Chapter Twenty-Eight
‘He’s there again,’ Lisa whispered, leaning across her desk.
‘Who?’ I said distractedly.
I’d just come off the phone from a potential customer who wanted a valuation. Mr and Mrs Daley were looking for a family home. They wanted a house with three bedrooms, maybe four. If they went ahead with the sale of their two-bedroomed semi in Borough Green, I might be their first viewer. Their property sounded both charming and suitable for Cindy and me.
Meanwhile, the developing relationship between Juan and Lisa meant I was even more desperate to move out of the little maisonette. Even if Juan hadn’t appeared in my bestie’s life, there was no getting away from the fact that her sofa wasn’t doing great things for my back.
‘Tilly, pay attention,’ she hissed. ‘This must be the sixth time I’ve seen that chap hanging around outside. He’s definitely checking you out.’
I turned and, once again, caught the young man staring at me. He immediately looked away, then pretended to be studying the window display.
I frowned. Lisa had a point. The man did seem to be checking me out. I wondered why. After all, he was much younger than me. He gave off the vibe of… wanting to talk… but not having the courage to do so. Which made no sense. After all, what was such a big deal about coming in and chatting about a property?
Perhaps the guy felt anxious about speaking to our mortgage broker. Or embarrassed at not having a big enough deposit. Or, for that matter, a big enough salary. Perhaps he thought I was Home and Hearth’s mortgage broker. Should I go out and tackle him? Say, “We don’t bite, you know. Come on in. Let’s talk.”
This time I met the man’s gaze and stared back at him. He was a tall chap, and his face seemed strangely familiar. I felt something stir in the pit of my stomach. A memory. No… no. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t possibly be… surely, he was too young. Wasn’t he? Even so, I suddenly felt on edge. Rattled.
The man casually took a step to his left. His face was now obscured by the many display photographs.
‘Why are you frowning?’ asked Lisa. ‘Do you know him?’
I shook my head.
‘No, I don’t know him. But…’
‘What?’
‘He reminds me of someone.’
‘Maybe that’s because you’ve seen him around. You know, locally. And you’ve just not properly registered his face before now. Sometimes people come in here and chat to us and then, days later, I realise I’ve seen them before at the Post Office. Or the local Spar.’
‘No,’ I said. I’ve never seen him locally. Or anywhere else for that matter.’
‘So who does he remind you of?’ Lisa asked nosily.
‘Someone from the past.’
‘Recent or dim and distant?’ she prodded.
‘Definitely dim and distant,’ I said, turning back to my work.
Lisa waited for me to enlarge, but I didn’t. My body language said it all. Subject closed.