by Georgia Hill
‘Not really. I used to go every year before I met you.’
‘It’s funny. You’ve never really talked about then. Before me, I mean. Have you had many girlfriends?’ She twisted her head round to look up at him and caught his quizzical smile.
‘Never a very ladylike thing to ask, Natasha.’ He laughed softly. ‘I had my fair share, I suppose. What about you?’
‘Not the most gentlemanly thing to ask,’ she countered. ‘I was always too busy concentrating on work. Only had one boyfriend before you.’
‘Really?’ Adrian sounded pleased.
‘And at school I was always the fat one with glasses. Had my eyes lasered as soon as I could. None of the boys wanted to know until I was twenty-four and I’d lost three stone and the bottom of bottle specs.’ Tash giggled but there was an underlying note of hurt. ‘Then I had the satisfaction of telling them where to go.’
‘I bet you did. I really can’t imagine you fat.’ He pinched her thigh quite hard. ‘Who was this one boyfriend, then?’
‘Lee Styles. He got engaged to Amy Chilcombe last year but dumped her at the altar.’
‘How awful,’ Adrian murmured. ‘Who’s Amy Chilcombe?’
‘She’s running Millie’s new bookshop. The one where the book club was held last night.’ Tash could have sawed out her tongue with a blunt knife. The book club was a touchy subject. The Puccini ended and the room fell ominously silent. She tensed for Adrian’s inevitable quicksilver change of mood.
‘You still haven’t told me who was there.’ Adrian still sounded relaxed but Tash detected an edge to his voice.
‘Oh, you know, the usual.’ She felt the muscles in his arm stiffen.
‘I don’t know, actually. Tell me.’
‘Millie, Amy, Emma of course. Oh, and Biddy, and some snob called Marti and a few of her acolytes. She lives on the estate.’
‘Natasha please. Executive housing development. It’s hardly an estate.’ Adrian chuckled and then his mood changed. ‘Any men?’ This time there was definite steel in his voice.
‘Erm, a couple. A writer called Patrick Carroll or something and some bloke called Kit, I think.’ Tash said, deliberately vague.
‘Ah. And was that one of them walking back along the promenade when I picked you up?’
‘Dunno. Might have been.’ Tash hated how defensive Adrian made her feel.
‘Tall chap. Scruffy. Wearing a disreputable beanie.’
‘Sounds like the Kit bloke,’ Tash admitted. She’d have to tell him the truth; he had a way of finding out when she lied. ‘He helped Millie clear up.’ She waited for Adrian’s reaction, without daring to breathe.
‘Ah.’
Tash forced herself to relax. He’d taken it quite well.
Adrian kissed the top of her head. ‘And now, my darling, I think it’s time for bed.’
He made her dress up in the PVC nurse’s outfit. When she complained, he pouted and said that after all the trouble he’d gone to with dinner, it was the least she could do. But, apart from that, the sex was fairly normal. For once.
Chapter 6
On her day off Tash decided to go for a walk. She hardly ever went for walks. It wasn’t something she and Adrian did. Meals in expensive restaurants or drinks parties with his business contacts were more their style. Or rather Adrian’s style. She missed the simpler pleasures she’d enjoyed before him. It was funny how life with Adrian had consumed her. She used to love walking her parents’ dog. She hadn’t seen them for ages, or Benji, their over-indulged Westie. So she decided – once Adrian had left for work, she’d go and have a coffee with her mother and borrow the dog for a few hours.
She waved Adrian off at dawn on a peerlessly beautiful August day. The house martins chattered above them as she saw him into his car. He was going on one of his regular trips to Manchester to reccie possible development projects and was grumpy. He hated going away.
Looking up at the birds, he grumbled, ‘We’ll have to clear the guttering before they nest next year. They’ve made a right mess. Put netting up. Bloody things.’
Tash smiled tightly. She handed him his briefcase as he squeezed into the Porsche. She wasn’t the only one putting on weight. ‘Drive safely.’
‘Will do, don’t want to risk any more points on the licence. Cops spot this car and think it’s fair game. I’ll give you a ring tonight.’ He slammed the car door hard, revved the engine and gave a loud toot as he went.
