Chapter Twenty-Six – Oliver #2
“Maybe. If I can make you like me, anything is possible.”
She paused. “Piss off.”
Then she hung up.
I put my phone down and leant back in my chair, laughing.
Well, like was a strong word.
But she definitely didn’t hate me anymore.
“Here.”
I looked up from securing my cufflink. “What’s that?”
“What you asked for.” Luke flattened his lips into a thin line. “Are you sure about this?”
I secured the cufflink then took the envelope from him, slipping out the contents. I scanned the first page and nodded. “One hundred percent.”
“You’re lucky there was no penalty to pay.”
“There’s nothing lucky about it. Their acquisition has dragged out too long and we never completed. I just used that to my advantage.” I tucked the papers back into the envelope. “Did Piers look these over?”
I knew my lawyer wouldn’t mess up, but I needed to be sure. This agreement had to be airtight, ironclad, something that was completely unbreakable.
Luke nodded, albeit unhappily. “You just need to check over the clauses you wanted added, then he’ll send the final contract. Said it’ll take a few days though as he’s in court this week.”
“All right, good. I’ll do that later.” I set it on the unit in the dressing room and looked at my best friend. “What are you so pissed about?”
“Nothing.”
“Luke.”
He sighed. “I just don’t get why you’re doing this. The allotments were the first place you decided to offload because of the value of the land. Now, you potentially have to lose more , less valuable land, just because, what? Rose Matthews won’t give up her hissy fit about it?”
I smiled wryly. “This decision has nothing to do with her never-ending hissy fit. Besides, if she didn’t have this to protest, the Rose I know would find something else to rally against.”
Luke snorted. “Listen to yourself.”
“What? It’s true. I know her far better than you do.
That’s just the kind of person she is.” I picked up my other cufflink.
“I’ve seen what that place means to everyone there, and it isn’t as if selling that land is the only way to raise the funds needed.
I can apply for grants for historic homes.
I’ll do some jiggling and put my own personal money into it.
Selling that land was the easiest option, but it’s different now. ”
“What’s made you change your tune?” He eyed me sceptically. “You were adamant about not using your own money for the estate unless absolutely necessary.”
That was before I went to Hanbury.
Before I started to care.
Before that place stopped being somewhere I wanted to escape and became somewhere I never wanted to leave.
Somewhere home was.
Somewhere… Rose… was.
“Maybe it is absolutely necessary,” I said after a moment.
“But it’s not. You can sell that dead land and not have to touch a penny of your personal wealth.”
But it wasn’t dead land.
It had far, far more life than anywhere else I’d ever been. It hummed with a vibrancy unlike anything else. It was a place that needed protecting.
“At what cost?” I shrugged and put away the cufflinks box. “It’s not like I don’t have enough money. It just sits there in the bank. Is it worth keeping it there for my own convenience while hurting the people in the village?”
He shook his head and pushed off the doorframe. “I won’t pretend to understand your thought process. If I do, I might come to some stupid conclusion like you falling in love with Rose, and that’s too terrifying to even consider.”
I said nothing.
Luke froze. “Oli.”
“Hm?” I met his gaze.
He closed his eyes for a moment. “That’s where you’re supposed to say, ‘Me? Fall for that lunatic? Don’t be stupid.’”
I shrugged on my jacket. “What would my mother say if she heard me lying?”
“Are you telling me you’re in love with that nutcase?”
“I’m trying not to tell you that, actually. I fear you may keel over and die if I say the words out loud.”
“Eleanor!” Luke stormed out of my dressing room, and I followed him, sighing.
This was why I wasn’t going to mention my feelings for Rose.
I thought I’d just tell him later.
Like after we got married.
Providing Rose agreed, of course. I was a bit crazy when it came to her, but not that crazy.
Not quite.
Not yet.
For all I knew, she might like it if I kidnapped her and promised her a life of orgasms in exchange for doing absolutely nothing.
“Eleanor! Have you heard this?” Luke asked.
