was a significant part of her life. But hewasgood-looking. Different from Adam, which was a total plus, obviously. Because she definitely didn’t want to be reminded of Adam all the time. But he was tall and broad-ish and had a nice face. She’d never been a huge fan of beards, but she could make an exception. He had a particularly nice mouth. Which seemed to be moving.
“Er, sorry, what did you say?”
“I was just asking if you wanted me to talk you through what I did.” He grinned. “So I can prove that I really am a structural engineer.”
“Oh, God, no!” She laughed weakly. “I believe you. Ander, thank you, for everything. Can I get you some tea or coffee, or something?” She remembered she hadn’t checked the kitchen presses. “Although I’m not sure there’s anything in the house yet.”
“Probably not.” Robert didn’t seem too bothered. “Ted’s store might be pretty basic, but he can get in anything you want. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already ordered in some extra stuff.”
Jess folded her arms. “Silly question, but does everyone in the village know who I am and where I’m staying for the next six weeks?”
He blinked. “That would be a yes! Don’t freak out – there’s only about fifteen hundred people in the whole place. And everyone just wants to help. Especially as most people know what you did for Linford Castle.”
Which didn’t fit with what Anthony had told her about the residents’ association. She suddenly realised what Robert was talking about, and she flushed. “I didn’t do very much. We just got lucky.”
He laughed. “I was talking about the runaway bride stunt – that was sheer class.”
