Chapter 23
It was Isla’s day off. Not that she was anticipating having a lazy day because she wanted to get all her Christmas wrapping done and she knew it would take her the best part of the morning to get through it all.
Despite her aversion to the task, she settled down at the kitchen table with rolls of paper, Sellotape, a couple of bags of presents, a cappuccino at her side, and an iced gingerbread man for a bit of moral support.
She could have done with Penny here who would no doubt have wrapped all the gifts in a jiffy, but Isla was determined to make an occasion of it.
She’d turned on the radio to listen to some Christmas tunes as she worked.
Fortunately, she had the house to herself.
Her mum was hosting a coffee morning at the local church, her dad was hand-delivering Christmas cards in the village and beyond, and Jake had gone to play pool with some friends.
‘It’s just me and you, Oscar? And that’s the way we like it,’ she told the Pointer, who was sitting patiently at her side.
‘Okay, just the tiniest bit,’ she agreed, giving in to those imploring brown eyes and feeding him the last bite of her biscuit.
‘Now, you’ll have to wait, and we’ll go for a W-A-L-K later. ’
Isla was looking forward to meeting up with Guy and Lottie over in the fields, although she was trying not to think about it too much because every time she did, she felt her body temperature increase and a giddiness overcome her.
This whole job situation had definitely messed with her head, because she felt unusually out of control in every aspect of her life.
As Laura had promised, she’d sent over the details of the offer, and Isla had read through the specification of the role, knowing it had her name written all over it.
She actually gasped aloud reading about the salary and bonus package.
It was a considerable improvement on her previous salary and while it wasn’t the most important factor when deciding on her next job, it was certainly a consideration, especially when it might have a significant impact on her lifestyle.
One of her long-term aims was to find a property of her own.
Not to buy yet – that would still be way out of her budget – but she was at the stage where she wanted her own place to rent, where she didn’t have to worry about bumping into flatmates in the middle of the night and she could nip out to the kitchen without thinking to stop if she needed to put some clothes on.
This new job would certainly offer her the possibility to do that.
‘Now don’t they look lovely,’ said Isla to Oscar, as she stuck a bow onto the last remaining present. ‘Come on, let’s put them under the tree.’
Isla smiled. She loved how Oscar followed her every move, sticking his snout into the pile of presents as though he was an essential part of the task.
‘Right,’ she announced in a voice that Oscar understood entirely. ‘Come on then, let’s go walkies!’
Isla wasn’t sure who was more excited – her or Oscar.
It was a crisp, bright day, the sun low in the sky, the remainders of this morning’s frost still sparkling in the sunshine.
As she passed the bushes laden with holly and berries, she was reminded that she should pick some more sprigs for both the house and the shop.
She would make another trip to do that, perhaps with Jake or her mum.
As she went through the kissing gate into the field, she spotted Guy in the distance and gave him a wave.
She let Oscar off his lead and he went galloping across the field to greet Lottie, his ears flapping joyously.
Lottie was equally excitable, chasing Oscar round in circles.
Isla could feel her face and nose stinging with cold as she went to greet them.
‘Hey,’ said Guy, a friendly expression on his face. ‘How are you?’ He leaned in to hug her, leaving a kiss on her cheek.
‘Good,’ she breezed. ‘These two definitely recognise each other now, don’t they?’
‘Oh yes, they made an immediate connection, and they’ve been the best of friends ever since,’ he said, raising his eyebrows and fixing her with a stare so that Isla wasn’t sure if he was talking about them or the dogs.
She laughed and they started walking, chatting away easily about what they had been doing that day.
It was one of the many things Isla loved about being home.
The fact that she could wander out of the front door and within minutes be in stunning countryside.
Sharing that experience with someone else, Guy especially, was a bonus, as they continued walking and talking, pointing out the beauty in their surroundings.
‘I’ve had some good news this week,’ she told him. ‘A job offer from one of the big publishing firms.’
‘Really? Congratulations! Are you going to take it?’
‘I’d be a fool not to,’ she said, realising she hadn’t answered his question.
‘What good news! I guess London isn’t too far away.’
She turned her head to look at him, to try and gauge his meaning.
‘If we want to carry on seeing each other,’ he said, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. He held out his gloved hand to hers and she took it in her own. ‘I’m hoping this is for longer than just Christmas.’
She didn’t answer but simply smiled and nodded.
She hadn’t dared to look too far ahead. The new year had represented a time when she would need to make some big decisions about her career, but she realised there were other considerations now too.
Could their friendship – she could hardly call it a relationship yet – develop into something more serious?
She did really like Guy, but whether what they had together could extend beyond the bookshop and dog walking, she didn’t know.
The trip to Highbury from Bramlingham wasn’t straightforward.
It took over two hours by train, involving a couple of changes, and driving was even worse.
Not to mention the parking situation once you arrived in London.
In reality, with both of their busy schedules – Isla often worked until eight or nine o’clock at night, and that would only likely increase once she took on a new role – she couldn’t actually see it working out between them.
