Chapter 4
After what was probably the best night’s sleep she could remember since Henry had decided to break her heart, Eliza woke up feeling refreshed.
This time not in a mess on the sofa, but in her gorgeous bed, with the sun shining through the windows of her new bedroom.
Sighing with contentment, she couldn’t help shivering at the memory of her vivid dream of Luke and his startling stomach muscles.
Maybe there was a time limit on heartbreak after all?
Leaping out of bed Eliza threw on the emerald green cashmere jumper that made her blue eyes pop, bundled her slightly dirty auburn hair up into a messy bun and pottered down her creaky stairs.
Smiling to herself as she nibbled at a bit more of that scrumptious cake with her morning cup of tea, she considered how to fill her first full official day on her own in rural bliss.
No Agatha or Mum today, in fact no visitors at all.
She’d got so bored after her walk yesterday that she’d decided to productively unpack everything that belonged on the ground floor yesterday afternoon (which wasn’t much), only to end up piling everything in new places.
She eventually gave up and ate Dan’s cottage pie in front of the fire that she’d finally managed to light – only after watching a very helpful YouTube video by an old man called Graham.
Washing it all down with the rest of the stolen wine, she savoured quite how sweet revenge could taste.
Noticing a folded page had been pushed under her door, she opened it to find a handwritten note on some Basildon Bond paper from Dan about Pilates.
He was definitely a man of his word! It was on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the village hall at nine a.m., and six p.m. Apparently drop-ins were welcome.
Well, today was only Wednesday, but that would do her perfectly for tomorrow morning, so she scribbled it into her very empty-looking diary.
Maybe this move hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.
The sun was shining, and as she popped her head out of the window, she realised what a countryside idyll it all was.
She looked out across the empty fields and wondered if Luke had already been for his wild swim today.
She just wanted to reaffirm that he was real, and not a figment of her imagination, and she would only know that if she actually saw him again.
But then she told herself to get a grip, re-engage with real life, and get a job.
Being a perv was not a job, just a very appealing pastime.
So, she decided to call Nancy to give her an update on the hot-sex god spotting.
That would get her bestie down to Farmington in record time.
She settled herself onto the old velvet armchair in front of the window that looked down over the river, the place she knew all important conversations would now take place.
And if she happened to see Luke, naked or fully clothed, so much the better.
That would simply be a happy coincidence.
After a couple of rings Nancy answered with an exasperated but excited, ‘LIIIIZZZAAAA! Honey, I want to hear all your news but be quick. I have about two minutes before Freya’s next tantrum. Tell me, most importantly, have you had sex yet, and second, is the spare room ready?’
Eliza felt warm just hearing her voice, but the sadness she’d thought had died in last night’s hot-sex dream started swimming back to the surface.
She forced herself to smile and sound happy, because if anyone would suss out the melancholy in her voice it would be Nancy – and she felt damn sure if anyone, especially her best friend, was too nice to her she would cry.
Swallowing down a swell of grief, she remembered the first time she met Nancy.
It had been that first day at university nearly twenty years ago.
It wasn’t love at first sight for either of them.
In fact, they were so similar that there was an immediate clash, and with them both being highly competitive they assumed that there would be no room for both of them in one friendship group.
How wrong they were. Once they joined forces after a few drunken fist fights, they were totally unstoppable, and they had a very wild ride for three years.
‘No, I have not had sex in the last forty-eight hours, but on a more positive note the spare room is ready for you. Kind of. Well, it will be! When are you coming? I need you here immediately to bolster my image and make sure everyone knows I have a pretty hot friend! And of course, that we’re really wild, fun and cool. ’
‘Okay, okay. How’s the coffee scenario?’ Nancy shot back, and if Eliza didn’t know every different tone of her voice, she’d have missed the subtle uptick of her excitement. Shit, she saw straight through me.
‘Amazing! I’ve found this brilliant, converted barn, and you’ll love it.
I’ve also already spotted an interesting specimen, which I assume is rare in these parts, seeing as the average age down here is a ripe seventy.
So, if you’re coming, can you bring some binoculars?
’ There is no way Nancy would cope with not coming if she thought there was man spotting to be had.
