“When we hang up, sit down for five minutes and think this through seriously. With your head, not your heart. I’m in full support of whatever you decide. If you’re still sure after the five minutes, then go for it. Stuff the job and get your backside up here. And don’t even think about renting somewhere, you daft bugger. You’re my husband, for Christ’s sake! Of course you’ll live here, with me. I’m having spare keys cut as we speak—for all of you. Though keep that to yourself for now. It’s a surprise. Seems today is full of them, huh?”
“It certainly is. And I swear I won’t breathe a word to the others.” He huffed out a heavy breath. “Wow. Big stuff. Okay, time’s ticking on, and I don’t want to miss my boss, or for you to miss getting in touch with the farm guy, so I’ll say goodbye and start my five minutes. I’ll text you when I’ve decided, all right?”
“Please do. I’m on tenterhooks here. My heart’s pounding.”
“Mine too. Speak soon, darling. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Once she’d heard the click of Elias hanging up, she immediately hurried back to her desk, sat down, and pulled up Simon Spraxton’s email. She scrolled to the bottom, found his telephone number, and typed it into her phone. After taking a deep breath to try to calm her racing pulse, she pressed the call button. She didn’t need to wait until Elias’s five minutes were up—she was ninety-nine percent sure what his decision was going to be. Though there was a slight chance his boss might talk him out of it. Either way, it couldn’t hurt to get the full details of Spraxton’s proposal now, could it?
Chapter Fifteen
Mia didn’t even bother answering when the front gate buzzer sounded. She’d already seen Elias’s Audi approaching on the CCTV screen, so she pressed the button to let him in, then hurried outside, almost tripping over her own feet in her haste to get there.
She was waiting on the steps at the front of the house, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet, when Elias pulled the car up and parked it. As soon as he opened the door, she shot around to meet him and he just barely managed to stay upright as she launched herself into his arms.
“Bloody hell, Mia!” he said, laughing. “What a greeting! Have you overdosed on caffeine today?”
Rolling her eyes, she replied, “What can I say? I’m excited. For me, for you, for us.” She linked her hands behind his neck and pulled his face down so she could kiss him. Only this morning, she hadn’t been entirely sure when she’d see her husband next, and now he was on her doorstep—and it looked like he was here to stay. Deep down, she’d been worried about how things would work out long term—not just with Elias, but with the others, too. But it seemed life, or fate, had solved that particular issue when it came to Elias, at least. And she couldn’t be happier about it.
Thomas had gone through a similar range of emotions when she’d filled him in, too. Shock, surprise, understanding, delight—and many more besides. He’d also offered to throw together a celebratory meal at the cottage ready for when Elias arrived, and Mia had jumped at the opportunity, since it got her out of cooking, and gave her time to clear out a few more emails and get things straightened out in her bedroom.
“Congratulations on quitting your job,” she said, when they finally broke apart. She took in his casual outfit of jeans, polo shirt and trainers. He’d clearly been eager to remove the shackles of his office ‘uniform’. “How are you feeling?”
He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. But I can tell you the moment I told my boss, then politely but firmly resisted his attempts to change my mind, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true.”
“Well,” she slipped her hand into his and squeezed it, “that’s a great start. You might not be entirely sure what the future holds, but if leaving that part of your past behind feels so good, then you’ve done the right thing. Onwards and upwards is the only way to go, right?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled, then closed the car door and, apparently unwilling to let go out her hand, led Mia around to the boot, where he used his free hand to retrieve his bag and a suit carrier. “I haven’t brought too much stuff with me. I figured the last thing you needed was for me to bring tons when you haven’t figured out where it’s all going to go yet. I can pop to London whenever and collect some more. It’s no bother. Actually,” his eyes lit up, “I could try to fit it in with Alex’s days off, and bring him back with me for a couple of days.” He pressed the button to close the car boot.
