Country Affairs. Zara Stoneley

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter 2

      Apart from the humiliation of having to watch her lover being marched across the sand away from her, what had really bothered Lottie on the beach that day was that she hadn’t even been wearing a decent bikini.

      It was one thing Gran bringing her up with the belief that one should always wear decent knickers, just in case one was run over, but whoever warned you that your beachwear should be up to the scrutiny of a half a dozen very sexy members of the Spanish Mossos?

      If it hadn’t been for her new best buddy, Pip, who had helped her cram everything into her rucksack, booked emergency plane tickets and escorted her all the way back to Tippermere, Lottie wasn’t sure what would have happened next in her life.

      Meeting journalist Pip Keelan in Barcelona had been a godsend. She was all the things Lottie wasn’t – organised and logical in everything, including her love life. The fact that she’d then actually decided to hang around and adopt Lottie’s home village as her own, and then proceeded to bring her own brand of fun and mayhem to Tippermere life was a source of constant amazement.

      It seemed that for Pip country life was the perfect antidote to the city living that had started to turn stale, and the fit men were a bonus. And the fact that she was semi shacked-up with the fittest farrier for miles appeared to suit her fine.

      ‘He is so, so fit. How come you know so many hot men, Lot’s?’ Tabatha’s wistful tone brought Lottie back to the present and she glanced at the teenager, who was gazing longingly after her rapidly disappearing horse and the careering quad bike. Then her gaze fixed on Rory, who was alternating between waving his fist and frantically grabbing at the handlebars as he rocketed off course.

      ‘I’m not sure this lawn will ever be the same again.’ Amanda Stanthorpe, owner of all she surveyed, joined them, but seemed more preoccupied with what had been an immaculate expanse of green, than the cause of the destruction.

      Agreeing to host the wedding at Folly Lake Manor had seemed the neighbourly thing to do, even if she did like everything neat and tidy. But Amanda did truly love the people she’d met in Tippermere and Kitterly Heath, and this had seemed the perfect way to thank them for everything they’d done for her.

      After the death of her billionaire husband, Marcus, they had made her feel part of the community and, in fact, had made her feel worth something again. From the loveable Lottie and daredevil Rory to the scheming Elizabeth. From the unprincipled Pip and the brooding Mick, to the gruff Billy and charming Tiggy, and from the perfectly handsome Tom to his outwardly difficult, but inwardly, sweet daughter, Tab, they were all like the family she wished she’d had.

      Even the glamorous, but warm-hearted and generous Sam and her charming footballer husband had supported her.

      And, of course, there was dear, reserved and very proper Dominic. Her husband. She loved them all, but she loved him most of all.

      And there was the crux of the matter, the main reason for hosting the wedding. It was a generous gesture of goodwill from Dominic, her husband, towards Billy Brinkley, the groom. Mending fences, building bridges.

      Dominic and Billy had been childhood friends, but affection had turned to hatred after Alexandra, Lottie’s mother, had died in a tragic accident. Both men had outwardly blamed each other, but inwardly carried a burden of guilt for something that neither was actually responsible for. And it had taken Lottie and her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth, to unravel the puzzle and make them see sense. Make them see that neither was to blame for the death of Alexa – Dominic’s sister, Billy’s wife, Lottie’s mother. Force them to acknowledge that hate and disapproval wouldn’t bring her back.

      Amanda sighed as all of a sudden the city girl in her, who she’d hoped had been quashed down, rose up in anguish. She loved Lottie, truly adored her, but the girl seemed doomed to a life of chaos and untidy disorder. And cavorting on horses was just not what she’d expected at this wedding, well at any wedding. Much as she’d tried to involve herself in equestrian life and appreciate the beauty of the massive animals, surely horses belonged in fields?

      ‘Are СКАЧАТЬ