Chapter 12
12
The house was in a tiny village, down a winding road that felt far too small for the pick-up. When Jesse pulled onto the parking area beside the house, the gravel crunched beneath the tyres, but the moment he stopped, all that could be heard was birdsong and the sea. We both pressed the buttons to release the seat belts and, as I did, I caught sight of his expression.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘You’re practically fizzing.’
‘Oh, I am not. You must have realised by now that I’m the cool and collected type.’
‘See, that’s what I thought, but you have a habit of constantly showing me I’m mistaken.’
‘Yes, well. I was until I ended up here. I don’t know whether it’s in the water or the air but certainly something has sent my entire being off kilter. I can only hope it rectifies itself before long.’
Jesse got out then turned and bent to look in. ‘I don’t know. I kind of like this version of you.’ And with that, he closed the door.
‘The house was built four years ago, architect-designed with input from the current owner.’ Jesse explained as we entered. ‘He spends a lot of time out of the country, especially as he’s now partially retired. Apparently, there’s brilliant golf over in the US.’ Jesse shrugged at this and I had to admit, I couldn’t see the attraction either. ‘So, it’s going up for sale. The furniture has already been shipped out to a house he’s bought in the States so he wants this one staged in order to get the best price.’
‘That’s a sensible decision. At any price band, you’re selling a lifestyle, but especially once one’s into the millions with this kind of property, then staging is definitely something to consider.’
‘Exactly. Do you want to have a look around?’
‘Please.’
* * *
The six-bedroom house overlooked the sea and was set in four acres with a high degree of privacy, professionally landscaped gardens and a private helipad. Inside there was a balconied master bedroom also overlooking the water, which included a large dressing room and en suite with a freestanding bath. The five other bedrooms were well proportioned, with floor-to-ceiling windows making it a wonderfully light and airy property. The kitchen was the stuff of culinary dreams and an indoor swimming pool with two tri-fold doors opening onto a patio area made the package complete in its luxury.
‘What do you think?’
‘I think, when can I move in?’ I replied, only half joking.
‘I know the feeling. It’s stunning, isn’t it?’
I walked to the window in the living area and looked out at the sea, turquoise in the sunshine and punctuated by the odd white horse as the wind began to whip a little more than it had been earlier. I’d always lived in London and holidays by the sea had meant a beach in Aruba or Nice. But there was something more raw, more vital – despite certainly being more cold – here than any of those exotic and lusted-after destinations had held.
‘Do you mind if I make some notes and take some photos? I’ll need a budget to work to, of course, and if there are any dos or don’ts I need to know about before we start.’
‘Sure. There’s a pad of paper in the truck. I’ll grab that, and I printed out a contract too. Just in case you went for it.’ He grinned. ‘So you can read that through before you start.’
A couple of minutes later, Jesse was back with all the paperwork as well as a flask of coffee and a small tub of home-made goji-berry biscuits.
‘New recipe Jules is trying out. I’m her go-to guinea pig,’ he said, offering me one. ‘She knows I’m honest enough to tell her the truth.’
‘Where does that leave me?’ I asked and took a bite. ‘Ooh, never mind!’ I said, covering my mouth with my hand. ‘These are amazing!’
We were sitting on the patio steps, looking out to sea but sheltered from the wind by the clever planting of the hedges and trees that provided a wind break. The sea washed the shore then drew back and gulls swooped and dived in the blue, cloud-studded sky. I sipped on the dark, rich coffee and studied the contract Jesse had given me.
‘J Woods Property Development.’ I read the top of the contract.
‘Mm-hmm.’ His eyes were focused on the horizon.
‘It’s your company?’
‘Mm-hmm.’
‘And when were you going to tell me that?’
‘I wasn’t sure if you’d take the position if you knew it was working directly with me. You were already concerned it was a pity offer before I’d barely said anything.’
I didn’t miss his use of the word with as opposed to for . Just as he’d corrected me when the trade guys had been arriving. He was certainly not a man who thought himself better, or less, than anyone else. And that was incredibly attractive.
Felicity. Focus!
Twenty minutes later, I was officially a contractor and in my element making notes in the fresh notepad I’d been handed and snapping photos of the rooms from all angles. Ideally, I liked to come back in the afternoon to see how the light changed and if that made any difference to the thoughts I was already having. I mentioned the possibility to Jesse.
