Chapter Twenty-Two – Oliver
OLIVER
Change of Heart
M y mother hummed happily as she re-potted some peculiar pink-and-green leaved plant into one of the pots Rose had selected yesterday. She was making the worst of messes, sending potting soil across the kitchen island as if she were trying to turn it into a vegetable bed itself.
“Can you be more careful?”
“I’m going to clean it up,” she replied breezily, patting soil around the plant’s stem. “Don’t worry, I won’t make the staff do it.”
“I was going to tell them not to,” I said dryly. “This is ridiculous. Why can’t you do this outside?”
“Because they’re houseplants.”
“And? They won’t survive outside for the ten minutes it’s going to take you to make your mess?”
“You wouldn’t send a housecat outside for ten minutes while you change their litter tray, would you?” Mum sniffed, pushing the pot to one side.
“No, you’d take the litter tray out. But your plant is not a cat,” I replied. “Just… make sure you clean it up.”
“Yes, yes, Mr Neat Freak.” She eased the second plant out of its small pot and sent another spray of dry dirt everywhere. “Oops.”
I sighed and shook my head, staring into my coffee that had just been sprinkled with her dirt. “Guess that’s the end of that.”
“Sorry, dear. This one seems a bit energetic.”
“I think it’s you who’s energetic, not the plant, Mum.”
“You might be right.” She tittered out a laugh, brushing some of the soil to the side without a care in the world. All I could do was watch as she continued to dirty up the kitchen, completely disregarding everything I’d just said to her.
What on Earth had possessed me to agree to her moving into the main house? Was it too late to shuffle her and her new plant obsession to one of the cottages on the estate?
“Is there a reason you’re suddenly interested in plants?”
Mum paused; her hands buried in the small compost bag. “I’ve always been interested in plants.”
“No. I’ve borne witness to your cactus manslaughter before.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it, drawing her brows together in a frown. “That was one time, and I forgot they didn’t need as much water as others. Everyone makes mistakes, dear.”
“Assuming that was a mistake, and you are in fact a plant lover, why have you suddenly decided to shove it in my face by interrupting—and dirtying—my morning coffee with your soil?” I tilted my mug in her direction to prove my point.
She peered into it, looking somewhat ashamed of herself. Whatever shame she felt didn’t last long, though, because it quickly melted away from her expression as if it’d never been there to begin with.
The woman had a cracking poker face, I’d give her that.
“Just… try not to make such a mess with this new hobby in the future.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I got up and took my mug to rinse it out in the sink.
I no longer had the taste for coffee.
“What’s wrong with you this morning?” she asked, momentarily abandoning her repotting to turn and stare at me. “You’ve had a stick up your arse since you got up.”
“There’s nothing up my arse, thank you very much.” I scratched the back of my head and sighed again. “Just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
“Mm. Does one of those things happen to be a red, wavy-haired woman with a proclivity for chaos and a tongue that could slice you in two without a second thought?”
“Don’t forget the jail cell,” I muttered. “Also, no.”
“Then why did you mention Rose’s jail cell if you’re not thinking about her?”
“I—” I clamped my lips together. “I’m going to the study. I have work to do.”
She barked out a laugh and got up, following me out like a puppy.
Brilliant.
She clearly had a bee in her bonnet about something this morning, and I was certain I didn’t want to hear the buzzing that would result from it.
I stepped into my office and sat behind my desk, watching as Mum delicately perched on the edge of the desk.
“Ah,” she said, quickly getting up and wiping off her backside as if she’d sat in something unpleasant. “Is there anywhere safe to sit in this office, or have you sullied every possible surface with your extracurricular activities?”
“Mother?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Sit down or get out.”
She responded to my glare by scooting to the corner of the desk. She gave it a thorough check before perching on that instead of the front. “This should be fine,” she murmured, glancing around.
What did she think I did in here? Filmed pornos?
All right, so Rose and I had done it on the desk once, but it wasn’t as if it hadn’t been cleaned since.
