Chapter Thirty – Oliver #2
He grunted. “I’m not surprised. She has so much chaos in her brain she probably can’t remember any other combination of numbers. It’s probably her PIN on her bank card, too.”
I would have to check that.
And if it was, make her change it.
Surely only idiots made their PIN their birthdate.
ME: Is your PIN your birthdate, too, by any chance?
Her response came a couple of minutes later.
ROSE: How much did you actually uncover about me? Do you even know my preferred size of speculum in the nurse’s room?
ME: All I know is that my cock is your preferred size, and that’s all I NEED to know.
ME: Also, change your PIN. Using your birthdate is just asking for someone to steal all your money.
ROSE: But I’ll forget it.
ME: Use the date we met. I bet you won’t forget that anytime soon.
ROSE: Yeah, ’cause it haunts me in my dreams.
ME: So you DO dream about me.
ROSE: Only in nightmare form. Don’t be too flattered. You have three eyes, stubby fingers, and no penis. Totally useless to me.
Another laugh burst out of me, and I put my phone down, covering my eyes with my hand. She could say that all she wanted—last night proved that I wasn’t the only one harbouring these feelings.
I’d pretended not to notice at the time, but I’d seen the tears in her eyes. I’d seen her squeeze them shut and hold me tight in a desperate attempt to hide them from me, and I’d let her have that moment.
Because for a second, we’d been so close, so intertwined with one another, so irrevocably connected that if I saw her cry, I might have done the same.
“Will you just focus on your work?” Luke said dryly. “If you don’t, you’ll never get your precious ‘princess’ those papers. If she doesn’t have them, how do you expect her to ever fall in love with you?”
I shot him a dark look before rolling my eyes. “Relax. Piers hasn’t sent them back yet. He’s got a meeting then is doing that clause.”
“Oh, the one that covers all possible owners of the Hanbury estate? So that only the committee can break the contract?”
“That’s the one.”
He shook his head. “You are down so bad for her. Next thing I know, you’ll be asking her to marry you and giving her the keys to this estate.”
“Can’t say I haven’t considered it,” I replied, refreshing my email. “But I need to be sure she isn’t going to snatch the ring box and throw it at my face first.”
“Are you ever going to be sure of that?”
“No, so I’ll probably end up flipping a coin, but it is what it is.” I shrugged. “That’s what makes her interesting. I never know what she’s going to do.”
“That’s what you say about a character in a TV show, not about the woman you’re in love with and want to marry.”
“Why wouldn’t I say that about her? Wouldn’t it be boring if I could predict her every move? She’s kept me on my toes since the moment we met, and I like that about her.”
He shook his head again. “You’re so far gone all I can do is watch as this unfolds.”
I eyed him. “I know you don’t like her.”
“It’s not that I dislike her.” Luke hesitated, then rested his ankle on his opposite knee as he sat back. “We didn’t exactly get off on the right foot, and when she has a grudge against you, it’s quite hard to hold any semblance of regular conversation with her.”
Yes.
That was why I’d convinced her with orgasms.
“I dislike the fuss she’s created and how she’s dragged your name through the mud at every given opportunity, but I do understand her motivations.
And your mother was right—she does this because she cares.
If more people cared as passionately as Rose does about what matters to her, then this world might be a better place.
” He shrugged. “I still think it’s a waste not to sell the land, but I get it.
I want you to be happy, and if that nutcase makes you happy, then I’ll try my best to get on with her. ”
I smiled warmly at him. “You’re more alike than you might think. Neither of you hesitate to speak your mind, after all.”
“That’s probably why we don’t get along,” he replied flatly. “We say what we’re thinking without caring what the other person thinks.”
“How do you think I can handle her so well? I’ve got years of experience dealing with your mardy arse,” I retorted.
“I know this puts a big kink in our plans because we need to find the funding elsewhere, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
The allotments really are the heart of Hanbury, and thanks to Rose and her asinine demands, I’ve spent too much time there to not understand how it’ll affect everyone if it’s taken away. ”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, save your excuses for someone who cares. You just don’t want to upset your pretty princess any further.” He tilted his head to the side. “What are you going to do about living arrangements?”
“Hm?”
“Rose is never going to leave Hanbury, and your original plan was to handle things here for a few months then go back to London. Now, what?”
I tapped my fingers against the desk. “I don’t know.
If this works out and Rose and I do start a relationship, that’s not something I can unilaterally decide.
