A Roll in the Hay, стр. 29

She set it down in front of Tess, who was treated to an unavoidable glimpse down Susannah’s blood-red silk blouse, which seemed barely buttoned from this angle.

Tess focused on Susannah’s elegant necklace for a moment, hoping it might look as though that had caught her attention.

The smirk on Susannah’s face as she straightened confirmed she had seen right through that little ploy.

“We were just discussing that,” Adam answered for her. “And since she already has a rapport with Bobby—”

“Billie Jean,” Tess and Susannah corrected him as one.

“Right, there you go. So, yes, you get Dr Robertson. Now that you’ve seen firsthand how brilliant she is, I’m sure you know you’re in good hands.”

Tess felt her face heat up as she took the first taste of her new ale.

“Yes, I think I might be,” Susannah replied. “Still, Finn here can run you through the contract before they’re quite done for the day. I, on the other hand, have places to be.”

“Sure thing.” Finn took a seat as soon as Susannah swept out, while Dave went off to order their drinks. “Are you all ready to be bored? You’ll need your solicitor to go over all this anyway.”

“We have time,” Margo said. “Let’s go through it.”

In all the excitement over landing a new client, Tess forgot all about her new flat until the estate agent rang to ask when she’d be picking up the keys. Finally, a chance to unpack properly and start settling in.

Any residual fear that coming so close to home would send her running in a blind panic seemed to have completely faded now. Hayleith felt both familiar and just strange enough to be the right place for Tess at just the right time.

There weren’t a ton of properties to choose from in a town this small, so she was pleased that her choice was in a quiet lane that ran down the back of the pub, just far enough that any noise from the beer garden wouldn’t travel and disturb her on quiet nights in.

Tess brought Margo to see it with her after she’d picked up the keys. It was silly not to want to go in alone for the first time, but the most reliable thing in the world was Margo’s unbridled curiosity. Some would call it nosiness, but Tess was much too good a friend for that.

“Wow!” Margo said, looking around at the impressive space.

“This is nicer than I thought,” Tess said. The walls were bare and white, the ceilings high, and the windows let in a ton of natural light. A person could paint in a space like this. Shame Tess had the artistic ability of a drunk pelican. “You never know quite what to expect, no matter how many pictures are on the website.”

“I was sure it couldn’t be too bad. A nice young family had the place last time I knew the tenants. It’s such great timing that it came up now, although you’d be very welcome to stay with us as long as you want.”

“Nah.” Tess waved off the idea as they traipsed through to the kitchen. She wasn’t a bad cook, and there was actually space to move around, which was a bonus. “I know you’re itching to start on your nursery at home, and my room is the obvious choice.”

Margo blushed, utterly caught. “Still, we have a few months yet.”

“It’s time I had my own space. I’ve gone from home to uni dorms to flat-shares to living with one girlfriend and then Caroline. I don’t think I’ve ever had a house to myself for more than a week.”

“Then I hope you’ll be very happy here. Two bedrooms, right?”

“Yeah, one for me and one for Waffles. At least around here, people rent to you if you have pets.”

Margo was already off up the stairs, unable to contain herself. Tess followed, pleased that the stairs didn’t creak. Cursory inspections of the bathroom and the smaller bedroom confirmed all was well, and she hurried to join Margo in the master bedroom.

It took up half of the top floor on its own, with a full wall of windows. Tess actually spun around on the spot, completely taken with it.

“So this is where the magic will happen, eh?” Margo says. “Sorry, is it weird when I tease you about this, given the whole…you know…uni thing? I promise I really am cool with everything.”

“Honestly, Margo, I don’t even think about…you know. It’s ancient history, and we’re both living our best lives now—just about.”

It had been a while since Margo had brought up their ill-fated one-night stand during the last year of university. Tess had never asked if Adam knew—if that was the root of his unfunny jokes about threesomes. It wasn’t her business, and it wasn’t relevant to where they were now.

“You’re such a good friend,” Margo said, and she was actually getting a bit weepy. She had cried exactly three times in all the years Tess had known her, so for a moment Tess had no idea what to do.

“Fucking hormones, sorry,” Margo said.

Tess gave her a quick hug. “It’s just your mum superpowers starting to activate, don’t worry.”

“I know, I know. Who actually owns this place, by the way? Is it one of the people who lived here, then moved away?”

Tess skimmed through her emails to see if it was mentioned. She stood by the window that overlooked the quiet courtyard shared with three other town houses like this, the little brook that ran between it, and the beer garden of the pub. Tess didn’t think she’d ever get to like its name: The Spiky Thistle. Where am I? Right. Emails about the house.

“It’s actually all signed with the estate agent.” Tess got to the email with the copy of her lease. “Wait, this will have the owner’s name on it somewhere.”

And sure enough, right above Tess’s name and the company acting as agents, there was the one person she