‘We can do that today if you want? There’s a great restaurant not far from here. We could go there for lunch, discuss what you’ve already thought about and come back for another look later. If that works for you?’
‘It does for me but I don’t want to keep you from anything.’
‘You’re not. This is my main project at the moment so it’s fine.’
‘Then that sounds great,’ I agreed, buzzing with the thoughts and ideas I’d already noted down.
‘I’ve emailed Gina, the previous designer I worked with, and asked her to send over a list of contacts and places she recommends in the area. I’m sure you’ll make your own but just to get you going, if you wanted. Obviously, you don’t have to use them if you don’t think they can offer what you want.’
‘No, that’d be really helpful, thanks. I’m not familiar with anywhere around here so it’d be great to start with a base.’
* * *
The restaurant was, as Jesse had promised, excellent. With a table at the window, overlooking the turquoise sea, life, for this moment in time at least, felt pretty good.
‘That was amazing!’ I said, laying my cutlery on the plate and feeling more myself than I had in ages.
‘Not bad, eh? This was one of the first places I ever worked on when I started my own business.’
‘The restaurant?’
‘Yeah. When the current owners bought it, it was in a right state. It was a case of ripping everything out and starting from scratch. Big job, but worth it. This window wasn’t here at all.’
‘That view was out there and people couldn’t see it?’
‘I know, right? That’s what I thought.’
‘Is that when you first worked with the interior designer you mentioned?’
‘Yes. She was a perfect fit from the start. Really seemed to have the same vision.’
‘That’s great. It’s certainly easier when that’s the case.’
‘What got you into design and staging, then?’
‘I’d always liked interiors and I’d been lucky enough to have experience of quite a lot of luxury homes and hotels so when a position came up, I persuaded them to give it to me.’
‘So you blagged it?’
I tried not to smile. ‘Not at all. I was there for years and did an excellent job, so I was clearly the right person for the position.’
Jesse lifted his glass to his lips. ‘You blagged it,’ he said again, amusement in his eyes as he took a sip.
I gave him a snooty look as I reached for my own glass but I knew my eyes had a smile in them too, despite my best efforts. ‘Yes. I blagged it. But I can show you pictures of my work to confirm I do actually know what I’m doing.’
‘I don’t doubt it. I know you’ll be great for this property.’
‘But you have no idea of my style.’
‘I’ve seen your bedroom.’
A woman walking past as he said these words gave me a look and a private smile that indicated she thought I was a lucky woman. In another life, I might have agreed with her, but not this one.
‘It looked a lot better before the roof fell in on it.’
‘Even so.’
‘Also, you might want to think about rephrasing how you approve of my style in future, in the event that someone asks. At present, it may give people the wrong idea. I’m sure quite a few people in the village already have a skewed version of the truth.’
He shrugged the wide shoulders. ‘I’ve told Alice’s parents the situation now. I’m not too fussed about what people in general think. Are you?’ he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
‘No. Not particularly. But also I don’t want people to think I got the job by sleeping with you.’
‘Believe me, nobody would think that. They know me too well.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Can I get you anything else?’ the waitress asked.
‘Just the bill, please.’
‘No problem. Two secs,’ she replied and headed off to get the card machine.
I pulled my bag from the chair onto my lap.
‘I hope you’re not thinking of trying to pay.’
‘Half. Yes.’
‘No need. It’s a business meeting.’ He pulled a card from a slim metal wallet. ‘Company credit card.’
The girl returned, he checked the bill, tapped on the screen a couple of times, I assumed to add a tip, and then held the card against it for a moment. The waitress smiled widely. I guessed she’d seen the tip now and handed him the paper receipt that chugged out from the machine.
‘Thanks very much. Have a lovely afternoon.’
‘Thanks,’ Jesse replied as we prepared to leave.
‘Jesse Woods, is that you?’ a disembodied voice called, followed shortly by a tall, willowy brunette. ‘I hope you weren’t planning to visit and not stop to say hello.’ Her hand went to her hip, but the smile was wide and dark eyes full of laughter.
‘Marie! I didn’t realise you were here. How are you?’ Jesse’s smile matched hers and his strong arms wrapped around her in a hug.
‘I’m great, as you can see!’ She laughed, her hand flowing down her body as she did so. And she was right. ‘You’re not looking too shabby yourself.’ Her gaze moved to me. ‘Is that because you’re finally dating? Thank goodness for you!’ she said, laying a hand on my arm. ‘Such a waste of a good man otherwise, and God knows they don’t come along that often. Am I right?’