‘Why are you looking so sad?’ He pulled her round to face him. ‘This is what you wanted, isn’t it? The new job? I bet Diana is thrilled.’
She grimaced and lifted her shoulders to her ears.
‘Don’t tell me, you haven’t told her yet?’
‘I’m about to,’ she said with a sheepish smile, knowing that she really couldn’t put it off any longer, although it still filled her with dread imagining how that conversation might go.
They walked over the field, through the metal gate and onto the wooden bridge where they stopped for a moment to peer into the river below, the dogs padding back and forth, eager to move on.
Then they went through the second gate and into the next field, following the path winding its way in front of them.
They met a couple of fellow dog walkers who they said hello to, but other than them, they didn’t see a soul.
They looped around, taking a cut-through to the back path, having walked about three miles, and ending up in the first field, climbing the slight incline to the bench on top of the mound that give far-reaching views over the surrounding countryside.
‘Hey, I’ve got something for us. Come on.’ Guy invited her to sit down and pulled out a thermos flask from the large inside pocket of his wax jacket. ‘Coffee?’ he said with a wide smile.
‘My goodness. You really do think of everything.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t provide marshmallows or whipped cream, but it’s the next best thing, and it’s warming, if nothing else.’ He poured the coffee into two cups and handed her one. ‘I hope you thought to bring the cakes,’ he said, pursing his lips to one side, an expectant look on his face.
She laughed. ‘I’m sorry. I’m pretty rubbish at keeping to my side of the arrangement, aren’t I? I must try harder.’
The coffee was welcome and they sat side by side on the bench looking out across the fields, watching Oscar and Lottie mooching about and playing together.
She took at glance at Guy, noticing the strong, defined lines of his profile, the way his mouth naturally upturned at the corners, and his enviably long, dark eyelashes. Annoyingly, it took her several coatings of thick black mascara to achieve the same effect.
‘The bookshop won’t be the same without you,’ he said, and she nodded her agreement.
‘I’ll certainly miss it, and the customers, and Heathcliff too, of course.
’ They’d only recently made friends and now she would be leaving him behind which, considering they hadn’t got off to the best start, and she wasn’t even a cat person, saddened her.
‘I’ve had such a great time. It will be a wrench,’ she admitted.
‘Anyway, you’re here to stay? You’ve put down roots here by the sounds of things. ’
‘I have. It was about time. I’m getting on. I’m thirty-four now.’
‘Woah! That old?’ She laughed. ‘I know what you mean, though. You get into your late twenties and people start asking if you’re thinking of getting married, having children, all those kinds of heavy questions. I’m always like, “Mind your own business!” As you can imagine, Mum is the worst for it.’
Guy laughed. ‘I can imagine. And at the risk of doing that exact thing that you hate, have you ever come close? I mean, had any long-term relationships.’
‘Not since school and my first love. He broke my heart, and then we went our separate ways to university.’
‘The swine!’ said Guy, in a vehement exclamation of support.
‘I know, right,’ said Isla with a grin. ‘He came into the shop recently actually, with his beautiful wife and child.’ She exhaled an audible sigh. ‘I hadn’t seen him in years.’
‘Absolute swine!’ said Guy.
‘Yep,’ agreed Isla. ‘I’ve had a few short-term relationships since then, lots of dates, but nothing serious.’
Her gaze drifted off into the distance, her thoughts taken up with her almost non-existent romantic life these last few years.
Normally, she wasn’t one for much introspection, or time spent mulling over her own thoughts, but losing her job had made her question all her life choices, wondering if she’d been far too focussed on her career, at the expense of everything else.
She needed to find some more balance in her life.
‘What about you?’ she asked, curious to know.
‘I was a late developer,’ he admitted with a wry smile.
‘In my teens, I was too focussed on football to be interested in girls. Then when my career was over, well, before it had even started really, I went off the rails and basically just partied for a couple of years. Lots of booze, lots of girls, lots of stuff I can barely even remember. After that, once I’d got my act together, my longest relationship was for about two years, but there’s been nothing serious since. ’
He hadn’t admitted to as much, but she could imagine how Guy might have broken a few hearts along the way.
‘Thanks for the coffee,’ she said, returning the cup, the warmth it had provided now long since gone as she shivered in her thick coat.
‘Come on, let’s get moving again. It’s freezing, not that it seems to bother these two.
’ The dogs were still busy exploring with their noses to the ground, the scents leading them in every possibly direction, their tails held high.
Isla and Guy followed them down the hill and back on the main path.
‘We should celebrate the new job, don’t you think?
Let’s go for dinner or…’ He faltered for a moment.
‘Why don’t I cook for you instead? I can show you my place. ’
‘That sounds inviting,’ she said, genuinely intrigued to see where he lived and if it might offer any more glimpses into his personality. The prospect of spending more time with Guy was certainly appealing. Although whether she was ready to celebrate the new job offer yet, she wasn’t certain.