I strolled leisurely into my living room where my mother was sitting on her phone. “Calm him down, would you? You look lovely, by the way.”
She put her phone down and beamed at me. “Thank you, dear. What’s wrong, Luke?”
Luke gripped the back of the sofa. “Eleanor, you have to talk some sense into him. He’s been in Hanbury too long and lost his damn mind.”
“I’m of perfectly sound mind,” I said, mindlessly picking lint off my trousers.
“Oh, dear,” Mum said. “What’s he done now?”
“He’s telling me he’s in love with that lunatic, Rose Matthews.”
Mum paused and tilted her head to the side. “Oh, is that all?”
“Is that all?” His voice practically squeaked. “She’s insane. She has a jail cell with her name on it, for the love of God.”
“We’ve all done wild things in our youth.”
And my mother continued to do wild things, despite her advancing age, so he was really barking up the wrong tree here.
“Besides, she’s a darling,” Mum continued.
“She’s kind, she’s thoughtful, she cares about the people around her, and she always goes out of her way to lend a helping hand.
Yes, she’s a little brash sometimes and one could call her a troublemaker if they were so inclined, but it’s not as though she does what she does to make people’s lives hard. ”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, she told me directly she was trying to make my life hard.”
“Unless they deserve it,” she added, then cocked her thumb in my direction. “If you ask me, she’s far too good for this useless toad over here.”
That checked out.
Rose was her favourite child.
“You’re acting like she’s your favourite child,” Luke said, shock written all over his face.
“She is,” Mum answered shamelessly. “Or I’d like her to be, but I’m not allowed to get involved in their relationship. They both told me off.”
When did Rose do that?
What on Earth has my mother been doing behind my back?
“Since when did you do what you’re told?” Luke asked.
“I’d like to know that, too,” I said.
Mum waved her hand dismissively. “Since Rose told me. I like this one. I thought she might change her mind about dumping you if I stayed out of it.”
Luke choked, and I blinked at her. “Dumping me?” I said, gripping the arm of the chair. “What do you mean, dumping me? We’re not even in—no, wait. She was going to dump me before we even started a relationship?”
“Oh, dear,” Mum said quietly. “I don’t think I was supposed to say that.”
“What did you say to her? Dear God, Mother!”
“Simmer down, simmer down.” She flapped her hands, scooting to the edge of the sofa.
“Look, she said she wouldn’t have a relationship with anyone if she held even a smidgen of resentment for them because it wouldn’t be fair to either party.
Which, for what it’s worth, is a very responsible and mature position to take. ”
My jaw slackened, and I stared at my mother, open-mouthed.
“Wait. I’m invested.” Luke choked back a laugh. “She resents him? Are you telling me he’s making a production of not selling the allotments for a woman who resents him?”
Thank God I hadn’t kicked him out a minute ago.
He was asking the important questions here.
“Well, it’s not that shocking,” Mum replied. “He was selling her favourite place in the world. It’d be weirder if she didn’t hold any resentment for him, don’t you think?”
I slumped back in the chair.
“Don’t slouch so, dear. You’ll wrinkle your jacket.”
“What am I doing?” I muttered, pressing my fingers to my forehead. “How am I supposed to run a business and an estate when I’m this bloody stupid?”
“Been asking myself that for years,” Mum trilled. “You’re not entirely stupid, son. Academically speaking, you’re exceptionally intelligent. You just have the emotional intelligence of a slab of granite. I blame your grandfather.”
“Here.” I held out my leg. “Kick me a bit more while I’m down, why don’t you?”
“Might knock some sense into you,” Luke said, finally sitting down next to Mum. “So, you’re in love with Rose, and she resents you.”
“Oh, no,” Mum said, patting his shoulder.
“A little bit of her might, but it’s quite clear that both of them are harbouring some complicated feelings for each other.
This one looks at her like she’s personally switching on each star at night, and she looks at him like she either wants to kill him or kiss him.
Granted, she did ask me how tall he is so she could dig a grave for him, but perhaps she’s into that kind of thing. ”
“Mother, please,” I mumbled.