‘I… err…’ I definitely agreed with her on the latter comment, but wasn’t sure how to handle the first part. Luckily, Jesse took care of it.
‘Nope. Business lunch.’
Marie took a considered look at the both of us. ‘Shame.’ She waved her finger between us. ‘You look good together.’ Her accent had a faint hint of Greece.
‘I’m pretty sure you’d say that about anyone I brought in,’ Jesse returned, a knowing smile teasing his lips.
‘True. But happily this particular circumstance…’ she waved between us again ‘…means I don’t have to lie.’ She tilted her head. ‘Think about it at least.’
‘Felicity is our new interior designer.’
‘Oh, right! I heard Gina was emigrating. Has she left?’
‘Yep. I had meetings with several other designers but none of them really clicked.’
‘Until now?’
‘Until now,’ Jesse confirmed.
‘Congratulations. He’s a great guy to work with. Honestly, the job he did here was amazing.’
‘Yes, he was just telling me about it. It sounds like it was quite a transformation from the old building.’
‘You wouldn’t recognise it! And Jesse kept it all under budget and within the original quote. Believe me, that can’t be said for all property developers I’ve had dealings with.’
‘No, I agree. It’s very hit and miss. Like life, I suppose.’
‘That’s true!’ Marie said, crossing her arms and giving me another wide smile. ‘I like her,’ she continued, turning to Jesse then back to me. ‘Are you with someone? I don’t see a wedding ring.’
‘Marie.’ Jesse’s voice was low and the warning in it was unmistakable.
I liked this woman with her open and ready smile and forthright ways.
‘No,’ I said with a laugh. ‘But I’m not looking for anyone either.’
‘Some of the best things happen when we’re not actively looking for them. Isn’t that right, Jesse?’
Jesse was now standing with his feet planted apart, arms crossed – mentally and physically blocking what he clearly considered to be Marie’s nonsense. At her question, one brow rose.
‘He agrees,’ she said, turning back to me. ‘He just doesn’t want to admit I’m right. Typical man, you know.’
‘Are you done?’ Jesse asked, but, as much as he tried to hide it, I could see the light of amusement dancing in his eyes.
‘For the moment. Although I expect updates.’
‘There won’t be any updates. Now give me a hug so we can get on our way.’
Marie flung her arms out and they hugged once more.
‘Lovely to meet you too,’ she said, holding out her hand and taking mine, then laying her other on top of it. ‘I’d say I hope you enjoy working with this one,’ she tilted her head towards Jesse, ‘but I already know the answer. He’s one of the good guys.’
‘Thanks,’ I replied. ‘I’m sure I will.’
‘Sorry about all that,’ Jesse said when we got outside, squinting against the bright, low light of the winter sun.
‘Nothing to apologise for. She’s lovely.’
‘Yeah, she’s great. Mad as a box of frogs, but great.’
I laughed at his choice of words.
‘Tell me more about this project. You said it was the first you did on your own?’
‘That’s right,’ he replied, beeping the doors to the pick-up unlocked and opening the passenger side for me.
‘Thanks.’
He closed the door, and crossed to the driver’s side, his long strides quickly covering the distance. Moments later, he was buckled in beside me and pulling out of the restaurant’s driveway. ‘Marie’s family have owned the place for decades but when it was passed on to Marie and her partner, they had a completely different vision for it.’
‘How did the family feel about that? Sometimes people like others to do what they’ve always done, something that’s familiar. Although I can imagine, having met Marie now, she’s a force to be reckoned with.’
‘You’re right about that. About both aspects. Marie and Yanis certainly wanted to do a lot to the restaurant, but I think the way she got through to the family in the end was to bring them onboard. Show them what the plans were. Having been present at a couple of those meetings, I’m not going to say that it was an easy process for her. I tell you,’ he said, glancing across at me briefly before switching his concentration back to the road, ‘that family can row!’
‘Wasn’t that uncomfortable for you, being caught in the middle of it all?’
‘Absolutely! I tried to leave a couple of times, you know, just say, well, I’ll leave you to discuss this amongst yourselves for a bit, but Marie was having none of that. She told me to keep my backside exactly where it was and, between you and me, I was too scared not to!’
