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)
My jaw slackened, and I stared at my mother, open-mouthed.
“Wait. I’m invested.” Luke choked back a laugh. “She resents him? Are you telling me he’s making a production of not selling the allotments for a woman who resents him?”
Thank God I hadn’t kicked him out a minute ago.
He was asking the important questions here.
“Well, it’s not that shocking,” Mum replied. “He was selling her favourite place in the world. It’d be weirder if she didn’t hold any resentment for him, don’t you think?”
I slumped back in the chair.
“Don’t slouch so, dear. You’ll wrinkle your jacket.”
“What am I doing?” I muttered, pressing my fingers to my forehead. “How am I supposed to run a business and an estate when I’m this bloody stupid?”
“Been asking myself that for years,” Mum trilled. “You’re not entirely stupid, son. Academically speaking, you’re exceptionally intelligent. You just have the emotional intelligence of a slab of granite. I blame your grandfather.”
“Here.” I held out my leg. “Kick me a bit more while I’m down, why don’t you?”
“Might knock some sense into you,” Luke said, finally sitting down next to Mum. “So, you’re in love with Rose, and she resents you.”
“Oh, no,” Mum said, patting his shoulder. “A little bit of her might, but it’s quite clear that both of them are harbouring some complicated feelings for each other. This one looks at her like she’s personally switching on each star at night, and she looks at him like she either wants to kill him or kiss him. Granted, she did ask me how tall he is so she could dig a grave for him, but perhaps she’s into that kind of thing.”
“Mother, please,” I mumbled.
“Oh, it’s hardly a secret. Everyone knows there’s something going on between the two of you. Why, they’ve even started a betting ring. Which one of you will give in first or something like that. Susan told me I can’t bet because I’m an insider, so I gave her a cheeky little tip in exchange for ten percent of her winnings.”
Mum examined her nails like she hadn’t just told me she’d actively participated in a betting ring over her son’s relationship.
I looked at Luke. “I heard that right, didn’t I?”
Luke glanced at me. “What, er…” He leant in towards Mum. “What are the options?”
Dear God.
“Oliver will cancel the sale for her, or he’ll go through with it, and she’ll never speak to him again.”
“Oh,” Luke said. “Well, we already know how that ends.”
“The secondary bet is what happens if he does cancel the sale. Will she accept his token of love, or will she hit him with her spade and tell him to piss off?”
“Ooh. The second one.”
I stood up with a sigh. “Given that she’s thinking of dumping me before we’ve even started a relationship, you might be right.”
“Then why not just sell the land anyway?” Luke shrugged. “Think about it. Your lives are so different, Oli. Everything we’re doing tonight is everything she would hate. She loves her quiet little countryside life. These suits and fancy dresses in a loud city are probably her worst nightmare.”
I looked away, not wanting to acknowledge his words. I knew all of that. I knew there were huge differences in our lives and what our commitments and priorities were, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to try.
If she rejected me after I gave her the papers giving the allotment committee stewardship of the land, I would respect her wishes and walk away.
But if she didn’t reject me, if she accepted my feelings for her, if she returned those same feelings, I wanted to try.
If I didn’t, it would be the biggest regret of my life.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said quietly, turning back to them both. “A life here, a life there… The only life I want is one where she’s in it—one where she’s smiling. Even if she rejects me, I won’t change my mind and sell the land. I know how beautiful her smile is, and I would never forgive myself if I’m the reason she loses it. I want to give her a reason to smile. Even if her smiles aren’t for me when this is all said and done, then it’s fine. The fact she still has it will be enough for me.”
“But—”
Mum rested her hand on Luke’s arm and gently shook her head. “Remember when Oli wasn’t sure about you getting back together with Millie, but you did it anyway?”
He hesitated. “Yeah, I remember.”
“He trusted your decision, even if he didn’t agree with it,” she reminded him. “You may not agree that Rose is right for him, but it’s his decision, Luke. No matter how good a place your concern comes from, sometimes you have to take a step back, even if you think the other person is making a mistake.”