“Great idea, but I can top it. I’ll come with you. We’ll head down and fill him in on the plans, and I’ll deliver his house keys in person. I was going to courier them along with a note, but this will be so much more fun. He’ll be so surprised. I take it you haven’t spoken to him yet?”
Elias shook his head. “Haven’t had chance. Plus I don’t know what time he’s working until today. He can’t exactly drop everything and answer the phone, can he?”
“Not exactly, no. Let’s keep all this quiet for now then, shall we? The business plans, you moving in… we’ll visit him on his next day off and spring it on him.”
With a chuckle, Elias replied, “We’re going to blow his mind! And Tom? Arjun? Do they know what’s going on?”
“Tom does. As soon as I arranged the meeting with Spraxton, I went to find him and told him everything. Speaking of the devil, we should dump your stuff and head to the cottage. He’s cooking dinner.”
“Excellent. The man’s a godsend. I’m starving.” He locked the car, and they made their way to the house.
“Me too. Oh, you should add these to your keyring,” she said, handing him the set of keys she’d pulled from her pocket.
He took them with a smile. “Thank you. I would be delighted.” They entered the main house, where Elias placed his bag at the bottom of the stairs, zipped his new set of keys safely into the side pocket along with his car keys, and hung the hook of his suit carrier over the top of the cloakroom door. “And Arjun?” he prompted.
“Oh yes. No,” she shook her head, “I haven’t spoken to him yet. It’s all happened so fast—today’s been nuts. Oh! I almost forgot; I spoke with James and Betty earlier. Had ‘the big talk’ with them. Everything’s out in the open now, and they’ve assured me it won’t go any further.”
Elias stopped, pulling her to a halt, and turned to her open-mouthed. “Bloody hell, Mia. You have had quite the day, haven’t you? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t deliberate—I just got swept up in all the business stuff. Then you made your big decision and… suddenly it wasn’t as important as everything else.”
“Of course it damn well is, darling. How did they take it?” His eyes darkened, clearly imagining all kinds of possible responses.
“Well, actually. I’m still shocked about just how well. Betty, of course, was the most vocal, and I thought she was going to be horrified, or disgusted. Or both.” She started walking, tugging Elias along with her. “Come on, Tom’ll be waiting. But although she was shocked, she ultimately doesn’t have a problem with it. She couldn’t decide whether to be jealous or impressed.” She chuckled. “James was much quieter—he hasn’t really expressed an opinion either way—but I’m taking the fact he went and got the keys cut for me, then came back and headed straight to the job he’d been doing before I told him as a positive. He’s clearly not intending to leave. But this is going to take lots of adjustment for all of us. All we can do is take each day as it comes.” They passed through the kitchen and out the back door, closing it behind them and continuing along the path to Thomas’s cottage. The light was beginning to disappear, but the warmth of the summer day lingered on. With it, the scent of plants and flowers.
“True.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m really glad they seem to be all right with it. I know it was a huge worry for you.”
“Thanks. Me too. Oh, have you told your family what’s going on?”
He gave her the side eye. “What do you think? It’s literally only just happened. I don’t think they’d be too impressed about how all spur of the moment it’s been. So I’m going to hang on until I’ve got something else sorted before I tell them. If I can impress or intrigue them with my new career, they might not be too focussed on what I’ve left behind. Though I’m sure they’ll be delighted I’m now living with my wife at last. They simply couldn’t get their heads around us living apart, no matter how many times I explained the reasons for it.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I speak to them that often, anyway. I’ve probably got a few weeks before Mother starts complaining that I don’t phone her enough.”
They fell silent then, which emphasised the sound of their footsteps crunching along the gravel paths.
Elias waved his free hand around them, indicating the gardens. “This all looks great, considering Tom’s been away for three weeks. The stand-in worked out, then?”
“Mmm-hmm. Tom’s really pleased with him—says he’d be happy to hire him again in future.”