It was hard not to laugh at the thought of this man with all his height and muscle being verbally pinned in place by his far smaller client, but I could understand what he meant. Just from the short interaction I’d had with her, it immediately came across that she wasn’t one to take any crap and I liked that about her.
‘So you didn’t have any disagreements about the project?’
‘There were a couple of heated discussions. Marie was adamant about one particular aspect of the design that the local council overruled. She was so mad, she wanted to go ahead and have the decked terrace put in anyway, but I refused. I knew there was every possibility that if we did that, they could turn round and say it had to be taken down again. That was a fun afternoon.’ He turned and grinned.
‘I can imagine.’ I returned the smile.
‘She told me she was going to get a new developer in. One who had more balls than me.’
‘Oh, wow.’
‘Yep. She was spitting nails.’
‘So what happened? I mean, obviously she didn’t go through with the threat.’
‘I kept as calm as I could, although under the surface, I was panicking like hell. This was my first big job and it was quickly going pear-shaped. I’d given Marie a couple of alternative designs for the decking that would fall within the parameters the council had decreed so I told Marie to think it over that night and, in the morning, if she still wanted to part ways, then that’s what we would do.’
‘She changed her mind.’
‘It was emotional. She had her heart set on this particular design for the deck but she and Yanis took a walk down by the sea that evening. She said they didn’t even really talk that much. Just took in the view, listened to the waves, felt the sand under their feet then went home. The sea worked its magic because that night, I got a text and we were go for the next day.’
‘That must have been a relief.’
‘It really was.’
‘Were you angry at all that you’d got the sharp end of the stick even though it wasn’t your fault?’
‘Honestly? No, not really. Alice was upset on my behalf. Told me I should tell them where to stick it and that I’d get more jobs.’ He shook his head. ‘She always was a firecracker.’
‘I’m sure it was hard for her. When you see or hear about someone you care about being undervalued…’ I gave a shrug. ‘It just sounds like she was being protective.’
‘Yeah, she was. Half my size and fierce as hell.’
I wasn’t sure what to say. ‘I’m sorry.’ It sounded lame but it was also the truth.
‘Thanks,’ he said, a faint smile touching his lips as he looked over. The traffic light was red and for a moment, the silence was all-consuming. ‘She’d have liked you.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Alice. She’d have liked you.’
‘Are you sure?’
His laugh was easy and warm, perhaps the tensions loosened by the thoughts of his wife. ‘Yeah, I’m sure. We were together over twenty years so I knew her pretty well.’
‘Oh God, I didn’t mean to suggest that?—’
‘I know you didn’t.’ His hand rested for barely a moment on my arm, interrupting me. ‘And I know we don’t know each other all that well yet but I get the feeling that you’re not someone who takes shit from people either.’
‘No, I don’t. But from what I’ve heard, I’m also nothing like your wife. She had it all together and got herself a good man into the bargain.’
Jesse flexed his fingers on the wheel.
‘Sorry. That came out a bit… weird.’
His laugh was easy. ‘No, it didn’t. And thanks, but there are those who’d argue she got herself a bloke she knocked into shape.’
‘Let’s go with fifty-fifty.’
‘If Alice were here, she might say more like seventy-five twenty-five but I’ll take that.’
‘So you grew up here, then, I gather?’
‘That’s right. Born and bred with a few diversions in between.’
‘And you met Alice here?’
‘Known her since school. Annoyed the hell out of me back then, little pipsqueak.’ Even from the side angle I had of him, it was easy to see the love in his eyes when he spoke about Alice. The tone of his voice confirmed it. Had I ever had that look on my face when I spoke about Adrian? Had he about me? The latter was pretty easy to answer and, if I dived deep enough, I had a feeling that the first might be just as easy to answer too.
‘That obviously changed.’
‘Yep.’ He turned his head as he pulled back into the drive of the house I was due to style and the smile on his face was beautiful. I’d never been accused of being over-emotional – although the country air was certainly having some strange effects on me. But something in that smile pierced my heart. I couldn’t name it. Whether it was sadness that Jesse had lost someone he loved so very much, or the knowledge I’d never come close to experiencing a love like that, I couldn’t say. I squashed down the threat of tears and planned to resume the conversation, but Jesse’s single-word answer appeared to have been the last one. He set the handbrake and turned off the engine and the only noise once more was the sound of birds tweeting and the calming waves.
‘You OK?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely,’ I replied, then pulled the handle of the door, slid out of the pick-up and headed back into the house to take another look.