Tash winced as she saw curtains twitch in the house opposite. It was very early. She wished Adrian would be a little more considerate sometimes. Giving a conciliatory wave to her neighbour who had opened her bedroom window and glared, she fled inside. She tried to ignore the flush of freedom that a few days without Adrian always produced.
‘This is more like it,’ Tash chatted to Benji as he scampered up the hill. She’d driven to a local spot popular with dog walkers on the outskirts of Berecombe. Once an old hill fort, it had spectacular views over Chesil Beach and towards Portland. As it was still early, there were few others about and a cool breeze softened the hot day which promised.
It had been a good summer. The town was full to bursting with tourists and the place was revving up for Lifeboat Month. Some complained the grockles got in the way, that you couldn’t walk along the pavements and there was never anywhere to park but Tash loved the buzz. As she’d driven through town yesterday, on the way to the office, the bunting was being strung up across the main street; she adored its frivolity.
She wandered to the eastern side of the hill and perched on one of the benches, enjoying the sight of the sea, a smudge of silvered pink in the early morning haze. Benji nosed contentedly around at her feet. Tash closed her eyes. She felt very peaceful and curiously free. She had two whole days to herself. Adrian wasn’t back until Thursday. She concentrated on the sound of a bird, a skylark maybe, high above her and the snuffle of Benji’s nose as he discovered fascinating new smells. His sudden bark had her eyes open in a flash.
‘Hello there.’
A man was standing a little way away from her. He had his hand on the collar of the most enormous dog Tash had ever seen. It was grey and rangy with a noble head. Not unlike its owner. ‘Kit. Hello.’
‘I’m sorry. Did I disturb you?’
The Westie had his hackles up and had begun to growl. ‘Benji, stop that,’ Tash scolded and clipped the terrier back on the lead. ‘Sorry, he can be a bit of a grump with other dogs sometimes.’
‘Not a problem. Merlin can look upon dogs smaller than him as prey but he’s very laidback most of the time. May I join you, or would you rather have the place to yourself?’
It seemed churlish not to share the bench so Tash shuffled up. Besides, she was curious about Merlin. ‘What breed is he?’ she asked, after he and Benji had sniffed each other thoroughly, decided there was no threat on either side and then gone on to ignore each other.
‘Irish wolfhound.’
‘Does he come across many dogs bigger than him?’
‘Sorry?’
‘You said Merlin treats dogs smaller than him as prey. I’m surprised he meets any bigger.’ She reached over and rubbed the dog’s head.
Kit laughed. ‘He’s a gentle giant but, when people meet him for the first time, he can come across as a tad alarming. I tend to be on the defensive.’
Merlin whickered in agreement.
‘He has the most intelligent eyes,’ Tash said. She pulled on the dog’s ears gently.
‘A wise old man’s soul in a dog’s body, this one.’ Kit ruffled Merlin’s head and his and Tash’s hands met.
Tash snatched hers away. Their eyes met and she felt herself blushing. Desperate to fill the charged silence, she blurted out the obvious. ‘Beautiful day.’
‘It is. Can’t argue with you on that. Hadn’t pegged you as a dog person.’ Kit nodded to Benji who had stretched out next to her feet.
‘Oh, Benji’s not mine. He belongs to my parents. Spoiled rotten too. I haven’t got a dog, Adrian
doesn’t like the mess they make so I borrow Benji every now and again.’
‘Adrian?’
‘My boyfriend.’ Tash felt her face grow hot again. Why should she be embarrassed about admitting to Adrian?
‘Oh.’ Tash could see Kit processing the information. ‘Well,’ he conceded, ‘they can make an awful lot of mess. Lot of work too.’
‘Yes, doubt if I could cope, what with working full-time.’ Tash tried to keep the longing out of her voice. She’d happily put up with a bit of disruption if it meant she could have a dog. It was Adrian who had flatly refused to have any kind of pet. He’d even put his foot down about the idea of a hamster. ‘They smell,’ he’d moaned.
‘Probably best to borrow one once in a while then. Dogs like someone around and it’s tricky if you work.’
‘Do you? Work, I mean?’ It wasn’t just Merlin Tash was curious about.
Kit chuckled. ‘I have a dog, two cats, a brood of argumentative chickens, one or two goats and three donkeys. Plus an orchard I can’t decide what to do with on top of an awful lot of land. I count that as work.’