“Excellent. Though…” he peered at her from the corner of his eye, “you know I’d be willing to work in the gardens from time to time. I don’t mean for money—just to lend a hand. I don’t quite know how things are going to pan out for me job-wise yet, but if I find myself with spare time, I’d happily spend it mucking in here, helping Tom out. If he’d let me, that is.” They stepped beneath the trees, signalling that it wouldn’t be long before the cottage came into view.
She chuckled. “That’s something you’ll have to take up with him. He’s very precious about people getting their hands on his plants. He only let Bobby do certain jobs—cut the grass, dead-heading, weeding, general tidying… you get the idea.”
“Fair enough. I don’t mind being a dogsbody. I’ll mention it to him sometime—when all this business stuff is sorted out.”
“You do that.” She smiled at the thought of the two of them hanging out together in the gardens. That was immediately followed by the thought that they might well hang out together for pleasure, as well as work. They had developed a friendship, after all, and holidays aside, neither she nor the men wanted to be in each other’s pockets twenty-four-seven. It wasn’t healthy. So if they wanted to have boys’ time without her, that suited her just fine.
Her smile widened as something else occurred to her. Now Elias was going to be living here, when she travelled into London to see Alex, she wouldn’t be leaving Thomas all alone—albeit it with Harry—and feeling crappy about it.
Yes, it was all starting to work out, to click into place. She had her house, her land, her job, and two of her men close by. Given his work with the local university, Arjun would likely be stopping by at least once a week—maybe even staying over. And she planned to visit Alex whenever she could. She wouldn’t be surprised if Elias came along occasionally—he and Alex had lived close by for so long that she figured it’d be hard for them not to see each other so frequently, too.
When they reached the cottage, Mia knocked on the door then opened up. “Honey, we’re home!” she called out.
Thomas appeared in the archway between the living room and kitchen, a huge smile on his face. “Great timing, honeys,” he replied teasingly, “dinner’s almost ready.”
Harry dashed out from the depths of the kitchen and scampered excitedly towards Mia and Elias. Apparently he couldn’t decide who to greet first, so he contented himself by bounding around both of them, his tongue lolling out as he panted heavily.
Pulling the door closed quickly to stop Harry getting out, Elias said, “Smells amazing, whatever it is.”
As Mia and Elias removed their shoes, Thomas replied, “Nothing fancy. Gammon, egg, pineapple, and chips.”
Elias groaned with pleasure, then strode over to the other man and clapped him on the shoulder. “God, if I weren’t already married to Mia, I’d marry you, I reckon.”
Thomas rolled his eyes, then spun on his heel and moved back into the kitchen. Mia, Elias and Harry followed, the latter considerably more closely. “It’s not a big deal. It all kicked off for you two, so it made sense for me to step in and put some food in our bellies. Surely that’s one of the perks of us living how we do—we all pitch in and help out whenever necessary. Pick up the slack. It’s really no different to how it’s been for months now, except there’s one extra mouth to feed, sometimes two, if Arjun is here. It’s not like Mia and I have been cooking and eating separately this whole time—that’s just daft.
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow, then?” Thomas gestured they should sit down while he plated up their food. Harry loitered hopefully near to the oven, probably wishing for a slip up that might mean a titbit ended up on the floor.
Mia responded as she pulled glasses from the cupboard, ready to make drinks. “The three of us are going to meet with Darren Ayre first thing, have a chat, and take a look around the place. Then Elias and I are heading out to Barton Hill straight afterwards. You’re welcome to come along, Tom, if you’d like?”
“Actually,” Elias put in, pointing to the bottle of lemonade Mia now held in one hand and giving her a thumbs-up, “if you can spare the time to come with us, I’d really appreciate it. Another pair of eyes and brain are always useful in these situations, particularly since you’re so good with plants. I need to know I’m not buying a farm full of diseased trees. Thank you,” he added to Mia, as she handed him the glass of lemonade she’d poured.
