Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117740 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“A girl after my own heart. I’m a bit tea’d out after my recent jaunt through East Asia. It wasn’t forced on me, but I did rather make it my personal business to try as many different types as I could.”
I didn’t understand the fascination with tea. Susan was always telling me that I just hadn’t found the right tea yet, but who had the time for that?
If I was going to look for anything, it’d be a hot sugar daddy who’d fall for me at first sight and gift me the allotment ownership papers in place of an engagement ring.
I hopped out of the van and locked her behind me, following Eleanor towards the coffee shop on the corner. She nattered on about her recent trip, but I was only half-listening.
And she knew.
Nothing much got past this woman, so I didn’t bother hide it at all. I’d learnt well from my mother in that it was utterly useless to hide my inattention, but Eleanor didn’t seem to care. I suspected she just wanted to talk about her trip to someone who wasn’t going to ask her to stop, and I needed to listen to something other than the sound of my own voice inside my head.
I was only talking myself into circles, and God only knew the voices were crazy enough without me making them dizzy.
We ordered our coffees, with Eleanor beating me to paying, and took a cosy corner table away from the busiest part of the shop.
“Well, thank you for letting me ramble on about that,” she said. “Even though you weren’t truly listening.”
I winced, but she only responded with a grin.
“At least you pretended to. Do you know what that darling son of mine does? He grunts and goes, ‘Yes, Mother, it sounds lovely, but can you tell me later?’ Which simply translates to, ‘I have no idea what you’re prattling on about, so do bugger off.”
“Huh. He just tells me to shut up,” I mused.
She laughed, stirring her coffee. “That’s because you’re under his skin, dear.”
“I don’t want to be under his anything, thank you very much.”
“Oh, come now, we both know that isn’t true.” She leant in conspiratorially, as if we were plotting to go all Guy Fawkes on the government, and the twinkle in her eye made me want to run away. “I know everything.”
I sincerely hoped she didn’t.
I coughed into my fist, looking away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy. I can only imagine how much you have on your mind knowing that you’d met before he arrived in Hanbury.”
Oh.
That.
She knew about the one-night stand… Or she’d put two and two together after finding out we already knew each other.
“Yes, well…” I trailed off, turning my attention to my coffee. “It’s hardly an ideal situation to find oneself in.”
“Indeed, indeed.” She paused. “Especially since you seem to know one another very well.”
I looked at her sharply. I knew what she was implying. She absolutely knew what we’d done in his office that day.
Please, God, never let her find out about the shed.
I would take the shed sex to my grave.
Not even Isadora would ever discover that dirty little escapade.
“Now, I’m not meddling,” she quickly said. “You’re both grown adults, and what your relationship is is your business, but I do have one teeny, tiny, little question.”
I wasn’t going to like that question, was I?
Barely holding back a groan, I said, “Go on.”
“What are the chances of you becoming my daughter-in-law?”
And just like that, I choked on the mouthful of coffee my stupid arse had just taken.
“Lower than zero,” I croaked out, gratefully accepting the napkin she offered so I could wipe away the bits that had exploded out of my mouth.
“That’s a shame. I think you could keep that wayward little bugger in line.”
“Yes, because I’m doing such a wonderful job of making him listen to me right now,” I said dryly.
She waved her hand. “Every man is trainable, dear.”
“If I wanted a dog, I’d go and adopt one,” I replied. “So, thank you, but I think I’ll pass. Hopefully, your future daughter-in-law is a gardening-hating, city-dwelling young lady who will keep your ‘wayward little bugger’ in London, never mind in line.”
“Dear me, Rose. If you keep talking like that, I might start thinking that you actually do dislike him.”
“What was it you said a few minutes ago? It was our business and you weren’t going to meddle?” I raised my eyebrows, smiling teasingly.
She paused before quickly shrugging and brushing it off as if she’d never said such a thing. “You’re too smart for me.”
I was for many people, but my mother told me that wasn’t something I should say out loud.
It was offensive to call stupid people stupid, apparently. I didn’t agree—how else would they know they were in the presence of greatness if I didn’t announce myself?