‘But you haven’t always had the farm, have you? What did you do before?’
She felt Kit’s gaze, hot on her face. He leaned nearer. He smelled of old-fashioned coal tar soap, with an earthy undertone. It wasn’t unpleasant and a world away from Adrian’s sluiced-on Paco Rabanne.
‘Can you keep a secret?’
‘Oh yes,’ Tash smiled. ‘I’m good at keeping secrets.’
‘Part of your job, I suppose?’
‘Well, client confidentiality is important.’ It wasn’t what she had meant but she let it go. ‘What’s this secret then?’ This was fun, she realised. It was almost like flirting.
‘I had a lottery win.’
‘No! Really?’ Tash was delighted, it seemed so incongruous. ‘Why keep it secret though?’
Kit shrugged. ‘I’m a private kind of a person. Mum is too. I bought the winning ticket but gave it to her for a birthday present. She persuaded me to buy the farm with the half she gave me. It was great at first. Then we got the piles of begging letters. Some were obviously fake but most were genuine. Mum decided to donate what she could but couldn’t cope. So we shut the doors and decided not to tell anyone.’ Kit picked a grass seed out of Merlin’s coat, frowning. ‘Money changes how people react to you. Not always for the better. Not that I’m complaining though. Mum’s got a nice home, I get to do what I’ve always wanted to. Have a bit of land, a few animals. Thinking about what to do next.’
‘What were you before you won?’ Tash was agog. She’d never met a big-time lottery winner before. She wondered how much money was involved but it seemed rude to ask.
‘That’s the other secret.’ Kit gave an impish grin. ‘I was a dentist.’ He shrugged. ‘Not sure which is the more unpopular. Estate agent. Dentist. The two most loathed professions.’
Tash roared. She hadn’t laughed so much in ages. When she’d calmed down, she said, ‘Dentists, estate agents, we get some real stick, don’t we?’ She looked at him properly, for the first time. Still no better looking, she decided, but she couldn’t deny he was sexy. With his shabby beanie hat and scrubby stubble she couldn’t imagine a less likely dentist, though. She said as much.
‘Oh, I agree,’ he said, affably. ‘I enjoyed it while I did it but the hours were epic and I was stuck in a surgery all day looking down people’s throats.’ He grinned. ‘I was glad to get out of it. Much prefer the fresh air and freedom.’
‘So now you spend your day with animals instead. At least you’ll know what to do if one of the donkeys has toothache.’
‘Ha ha. As far as I know, animal dentistry is a whole other ball game. And if anyone had walked in to my surgery with teeth like a donkey, I think I would have run. Speaking of which—’ he glanced at his watch ‘—that’s what I have to do now. It’s getting too hot for Merlin and I’ve got the donkeys to muck out.’
‘Now that is hard work,’ Tash agreed. ‘I used to help out at a stable when I was a horse-mad teenager. Aren’t they out to pasture at this time of the year though?’ They stood up and began to walk back to the car park.
‘Rescues,’ Kit said, as a way of explanation. ‘Someone attacked them one night and they still get spooked being out in the paddock when it’s dark. Owner couldn’t cope so I re-homed them.’ He sighed. ‘Have to stable them at the moment.’
‘That’s awful!’ Tash stopped dead and looked up at him, her mouth open in disgust. She hated any cruelty to animals.
Kit shrugged. ‘I’m trying to find ways of gradually getting them used to being outside but nothing’s working at the moment.’
‘Maybe get in touch with the donkey sanctuary over at Sidmouth?’
‘I’ll have to do that.’
As they reached what Tash assumed was his car, a dusty Freelander, she smiled at him. ‘It’s been great bumping into you.’ Giving Merlin a stroke, she added, ‘And you too, Merlin.’
‘Come over and see the farm one day.’ Kit opened the Freelander’s tailgate and the dog leaped up gracefully. ‘I’m hoping to acquire some ducks soon.’
‘How could I resist?’
‘How, indeed?’ He came to her and looked down. ‘And it’s been lovely bumping into you too, Natasha Taylor the estate agent. Come for a coffee. Mum would love to see you again.’