Thomas turned from the worktop with a plate in each hand, carefully steering around the puppy, and placed them in front of Elias and Mia, who’d now poured them all drinks and had taken her seat. They thanked him. As he grabbed his own plate, he said, “I can make the time, if you want me to be there. Though I’m no expert on fruit trees. I’ll certainly take a peek, but I can’t guarantee anything. If that’s something you’re worried about, I can look into finding someone who knows what’s what when it comes to orchards.” He slid his own plate onto the table and took his chair. Harry immediately sidled up next to him. Thomas shook his head, then ignored him.
“Great,” Elias said. “That’s settled then. Thanks.”
“No problem, mate. This is all very exciting. Congratulations, both of you. Now eat up. You too, Mia.”
She hadn’t realised she’d been staring between the two of them as they’d talked and not paying any attention to her meal. But now as she looked down at it, and the delicious waft of food scents filled her nostrils, her mouth watered. She picked up her cutlery and dug in, a sense of contentment settling over her. Spending time together on honeymoon had been amazing, but it was wonderful to see her men getting along in their regular home life, too.
Regular home life. Is that what this is? As the thought flitted through her mind, a worry attached itself to it. Up until now, although she and Thomas hadn’t been living together in the proper sense, when they were home, they generally spent the night together, either in the house or his cottage. Since Harry’s arrival, it had been in the cottage, since that’s where all his stuff and the crate he slept in at night were kept. It had always meant someone sneaking out before James and Betty turned up the following morning, which was no longer a concern, but they’d fallen into a comfortable routine. Now, though, Elias was going to be around full time. What did that mean for her and Thomas? Nobody had said anything outright, but it was assumed that Elias would be moving into her bedroom with her. Which was perfectly fine—she had no interest in them being one of those couples who had separate bedrooms—but at the same time she didn’t want Thomas to feel left out or pushed aside.
She stifled a sigh and dug into her food with gusto. Damn it. Every time something works out for the best, another issue presents itself. Just because I’ve stopped attempting to control things, doesn’t mean I don’t worry about them. But then she reminded herself that things had worked out fine while they’d been away, and all five of them had had separate bedrooms—separate homes, even, albeit next door to each other. She chewed thoug
htfully on some gammon and pineapple, enjoying the mixture of flavours on her tongue. Maybe they should have separate bedrooms, after all? Not so they could all sleep alone all the time, but so there was a level of flexibility and separation. Following the ‘discussion’ on honeymoon where some teasing about taking turns with her had turned into her getting pissed off, things had become much more relaxed and natural. Mainly because that separation meant that nobody was ever being ousted and replaced by someone else.
It occurred to her that all Elias had said about living arrangements was that he hadn’t brought too much stuff while she was still figuring out where things should go. So perhaps the only person assuming he’d be moving into her bedroom, was her.
She continued eating, mulling it over in her mind and eventually coming to the conclusion that, providing everyone was okay with it, then separate bedrooms was the way forward. She had the space, and it’d be nice for some of the extra rooms to be used, rather than sitting empty as they had been for so many years. It’d mean more bedding to be changed and washed, as well as towels, but Betty already kept all the rooms ship shape whether they were being used or not, so it wouldn’t be too much additional work. And hell, they were all adults—they could change their own sheets and towels if it was going to be too much for Betty to manage. Mia figured it was much better to do that than end up needing to hire someone else. It was nothing to do with money; bringing James and Betty into her confidence had been nerve-wracking enough. The last thing she wanted was to have to go through all that again—and with someone she didn’t yet trust, and know nearly as well as those two.
A spot of housekeeping was a small price to pay, she felt, for maintaining the status quo. Their lives were quite bonkers enough already.
Chapter Sixteen
“Thank you for a delicious dinner, Tom. I appreciate you jumping in like that,” Elias said, hanging the tea towel he’d been using to dry the dishes back on its hook, then bending to fuss Harry, who’d been sticking close to the three of them as they cleared up after their meal—ever hopeful of some leftovers, no doubt. The dog wagged his tail delightedly.
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