Besides, the woman was an uninvited guest.
I put on my glasses and booted up my computer while waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind. She wasn’t going to talk to me until she was ready, and I’d long learnt not to bother trying to wrestle it out of her.
It’d just piss me off more.
I checked and replied to three emails before she finally spoke.
“You could just tell her, you know.”
My fingers stilled over the keyboard. “Tell who what?”
“Tell Rose you have feelings for her.”
Ah.
“That… isn’t something she’d ever care to hear from me,” I replied, switching from my email to a file Luke had sent over for my approval. “If I had feelings for her, that is.”
“You have feelings for her.”
“Your imagination is getting away with you again, Mother.”
“Didn’t I ever teach you not to lie, Oliver?”
I clenched my jaw and slammed my hands on the desk, pushing away from it. I pulled off my glasses and glared at her, meeting her gentle gaze in the process.
Shit, what did she want me to do? Hire a plane and have them write it in the sky?
What does it fucking matter?
I knew what I was to Rose. I knew how she saw me. These feelings that were blooming inside me were ridiculous. Irrelevant. Useless. I could offer her the most romantic confession of love in the world and she’d probably wrinkle her face in disgust, laugh, and tell me to fuck off.
She hated me.
And rightfully so.
No matter how many times we laughed together or how she melted under my touch, I couldn’t let myself forget that.
If I did, I’d only hurt myself.
“What have you said to her?” I ground out.
Mum flinched. “Nothing.”
“Perhaps you should consider your own lies before you call me on mine, Mother.” I rubbed my fingers across my forehead and put my glasses back on, pulling myself back towards the desk. “Whatever you’ve said to her, don’t do it again. Just drop it.”
“But, you—”
“I am a grown man who can handle his own relationships,” I reminded her quietly, staring at her. “No matter how well you mean, do not interfere with my personal life. I love you, but if I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.”
She sighed, lowering her head. “I’m sorry, dear.”
I nodded to acknowledge her apology and turned my attention fully back to my computer, effectively dismissing her. She got the memo after a minute and got up, slowly walking back to the door. She paused, glancing over her shoulder.
I pretended not to notice.
It didn’t matter.
“Son, have you ever had a conversation with someone and hours later, realised there was something you should have said?”
I paused, peeling my gaze over to her. “Yes,” I replied slowly. “Why?”
“Ah.” A ghost of a smile passed over her face. “I was just thinking that sometimes, we really do end up regretting the things we never said. The things we should have said. And that’s a shame.”
This bloody woman. Did she always have to have the last word?
Stupid question.
Of course, she did.
She was a woman.
Had I learnt nothing in my life?
“I’ll keep your words in mind,” I said. “Close the door on your way out.”
Mum nodded, doing as I asked as she left.
I groaned, pulling my glasses off again. Honestly, I was just going to leave the fucking things off the way things were going this morning. All I wanted to do was my work, but how was I supposed to focus when all I could think about was Rose?
Taking her to the garden centre had been one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I would never forget the sheer, unbridled happiness or the range of excited expressions she showed as we walked around.
Well, I walked around.
Rose… She skipped. Hopped. Bounced. Danced.
She was crazy.
Crazy beautiful.
I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her.
It was a place she’d surely been a thousand times, yet her eyes had lit up with almost every aisle we walked down.
Excitement had practically buzzed off her when she was selecting the things for the nursery, and I’d had the brief thought that I’d buy her the whole garden centre if that was what she wanted.
I sighed, slumping forwards, touching my finger to the spot on my neck where the mark she’d left had all but disappeared. I was one lovesick little fucker.
The worst thing was that I had no idea when I’d fallen so hard for her. I didn’t even know how it was possible I’d done such a thing. All she’d done over the past few weeks was piss me off. She’d done everything possible to get under my skin, and it’d worked.
Except she wasn’t just under my skin.
She was soul-deep. Practically a part of my DNA, a part of the fabric of the cells that made up my very being.
