Chapter 11 #2
‘That’s the only snag – I need confirmation today if you want it.
Paperwork and a fifty per cent deposit, too, I’m afraid.
Jeremy said I could contact you first, since we’re old friends and he loves your work.
But first thing tomorrow I’ll have to start ringing round everyone else on the waiting list, and there’s a couple I know of in Hertford who I’m pretty sure will snap this up.
Shotgun wedding,’ he added, in a mock whisper.
Jeremy was the CEO of Renfrew Enterprises.
Hannah knew of him, though they’d never met, and she thrilled at the thought that he’d been happy to give her first refusal on this.
It was a vote of confidence she could only have dreamed of five years ago.
She thought for a moment. Ed would be ready to say yes to this in a heartbeat, but committing to Renfrew would probably swallow at least a quarter of his and Joe’s budget – and that would be without any catering or drinks included.
She needed them both to see it, to be sure, before signing on the dotted line.
‘What if I can get my grooms up to you today?’ she said to Matt. ‘Have you got capacity for someone to give us a quick tour? I know my brother would bite your hand off for this, but I want his fiancé to be fully on board, too.’
‘For you, I will make time,’ Matt said, ‘and fortunately today’s couple haven’t paid for exclusive use of the grounds, so you can have a good wander around and see the venue in action.
Just drop me a message and let me know what time you’ll be arriving.
I’ll have someone meet you, even if I’m tied up myself. ’
‘Amazing,’ Hannah said. ‘Will do. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Matt.’
‘No thanks needed,’ he assured her. ‘Your reputation precedes you these days, as Jeremy said – and god knows you covered my arse enough times back in the day.’
Hannah laughed, remembering the morning she’d assured their old boss, David, that Matt had run to the nearest Tesco for more milk for the coffee machine.
In fact, he’d been hiding in the staffroom after a tactical hangover chunder, trying to force down a can of Coke and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps.
‘OK. Catch you in a bit,’ Hannah said, and rang off. She rapidly pulled on some clothes, then called her brother.
‘Whatever you’re doing,’ she said, ‘stop it immediately. Then google how long it’ll take you and Joe to get to Renfrew Manor.’
To Hannah’s surprise, Ed and Joe weren’t far away – so when she pulled the Eventurous van into the venue’s car park just under an hour later, she spotted Joe’s sleek black Audi a few spaces away.
Ed got out from the passenger side, and Joe from the driver’s. Instead of striding in her direction, though, they stood and waited for someone else to emerge from the back seat. Jude.
What is my life, Hannah thought, as she glanced down at her plain black vest top and the jeans that could have done with a wash before she wore them again.
She hadn’t even put on a decent bra, for god’s sake.
The strap of the simple, vaguely sporty thing she’d hastily fished from her drawer was peeping beyond the edge of her top.
She was fated, it seemed, to be hideously over- or underdressed around her ex-boyfriend. There was no in-between.
She hadn’t reckoned on seeing him again so soon, and felt anxiety prickle at the nape of her neck, right below the ponytail she’d slung her freshly washed hair into.
As she watched Jude unfold himself from the rear of the vehicle, she clocked that he – as well as their two brothers – were all in sporty walking gear: shorts, hiking trainers and thin t-shirts.
Sighing at the injustice that the three of them somehow looked good in this get-up, she got out of her van as they started walking towards her.
Up close, she could see Ed had caught the sun.
A strip of pink had appeared beneath his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, and she made a mental note to have words with him about SPF levels.
Joe, whose olive skin was a shade darker than everyone else’s, was positively glowing in the early-afternoon sun.
With the stately home looming behind him, it was easy to imagine Joe as some Regency rake, here to charm the lord of the manor, drink his best brandy and deflower the stable boys.
Hannah tried and failed not to look at Jude, who – side by side with his brother – was ostensibly the same man in a different colourway.
The four of them had laughed about this when they were younger; chuckled at the irony that Hannah and Ed were barely identifiable as siblings, while after reaching their full heights, Jude and Joe could easily pass as fraternal twins.
Joe wore flashier clothes and had contact lenses in place of glasses, but the brothers’ sharp, uncompromising jawlines were the same; they shared near-identical high cheekbones and strong brows.
They had the same full lips. With hair the colour of treacle and quick, deep brown eyes, Joe was arguably the more conspicuously attractive – though only if you weren’t paying attention to the details.
She suppressed a shiver as she remembered the effect Jude’s intelligent grey-blue eyes could have, turned on her with singular focus, burning with an intensity that threatened to combust her.
‘So this is exciting,’ Joe said, mercifully interrupting Hannah’s train of thought before it could lead somewhere stupid. ‘My faith in you was always unequivocal, Hannah, but how did you wangle this?’
‘An old friend – well, colleague, really – runs events here now. He called me this morning to say there’s been a cancellation for your date. I was so excited I didn’t even stop to ask the reason why.’
‘Hopefully it’s nothing too dark,’ Joe said, as the four of them crossed the road and made their way through the large iron gates of the manor, then up its long gravel drive.
‘That way Ed and I won’t have to feel guilty about swooping in and booking the place – which I assume is what we’re doing?
’ He looked at Ed, who was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
‘Who was the old friend?’ Jude asked, his face betraying nothing, though Hannah detected tension in his tone.
‘Matt,’ Hannah said, ‘from Oak Park. The golf club.’
‘I remember,’ Jude said flatly. Hannah wondered whether she should point out that Matt had a wife now, then remembered there was no reason for Jude to care either way – though that wasn’t obvious from the firm set of his jaw.
‘Speaking of . . .’ Joe said, as Matt – clad in a dark brown wool suit, white shirt and tastefully patterned tie – came down the large stone steps of the mansion’s main entrance to meet them. ‘You must be Hannah’s friend.’ Joe held out his hand for a shake.
‘That’s right,’ Matt said, beaming at the group, shaking more hands as introductions were made, and then leaning in to hug Hannah hello. ‘It’s great to see you,’ he said, lightly squeezing her bare arm.
‘You too,’ Hannah told him, slightly flustered at his attention, her skin tingling with awareness that Jude was watching them.
She felt almost guilty, which made no sense at all.
However, she reasoned there were going to be plenty of odd, uncomfortable moments between them over the next two months, so there was little point in analysing this one.
‘Shall we?’ Matt said, gesturing at the magnificent building in front of them. ‘We’ll head to the snug, get some coffee and I’ll explain how everything works here. Then we can do a tour for whoever would like to look around.’
‘Perfect,’ Joe said, ‘lead the way.’
Matt guided Hannah up the steps, his hand hovering just beyond the small of her back in a friendly, deferential gesture that she didn’t mind at all.
Behind her, though, she could feel eyes following them intently.
Without looking, she knew who they belonged to – and realised that he minded considerably more.