“Oh, it’s hardly a secret. Everyone knows there’s something going on between the two of you.
Why, they’ve even started a betting ring.
Which one of you will give in first or something like that.
Susan told me I can’t bet because I’m an insider, so I gave her a cheeky little tip in exchange for ten percent of her winnings. ”
Mum examined her nails like she hadn’t just told me she’d actively participated in a betting ring over her son’s relationship.
I looked at Luke. “I heard that right, didn’t I?”
Luke glanced at me. “What, er…” He leant in towards Mum. “What are the options?”
Dear God.
“Oliver will cancel the sale for her, or he’ll go through with it, and she’ll never speak to him again.”
“Oh,” Luke said. “Well, we already know how that ends.”
“The secondary bet is what happens if he does cancel the sale. Will she accept his token of love, or will she hit him with her spade and tell him to piss off?”
“Ooh. The second one.”
I stood up with a sigh. “Given that she’s thinking of dumping me before we’ve even started a relationship, you might be right.”
“Then why not just sell the land anyway?” Luke shrugged. “Think about it. Your lives are so different, Oli. Everything we’re doing tonight is everything she would hate. She loves her quiet little countryside life. These suits and fancy dresses in a loud city are probably her worst nightmare.”
I looked away, not wanting to acknowledge his words. I knew all of that. I knew there were huge differences in our lives and what our commitments and priorities were, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to try.
If she rejected me after I gave her the papers giving the allotment committee stewardship of the land, I would respect her wishes and walk away.
But if she didn’t reject me, if she accepted my feelings for her, if she returned those same feelings, I wanted to try.
If I didn’t, it would be the biggest regret of my life.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said quietly, turning back to them both.
“A life here, a life there… The only life I want is one where she’s in it—one where she’s smiling.
Even if she rejects me, I won’t change my mind and sell the land.
I know how beautiful her smile is, and I would never forgive myself if I’m the reason she loses it.
I want to give her a reason to smile. Even if her smiles aren’t for me when this is all said and done, then it’s fine.
The fact she still has it will be enough for me. ”
“But—”
Mum rested her hand on Luke’s arm and gently shook her head. “Remember when Oli wasn’t sure about you getting back together with Millie, but you did it anyway?”
He hesitated. “Yeah, I remember.”
“He trusted your decision, even if he didn’t agree with it,” she reminded him.
“You may not agree that Rose is right for him, but it’s his decision, Luke.
No matter how good a place your concern comes from, sometimes you have to take a step back, even if you think the other person is making a mistake. ”
“You’re right.” He rubbed his face and looked at me.
“I’ll trust your decision for now. I’ll just say one more thing before I drop it: that woman has been on your case since the moment she laid eyes on you.
She’s vandalised your property, organised a protest in which she ran through the village wearing nothing but lettuce leaves, and run an online campaign to smear your name as an uncaring, cruel man who should be run out of Hanbury and shit on by a thousand one-legged seagulls.
God knows what else she has up her sleeve. ”
I grinned. “I know. I don’t just love her for her looks, you know.”
“You’re down so bad it’s a miracle you can stand up,” he said, sighing as he stood. He offered his arm to Mum. “Come on, Eleanor. Let’s go and pretend we don’t know him.”
Mum giggled as she took his arm. “Millie won’t get jealous of me being your date, will she?”
“I think she wants you to adopt her,” he said drolly. “No worries there.”
“Ooh, daughters everywhere!” She laughed, throwing her head back. She quickly turned and pointed at me. “Behave yourself tonight. Don’t get caught in any positions that could compromise Rose becoming my daughter-in-law.”
I didn’t have it in me to argue anymore, so I simply said, “Yes, Mother,” and followed them out of the penthouse.
Believe me, that was the last thing I wanted to do.
Especially if she was already planning to end things.
There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let her do that without us having a proper conversation. And even then, it was doubtful if I’d be able to let her go.
Luke was right.