Let me know when ur back. Could go for lunch? Mx

Though she wasn’t ready to sit face to face with Miles and chat over bruschetta as though nothing had happened, there was no point pretending he was an unknown caller either. Well done, Miles, she murmured as she opened up her contacts list and typed in, M.i.l.e.s. C.o.n.r.o.y. As always, he’d managed to wiggle his way in, like a splinter under the skin. Yes, he was a jerk but there was something reassuring about the familiarity. Jemima’s fingers tapped the SAVE button. She put the phone back in her pocket and took one final look at Chance before marching home. Not bothered, not bothered, not bothered at all, she declared.

Chapter 25

Meagan

Meagan cupped her hand around her phone, making sure Glenn the contractor, was out of earshot. He’d already been privy to far too many of her private calls.

‘Todd, I’ve got this refurb on lockdown. Back off,’ Meagan hissed into her phone.

This whole keeping-Todd-at-arm’s-length thing was proving harder than she thought.

‘I don’t get you. Who couldn’t use a spare pair of hands?’

‘The only thing I want your hands to do isn’t allowed because… say it with me, Todd,’ Meagan toned like a kindergarten teacher.

‘Because you’re playing this silly dating game. Fine but don’t come running to me when you need someone to paint into the top corners of the room,’ he scoffed.

‘Have you heard of ladders? Bye, Todd,’ said Meagan hanging up.

Meagan kissed her teeth long and hard. She had this sorted and if she did need assistance, of all the people she was going to draft in, her fuck buddy was the last of them. She glowered at the open doorway of her office as Glenn whistled tunelessly in the other room. She’d selected her door three weeks ago yet was still staring at the insufferable drape Glenn had hung in its place. Where was her door, why did everything take so long and what was Glenn whistling?

‘Glenn,’ she growled, unable to take the noise any longer.

The trill warbling stopped and Glenn poked his head into the room.

‘Don’t you normally head off around now?’ Meagan enquired.

‘My pilates class isn’t for another hour so I thought I’d redo the gloss work.’

His head vanished and the whistling started again, louder than before.

Meagan gritted her teeth as she conceded, Glenn’s extended tenure might be slightly her fault. It hadn’t dawned on her that scheduling the flooring people on the same day as the gloss work was a page one, schoolgirl error. Glenn’s oh deary, deary, me-ing had felt like nails on a chalkboard. So she’d made a mistake. That didn’t mean she needed a knight in shining armour. She was her own cavalry and always had been. The sooner people got that, the easier life would be for everyone. Sure, it would have been nice to see Todd, mainly because she missed the sex but the refurb first aid, the flowers, the chocolates and heart emojis, she did not need or want. What happened to the cursory ‘hi’ followed by a frantic quickie? One time they’d got down to it so fast it was only afterwards she realised she still had her handbag on her shoulder. That’s what she missed. As Glenn’s whistling scored into her soul, Meagan decided it was time to call it a night. Her manicure was scheduled for six thirty and that was the only painting she was interested in. And after, she would meet the girls and play another round of their daft dating game. She shut down her computer and headed out.