And she hated me.
Hated me.
She’d be happy if we never crossed paths again, and for a moment, I briefly considered it. What if I did what she wanted? What if I just cancelled everything, went back to London, and never set foot in this crazy, close-knit little village ever again?
I could. It’d fuck up all my plans and I’d probably have to go through the planning stages for the house’s maintenance works again, but maybe it would be worth it in the end.
Cancel everything.
What if I…
I shook my head and smacked my cheek. No, that was crazy talk. I couldn’t just flush all my plans down the toilet because of a woman.
Well, I could.
Shit, I could. Rose only hated me because I was closing the allotments.
If I cancelled the deal and withdrew the eviction notice, wouldn’t that fix how she felt about me?
Even if she didn’t feel the same way I did, I could just leave.
My life was in London, after all. I’d never intended to stay in Hanbury long-term.
Shit, shit, shit, shit .
I buried my hands in my hair. What was wrong with me?
What spell had that lunatic cast on me that I was thinking like this?
Was I really considering blowing up all my well-laid plans just so she didn’t hate me anymore?
For the tiniest little chance that there was a single cell in her body that might feel something other than utter derision towards me?
Yeah.
Yeah, I was.
I wanted her. I wanted her to want me. I wanted to hold on to her tightly, and I wanted her to grab me back so I couldn’t let her go.
I didn’t want to have to hide the way I looked at her. The way I touched her. The way I felt about her.
But if I tried any of that now, she would probably come at me with a spade or shove one of her chilli peppers in my eye.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Luke’s number, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Yes, my lord? How may your humble servant assist you on this fine morning?” he answered.
Why did I keep this idiot on my payroll?
I put the call on speaker. “Hey, do me a favour.”
“I live to serve,” he replied, his voice filling my office.
“Save the serving for the next time you piss off your fiancée,” I suggested. “Can you send me a copy of the draft contract with Ascot Homes?”
There was a pause before he said, “Sure, but why do you want it?”
“Do I need to explain everything to you? Would you like to know why I didn’t have breakfast this morning, too?”
“I’ll send it now,” he said quickly, then lowered his voice. “Is everything all right, Oli?”
“Mm. Just want to check something,” I replied, taking the bite out of my tone. “How is everything there? Is Harry managing fine?”
“He’s got everything under control. Are you still coming at the weekend?”
“Yeah. I’ll be leaving early on Friday morning.”
“I’ll have someone go into your place to clean on Thursday and make sure it’s stocked,” he replied. “Do you need a suit prepared for Saturday night’s event?”
I groaned internally, remembering the charity auction I had to attend while I was back. “Yeah. Choose whatever. I don’t care. I’m only going because I have to.”
“Are you bringing a plus one? I was asked again earlier.”
“Tell them I’ll be with my mother.”
“Oh, thank God. For a moment, I was afraid you were going to say you were bringing that redheaded terror with you.”
The thought of Rose in an elegant evening gown briefly flashed through my mind, and I batted the thought away quickly. Knowing her, she’d have a trowel strapped to her thigh the way an assassin would use a dagger.
Given her propensity for threatening me with her gardening tools, I wasn’t sure she wasn’t secretly an assassin.
“She would rather die,” I replied, adding, “So would I,” as an afterthought.
The last thing I needed was Luke getting suspicious. It was bad enough with my mother fancying herself as some kind of romance guru. I didn’t need my best friend ranting in my ear, although I knew he would be very much against it.
Perhaps he was the sense of reason I needed.
Luke chuckled. “Is Eleanor prepared, or does she need me to arrange something for her?”
“Just make sure we have transportation. She’ll be at my place for the weekend, so have it stocked for her, too.”
“Will do. Anything else?”
“No, just that file I asked for. Thanks. Speak to you later.” I hung up with those words and shoved my phone away, then leant back in my chair and let out a deep sigh.
If this morning was indicative of the rest of my week, then tomorrow morning, I’d just stay in bed.