I have obligations in London, obviously, and I will have to split my time between there and here.
Either way, I’d never ask her to leave her home.
And honestly, Luke? I don’t hate it here. ”
“She’d have to go, though. She’d have to accompany you to necessary events as your partner. Would she be willing to do that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really care. I’m not ashamed to take my mother with me.
I won’t force her into doing anything she doesn’t want to do.
Even if by some stroke of luck I do convince her to marry me and she has to take on some of the duties of the lady of the house, I’ll never interfere with her life.
She can keep her business, her plot—everything.
She doesn’t have to be public in the slightest.”
“I suppose,” he replied quietly. “William and Grace are rarely seen together, are they?”
“She’s still doing her PhD and doesn’t have all the time in the world, but yeah.
It’s her choice, and he respects that. Max and Ellie are all over the place, but that’s only because Ellie is such a popular author.
Max would never glance at a camera if she wasn’t with him.
” I chuckled. “It’s the same with Gabriella and Miles.
Miles is rarely seen publicly because he hates the attention, but she’s becoming such a well-known designer that he doesn’t have much choice.
Unlike Gabs and Ellie, though, I’m not that famous. ”
“You’re more known than you think.”
“Only because I tend to shun the spotlight, I’m handsome, and I’m single.”
“Modest, too,” Luke said dryly.
“All my best qualities,” I agreed with a laugh. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, we can figure it out.”
He smirked. “Assuming you can convince her to marry you, of course.”
“Well, yes, that needs figuring out first.” I paused. “Although I’m not even sure it’s possible to convince Rose of anything. It’s more… dropping hints until she arrives at the conclusion all on her own.”
Luke laughed, dropping his head back on the couch, and his phone pinged. He glanced at it. “Well, Mr Romeo, Piers just texted me to tell you he’s sent the contract over. Print it and sign it in front of a witness, then have her do the same as committee head, and it’ll be binding.”
I refreshed my email and blew out a long breath when I saw Piers’ name at the top. I opened it, downloaded the attachment, and sent it to the printer.
“It’s not working,” he said after a moment of silence. “Didn’t you replace this?”
“Yes, but it’s a printer, and it’s designed to ruin my life.” I sighed and walked over there, giving it a good thump. “Just fucking print it, damn it!”
The machine whirred to life.
“Wow. Hitting it actually worked,” Luke said.
“And more therapeutic than turning it off and back on again.” I sat back down at my desk and sank my head into my hands. “Am I doing the right thing?”
He barked out a laugh. “What’s this? Delayed guilt now? You’ve spent the last few days convincing me this is the best and only course of action, and here you are, lamenting over your choice?”
“No, I just… Maybe I should have talked to her first.”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t want Rose to know.”
“I know, but—”
“Just sign the fucking contract, Oli. Get it over and done with. You know you’re making the right choice, so just do it.” He slapped it down on my desk in front of me and clicked a pen before dropping it on top of the contract. “Do it. Now. Deal with the fallout afterwards.”
I picked up the pen and flipped through the contract to the page that required my first signature. I’d read this thing a thousand times, and I wanted this—I wanted to hand stewardship of the land over to the allotment committee, so why was I hesitating?
I’d never hesitated when I wanted to sell it.
“What if this is the wrong decision?” I asked him.
“Sign the fucking contract!” Luke shouted, slapping his hand against the table. “Now, or I’ll shove that bloody pen so far up your arse it pops out of your eyeballs!”
And he said Rose was the weird one.
“All right, all right! No need to shout! I’m signing!” I scribbled my signature on the dotted line, printed my name, and added the date.
“Now the other one.” He flipped to the next spot, and I did the same. The third spot came, and I repeated it yet again, and no sooner had my pen left the page than Luke whisked the contract away from me. “I’m going to look after this until you hand it over.”
That was probably for the best.
“I…” I sighed, setting the pen down. “Jesus Christ. What’s wrong with me today?”
“You’re scared,” he said, his voice quieter.
“You know you’re doing the right thing—for the people here, for their community, and for yourself, but that’s not really why you’re doing it.
You’re doing it for Rose. I know you, Oli, and you’re not just making a business decision here—you’re putting your heart on the line, and you’re scared it won’t be enough. ”
I rested my chin in my head and looked out of the window as a bird fluttered past and landed on a branch. “Yeah,” I said softly. “I just hope that, at the very least, it’s enough for her to forgive me for ever wanting to sell the land in the first place.”