‘I will.’ By the time she’d persuaded a reluctant Benji to get into her car, Kit had driven off. ‘What a great start to my day off,’ she said to a completely uninterested terrier. The sun had risen in the sky and the heat in the car had built up to a suffocating level. She buzzed all the windows down. Once she’d dropped Benji off, the garden and a book beckoned. She was ready to top off her tan with Heathcliff for company. ‘A perfect day,’ she added. In her pocket her phone came to life as it got a signal. On it were fifteen texts from Adrian asking where she was and why she wasn’t answering her mobile.
Chapter 7
‘But I want to do it. I like raising money for the RNLI. I happen to think it’s important.’ Tash tried to keep the petulance out of her voice. She really couldn’t see why Adrian was so dead set against a fun run. ‘It’s for Lifeboat Month.’ She opened the kitchen door and went into the hall.
‘I know exactly what it’s for, Natasha,’ Adrian said, following her so closely she could feel his breath hot on her neck. ‘I just don’t see why you need to go out three times a week dressed like that.’
‘If I’m going to take part, I want to train for it. I don’t intend on coming in last. And, for goodness sake Adrian, what the hell do you expect me to wear to go running? A winceyette dressing gown? Of course I’ll wear my shorts. Stop being so ridiculous.’ It was the second time they’d argued about it. The last time Adrian had got round her and taken her to bed so she’d missed the training run with Emma. She needed to train; there was no way she was going to be beaten by a girl who thought a crisp sandwich was health food. Tash thought she’d gone too far with the last comment but Adrian just made what she privately termed his cat’s arse face.
‘I was going to make my special cottage pie. With cheesy potatoes.’
His voice had a whining quality that had Tash taking several deep breaths before she trusted herself to answer. ‘That would have been lovely Ade, but I need to cut my carbs if I’m going to be serious about this.’ She went into the hall and sat on the vintage pew that they’d sourced from a very expensive antiques centre in Exeter. She slipped her feet into her running shoes and began tying the laces.
His mood changed, as unpredictably as ever. ‘Serious? It’s a fun run for charity, Natasha, not the London bloody Marathon.’
Tash tried to disarm him. ‘Don’t swear Adrian. I don’t like it.’ Getting up, she faced him. The attempt at humour hadn’t worked. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her car keys hanging on the hooks by the front door. If necessary, she was sure she could grab them and be out of the door before he – she bit off the thought. What did she think he w
as going to do? Hit her? No. He’d never do that. He loved her.
He took a step towards her. His eyes bulged a little and he’d broken out into a clammy sweat.
Tash sucked in a sharp breath as his hand fisted to white knuckles. Her fingers inched towards her keys. Then she saw his shoulders relax and the tension splintered.
‘I just don’t understand why you don’t want to spend any time with me nowadays.’ His voice had gone back to wheedling. ‘You’re either at work late, off at this book club or out running.’ He reached out a hand and stroked her bare arm. Tash willed herself not to flinch. ‘Why not spend the evening with me. Nice bottle of white in the garden. We could go through those conservatory catalogues. You’ve always wanted a conservatory. Natasha, it’s too hot to go running.’
‘But I want to. It’s important to me. For lots of reasons, Adrian. Not just the fun run but to get fitter too. I had to use an elastic band to fasten my work skirt this morning. I need to lose a few pounds.’ She warmed to her theme as he seemed to be taking it calmly. ‘And I enjoy my job, I want to do well. Like yours, it’s not nine to five and that’s one reason I love it. For the variety.’ She put her head on one side, her pulse calming as he’d shown no reaction. ‘And, the book club? Really? I’ve been once so far. We both work hard. We both play hard. I seem to remember that was what you liked about me when we met. Both ambitious, you said.’
‘We are.’ He took her hand. ‘And yes, I did love that about you. Still do, Natasha. I can’t help it,’ he sighed. ‘You’re just so gorgeous, you make me want to spend all my time with you. I love you so very much.’ His hand sneaked around her waist and he pulled her to him. He kissed her, backing her into the mirror on the wall. Tash’s head banged against it. She used to find his roughness sexy. Took it as a sign of his passion. He trailed a kiss across to her collarbone and fisted a hand into her hair, holding her prisoner. ‘We could have a baby, Natasha,’ he murmured throatily. ‘We could make a baby tonight. If you had a baby to look after, you wouldn’t have time for running.’
