Chapter 10
GRINDING MY TEETH together, I glare at the stubborn set of Adam’s jaw as the car rolls through the dappled shade of a beech-tree-lined country lane and through the grand stone gateway.
He had avoided me at our stopover, disappearing so quickly that I almost let myself believe he’d come to his senses. A belief that I clung to when I didn’t spot him on the next leg despite doing many laps of the aisles and glancing at every passenger I passed.
Turns out, he had been upgraded to business class. I spotted him at baggage pick-up looking well-rested while my tired eyes bugged out of my face.
We ignored each other as we made our way through customs. I may have been furious with him, but I’m not stupid enough to tear into him while handing over my passport.
Or stupid enough to risk him stalking off and leaving me to work out the rail network on my own when he seemed to be an expert and was handing me tickets and leading me onto trains.
And when I finally collapsed onto my seat on the second train, I was asleep before we’d left the station.
But now that we’re in a cab, arriving at our destination and an assault of the Fogertys is imminent, I am ready to explode.
Gravel crunches under the tyres as we move along the drive.
Sunlight filters through the trees and neatly trimmed hedges and falls across my lap.
The manor looms ahead of us, its honey-coloured stones snaked with vines and vibrant flowers.
The cab stops in front of an arched wooden door, cloaked in a curtain of ivy with two trees standing guard on each side.
It’s like we’ve stepped into the pages of a fairytale.
One that comes with its very own blond, bespectacled villain.
I hobble from the back seat and stretch my arms over my head.
Adam climbs out and helps with the luggage, shrugging off the driver’s assurances that he’s got it under control.
Adam deposits my suitcase at my feet and we glare at each other. I wrap my fingers tightly around my suitcase handle and wheel it to the door.
I grip the knocker, the heavy metal cool against my palm. Before I can release it, the door swings open and we’re met by a cheerful woman who informs us that her name is Betty and that we are not staying in the manor with my family.
‘You’ve been granted the privacy of the cottage. Lucky things,’ she says and takes off down a path lined with a mix of low shrubs and flowering plants.
I follow her. Each crunch of gravel under Adam’s heavy footsteps makes it more and more difficult to not turn around and hurl insults.
I remind myself that I’m an adult and adults don’t fight in public, or within earshot of Betty.
Or run the risk of being caught arguing by their family, who apparently have all gone off on a walk together.
How many little outings like this will I miss out on because I’ll be in a cottage instead of in the manor with them?
I’ll be out of sight, out of mind. And stuck with only Adam Whittaker for company.
‘The cottage was once home to the estate’s cows,’ Betty calls over her shoulder.
I’m sorry, what?
‘It’s been converted into a cosy cottage with its own private garden.
Mrs Fogerty said it was important that you have space to work,’ she adds with a smile at Adam.
‘It still has its original stone walls and exposed beams, but you won’t have to endure any lingering unpleasant cow smells.
’ She releases a hearty laugh and then pulls out her ringing phone.
‘My apologies, I need to get this.’ She hands over the key and points ahead of her.
‘Just a little further and then you’ll come to a gate to the cottage.
I will come back and check that you’re all settled in. ’ She turns back to the manor.
We pass through the creaking wooden gate in a low wall, its uneven stones jutting up like crooked teeth. The cottage is the same honey-coloured stone as the manor, but where the manor was straight out of a fairytale, the cottage is all rustic charm.
I slide the key into the lock. It doesn’t budge. I jiggle it and curse under my breath as the handle refuses to move. Adam reaches over my shoulder, swats my hand away and pushes me gently aside. It opens on his first go, and my teeth clench again as I wheel my suitcase in.
‘Why did you come?’ I cry out when the door clicks shut. ‘Just why?’
Adam walks past me and then suddenly stops, his back stiff. ‘There’s only one bed.’
‘If you tell me again it’s because my mum called and begged you to come, I swear I’ll…’ My voice trails off as I try to think of what I’ll do. I stare out the window, over the wild reeds to the lake. ‘I’ll drown you in the lake.’
He lifts his suitcase onto the brown leather sofa and unzips it. ‘I’d like to see you try.’ He pulls out a stack of neatly folded clothes and places them in a drawer.
‘Those drawers are mine.’
He ignores me and continues unpacking.