‘That’s it, I’m coming down this weekend. Pete and Freya can have some bonding time. Does that work? I need to be able to see you and everything you’re up to! And see the specimen, which I’m assuming is male and very, very hot.’
‘EEEEK! I am so excited, yes, yes, yes!’
‘I know you’re pretending a little bit that you’re totally fine. I can hear it in your voice, but as your best friend, how about we agree that I’m coming down to see you because I miss you and not because I’m worried about you.’
Nancy never missed a trick. ‘Okay, let’s agree that’s the reason, but I do promise you, there is a hot man . . .’
‘Now that’s more like it. Proud of you—’
There was some screaming in the background from what sounded like a banshee, but was indeed Freya.
‘Time’s up, I have to go. I love you. Message me your new address and I’ll see you on Saturday afternoon. MWAH!’
As Eliza put the phone down, she was so glad she had a best friend who was not only close enough to pop down for the night, but also understood that her obsessing about a hot wild swimmer was definitely better than the sobbing mess she’d been last week.
As she stared out at the river – her river, as she’d already begun to think of it – Eliza felt a flutter of excitement. Things really could change in a week.
With Nancy arriving on Saturday, she needed to make the cottage look a lot more presentable than it did right now.
She wanted Nancy to believe she really was on the mend, not heading into some crazed obsessive streak of stalker-dom.
So Eliza spent the rest of the day alternating between properly unpacking and pushing all thoughts about her ex, his new girlfriend, and how her life had imploded, to the back of her mind.
By the time evening arrived, she’d managed to arrange her books on the rickety shelves, hang her clothes in the wardrobe, and place her beloved collection of vintage cocktail glasses in the kitchen cupboard. Progress, she decided, deserved a reward.
As it was now after teatime, practically evening by her reckoning, she decided it was time to uncork one of the bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape she had pilfered from Henry’s wine cellar.
The satisfaction of drinking his expensive wine while sitting in her cosy cottage, miles away from his cheating arse, was delicious.
Almost as delicious as the wine itself. But within minutes of her sitting down there was a knock on the door.
Opening the door, she was faced with a terribly glamorous and beautiful lady in her mid forties, and although Eliza wanted to hate her, she immediately liked her because of her long pink coat.
This lady wore colour, and wasn’t in a Barbour, so maybe they could be friends.
She felt less Farmington, more Notting Hill.
‘Hi,’ she said throatily. ‘Sorry to intrude. I’m Bella. I think my husband, Phil, rescued you from the side of the road a couple of days ago! I thought I’d pop by to say hello and see how you were settling in.’
‘Wow, that’s very kind of you, thank you,’ responded Eliza, smiling. ‘So far so good, and Phil was a lifesaver – what a charmer – without him I would have spent hours trying to find help, ruining my favourite shoes in the process!’
‘Well, he can certainly be charming when he wants to be,’ said Bella, with what Eliza felt was a hint of irritation. ‘And as for nice shoes, well you can forget those down here,’ she said, as she looked down at her stylish, but muddy boots. ‘This is generally as good as it gets!’
‘Sorry, would you like to come in for a glass of wine?’ Eliza offered, gesturing with her own glass. ‘I’ve just opened a rather nice bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape that I acquired from my ex. It would be a shame not to share it!’
Bella’s eyes lit up. ‘Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse. Phil’s away on business tonight, so I can’t be long as I have three arguing children at home, but a quick glass wouldn’t hurt.’
Bella stepped into the cottage, her eyes scanning it with what might well be a hint of judgement – or perhaps it was just curiosity.
‘It’s still a work in progress,’ Eliza explained, making excuses for her hasty unpacking – which up until a minute ago had seemed cosy, but now she realised looked like a jumble sale.
‘No, no, it’s charming,’ Bella said, running her fingertips along the edge of the old wooden coffee table. ‘This place has always had character. I’ve got to know it better over the past year or so, and it’s a cottage I’ve always liked.’
Eliza felt like Bella had an edge to her; maybe she wasn’t going to be her partner in crime after all. Or maybe she just wasn’t as much of an oversharer as Eliza.
‘So does Phil travel a lot?’ asked Eliza, conversationally.