The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

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      He shrugged. ‘Just like whenever.’

      ‘I’ll want you home for dinner though, okay?’

      ‘Probably,’ he sighed, clearly overwhelmed by the relentless questioning.

      ‘I can come and collect you from Mark’s house. Just text me but don’t make it too late please,’ Eva said squashing the sandwich with an apple and yogurt into his lunchbox. He nodded taking his empty bowl over to the sink.

      ‘You go and brush your teeth and I’ll get Hamish ready for his walk.’

      Going over to Hamish’s basket, Eva stroked his velvety ears realizing just how grateful she was to have his company these days. She thought of the hours stretching ahead of her. Winter days could be long on her own and she was glad she had the bedroom to finish today.

      She turned to Hamish, the cereal incident now forgotten. ‘Come on, boy, it’s you and me again. Time for your walk.’ Hearing the magic word, Hamish jumped out of his basket and barked excitedly. Eva insisted on leaving the house together even though Jamie went to meet his friends to walk to school while she took Hamish in the opposite direction to the beach. When they were all ready to leave, Eva opened the front door, relieved to see it had stopped raining.

      As if they had synchronized it, Eva heard her new neighbour’s front door shut at the exact moment she closed her own and, glancing over, she saw Ben Matthews leave his house. She turned to Jamie and spoke between gritted teeth.

      ‘Come on, we don’t want to be late.’ If they hurried they might miss him. It went against every bone in her body, but she didn’t want to come face to face with Ben Matthews this morning and try to be friendly. A simple acknowledgement might be interpreted as unwanted attention.

      Her mind was still processing their first meeting last night and she didn’t know what to think. All she had wanted was neighbours like the MacKenzies but clearly that wasn’t going to happen.

      ‘We’re not late, Mum. We’re never late,’ Jamie huffed, well used to his mother’s efficient timekeeping.

      ‘Well we don’t want to start today, do we?’

      Halfway down the path, her plan to forge ahead was thwarted by Hamish who stopped abruptly and cocked his leg, having found the perfect spot for his morning pee, which always took ages. Perfect. Waiting as patiently as she could while Hamish did his business, Eva surreptitiously glanced over at Ben now walking down his garden path. His navy suit looked expensive and showed off his broad chest and long legs but wasn’t something she’d expect a university teacher to wear. With Hamish finished they continued down the path where to her surprise, Ben had made a point of waiting for them.

      ‘Morning.’

      His tone was formal and his expression uncertain. Part of her hoped he might not be quite as handsome as she remembered last night. But looking at him now she knew there was no chance of that. If anything he was more attractive than she remembered. Unlike the previous evening he was clean-shaven, revealing the shape of a strong jawline, and his dark hair was neatly swept back. Up close Eva noticed he looked tired, but the shadows under his eyes didn’t take away from the potency of his gaze.

      ‘Hello,’ Eva replied, trying for a nonchalance she wasn’t feeling.

      ‘I wanted to thank you for the soup last night – and the heating.’ He looked down at the ground and rubbed a hand around the back of his neck, a gesture Eva found annoyingly attractive. Deciding to accept this little interchange as an apology of sorts for his abruptness last night, she returned his smile.

      ‘No problem,’ she said, turning to Jamie who was mucking about with Hamish. She looked at him encouragingly. ‘Jamie, this is our new neighbour: Ben Matthews. This is my son: Jamie.’ She put her hand on his shoulder, unable to keep the pride from her voice.

      ‘Hi, Jamie. Nice to meet you.’ He smiled and it was a proper smile that transformed his face – nothing like the scowl he had worn last night Eva noted. She really must have caught him at a bad moment. Ben held out his hand, in a proper man-to-man way, which her son responded to albeit rather self-consciously. Eva watched them. For some inexplicable reason this moment felt significant. She was relieved to see her son act politely but could tell he was eager to be off and meet his friends, his eyes scanning the street. Ben nodded towards the racquet on Jamie’s shoulder.

      ‘You play badminton?’

      Jamie did a double take now, clearly impressed that their new neighbour, unlike Eva, could recognize a badminton racquet when he saw one.

      ‘Yeah, I go to a club after school,’ he explained just before his attention was diverted by a call from one of his friends. ‘Fraser’s waiting for me, Mum. Remember the trip! I need to know,’ he called back as he ran off.

      ‘I will. Be careful! Love you!’ The rush of words left her mouth as she watched him go. She turned to Ben and blushed, aware she probably sounded like a madwoman. She cleared her throat. ‘So, your first day at the university then?’

      He nodded. ‘I thought I would use the walk to try and get my bearings.’

      ‘Are you going to the main building or the physics building?’

      He shot her a surprised look. ‘Um, the physics building.’

      ‘Just walk to the end of this road, turn right onto Doubledykes Road, and take the second left into Kennedy Gardens. From there, you’ll start to see university buildings, which are all signposted. You should easily find the physics building.’

      ‘That’s helpful, thanks.’

      ‘No problem. Oh, and I returned your house keys this morning through your letterbox. Did you get them?’

      ‘Yes, I did.’ He looked down again, his eyes not meeting hers.

      On a roll, Eva continued. ‘There’s also a gap in the fence between our gardens, which I’ll come and fix.’

      ‘That’s all right, I can get someone in –’

      ‘No, I can do it. I’ve already got the replacement panels. I just need to measure and cut them to size, then nail them in. Easy.’

      He regarded her for a moment before replying. ‘Of course. I forgot how practical you are.’

      ‘Good. That’s settled then.’

      Out of the corner of her eye, Eva saw a familiar car trundling along the road towards them. Eva knew immediately it was Heather who had just dropped Fraser. Grinning like a maniac, she flew by in her people carrier full of assorted children. Not only did she have her own three boys, she was also a childminder and every morning she could be found depositing various children at various locations.

      Seeing Eva and Ben, she blasted her car horn, giving a thumbs-up sign. Eva groaned inwardly, hoping Ben didn’t see her friend’s gesture. ‘My friend Heather on the school run,’ she explained with a weak laugh just as Hamish, for reasons best known to himself, decided to launch himself at Ben’s legs. Thankfully Hamish’s front paws only just made contact but enough for two small muddy stains to appear on his trouser leg.

      ‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ Eva looked in horror and СКАЧАТЬ