‘Why are you here?’ I ask again.
‘Because Dianne,’ he says and I scoff at his use of her name like they’re close friends. ‘Dianne,’ he says again, ‘made a solid argument for me coming along.’
‘And what argument was that?’
He doesn’t answer.
‘Well, why was I kept in the dark?’
‘Dianne wanted to surprise you.’
‘And you knew I wouldn’t let you come if you told me.’
‘You couldn’t exactly stop me. There was an available spot and Dianne was keen to fill it and make the most of her competition prize.’
My brows shoot up. ‘Just how often have the two of you spoken?’
He shrugs and opens a second drawer. ‘A bit.’
A bit? What does he mean by that? Once or twice? Every day? Multiple times a day?
‘And what exactly did you talk about?’
‘This and that.’
‘There must’ve been some deep conversations for you to agree to come.’ And he must’ve gone along with my lie otherwise Mum would’ve rescinded her invitation and been on the phone to me immediately.
‘It’s going to eat away at you not knowing, isn’t it?’ He looks at me, blinking slowly with the whisper of a smile before he turns back to his suitcase.
I glare at him. At his stupid blond hair and stupid stubbled jawline and stupid folded clothes that he’s carefully unpacking.
I shut the drawer and he snatches his hands out of the way before they get caught. ‘They’re my drawers. And it’s my bed. You can sleep on that.’ I jerk my chin towards the sofa.
‘It’s half my size.’
‘You should’ve thought about that before conspiring with my mum.’
He releases a long, weary sigh. ‘Look, I mentioned to Dianne that I’m struggling with my next novel and my deadline is approaching.
She suggested I come and write while you’re off with your family.
Dianne thought the cottage would be the perfect space for me.
We won’t have to spend much time together. ’
A laugh rips through me and he steps back, puzzled by my reaction.
‘You’ve been Dianned.’ I laugh harder at his confused face.
‘This is what she does. She gets you to agree to something by dangling what you need in your face and then you end up doing what she wants. You’ll be lucky to get five minutes to yourself. ’
‘No,’ he says and dumps his socks into the drawer I shut on him. ‘She was very supportive of my need for time and space to work.’
I almost pity him. He has no idea what’s in store for him, and I can’t wait to watch him squirm.
We’re sitting in the pergola on the lawn of the manor, looking out over the lake, and sipping tea. Adam is glowering like a child in timeout. Mum’s beside him, talking his ear off about the walk they just returned from. I shoot him a pointed look as she presses a cup into his hands.
‘Gabi, Reese and the girls are just changing into something a bit warmer,’ Mum says, her voice rising as she looks past Adam to me.
‘I hope you packed a jacket, Sabrina.’ She holds her teacup in both hands, allowing the steam to rise to her face.
‘And your dad, Uncle Max and Aunt Carol wanted to keep exploring. You’ll get to meet them, Adam, as soon as they’re back. ’
‘There’s no rush, Mum. We’re going to be together for the week.’ I lean in close to Adam. ‘We’re going to be stuck together,’ I whisper to him and he stiffens. Torturing him is helping take my mind off the fact that I’ll need to pretend I’m in love with him.
‘Are you okay, Adam?’ Mum glances at him, concern knitting her brow.
‘Just fine, Dianne.’ He forces a smile. ‘I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon working in the cottage. Thanks again for setting that up for me.’
She flaps a hand at him. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for work later. You have to meet the rest of the family first and we need to polish off this afternoon tea.’
My knees jiggle and I desperately want to rub my hands together with a maniacal cartoon-villain laugh as Adam gets more and more uncomfortable.
Mum’s phone beeps and she lets out a huff.
‘Gabi, Reese and the girls want a nap before dinner. And I don’t know where your dad has got to.
You know how he is. No sense of direction.
I thought sending Max and Carol with him would keep him from getting lost. I’ll ask Betty if she can send someone after them.
Why don’t you two enjoy the afternoon tea and then we’ll all meet back here in two hours?
Your cousin will be here by then, Sabrina.
’ She wanders away muttering about naps being a waste of holiday time.
‘Don’t say it,’ Adam mumbles.
‘You’ve been Dianned,’ I say, and I bite into a Bakewell tart, crumbs coating my lips as they spread into a triumphant grin.