Jill Mansell Boxed Set

by Jill Mansell

  When he’d made his way out and the door had closed behind him, the middle-aged man said, ‘His wife probably can’t stand the sight of him.’

  Everyone in the waiting room turned and gave the man a stony look.

  ‘Sorry.’ He flinched under the glare of their disapproval. ‘Just a joke.’

  ‘Are you divorced?’ said the girl in purple.

  He looked surprised. ‘Yes, I am.’

  The girl nodded. ‘I thought so.’

  Chapter 50

  ‘You’re leaving the practice?’ Sally couldn’t believe it; she loved working for Dr Willis. Her whole world was crumbling around her. What had she done to deserve this?

  ‘Isn’t it exciting? We can’t wait.’ Emily beamed across the dinner table at her. ‘Skipton’s where I grew up, all my family are there, it’s just such a wonderful place to live. Everyone’s so friendly, not like down here. Do you know the Dales?’

  ‘Not really.’ Sally was still struggling to take in the news. The other doctors were OK, pleasant enough, but Roger Willis was her favorite. The practice wouldn’t be the same without him.

  ‘It was Emily’s idea.’ Roger refilled their wine glasses. ‘She spotted the ad in Pulse, organized a trip up to Skipton, even dragged me round the estate agents before I knew I’d got the job. We’d always planned to retire up there,’ he went on. ‘But this way we’ve got a few years of me working in the area first, becoming a real part of the community.’

  ‘That’s why we asked you over here this evening. We wanted you to be the first to know. Here, take a look at the place we’re buying.’ Bursting with excitement, Emily produced a glossy brochure. ‘All my life I’ve dreamed of living in a house like this.’

  They were moving to Yorkshire and they expected her to be pleased about it. Sally’s heart was in her boots but she forced herself to take the brochure and look interested.

  The place was spectacular, a sprawling converted farmhouse on a hillside with lovingly tended gardens and stunning views across the valley. There were five bedrooms, three of them en-suite, and a kitchen the size of a tennis court. There was even a granny annex, a game room and—crikey—an actual tennis court.

  Sally said, ‘It’s fantastic. Can I come with you?’

  Emily paused, a forkful of fish pie halfway to her mouth. ‘Really?’

  Oh no, it was like the middle-aged divorced chap attempting humor in the waiting room this morning. ‘I was joking,’ said Sally.

  ‘Oh.’ Emily’s face fell. ‘Shame.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘No, my fault, you got our hopes up there for a minute.’ Emily waggled her free hand. ‘It’s just that the current receptionist is the wife of the chap Roger’s replacing. They’re moving down to Cornwall. So the practice needs a replacement… but of course you wouldn’t want to leave London, silly of me to even think it! Although you’re welcome to come up and stay with us whenever you like. In fact you must! You’ll fall in love with the place, I know you will. The people are so warm and sociable, it’s like a different world up there.’

  Sally gazed again at the photographs in the glossy brochure. Was this a sign?

  Was Yorkshire a different world?

  Was it fate that had brought Mr Allerdyce into the surgery this morning with his heart-warming tale of true love? She had looked through his medical notes after his visit and discovered that the wife he adored was crippled with osteoporosis and confined to a wheelchair, but that with the help of the family, Mr Allerdyce was able to care for her devotedly. Reading this and picturing the two of them together had sent Sally into the loo for another little weep. Honestly, it was a wonder she was able to see out of these eyes, they’d squeezed out so many tears today.

  ‘When we wake up in the morning we’ll look out of our bedroom window and see all that.’ Roger Willis proudly tapped the photograph of rolling green hills dotted with sheep.

  Sally drank it in. Sheep. How many people could look out of their window in London and see sheep?

  All Creatures Great and Small. That had been one of her favorite TV programs. And she’d always had a secret weakness for Postman Pat. There were hills and sheep galore in Greendale.

  Was this all simply a coincidence or could it be a sign that she was meant to live somewhere hilly and popular with sheep? Where men were men and true love still existed? Where people called you lass and made you welcome?

  Heartbeat. Was that set in Yorkshire? Yes it was.

  Where the Heart Is? Tick, ditto.

  The Royal. Ha, yes, so was that. And there was a reason why so many feel-good cozy Sunday evening dramas were set in Yorkshire. It was because Yorkshire was a cozy feel-good place to live.

  And there was a Harvey Nichols in Leeds…

  ‘Hello? Sally?’ Roger was holding the dish of fish pie, waving the ladle to attract her attention. Having caught it, he said jovially, ‘What are you thinking? You’re miles away!’

  ‘I’m not.’ Sally moved her fork to one side, allowing him to spoon another helping of delicious fish pie onto her plate. ‘But you never know. I could be.’

  ***

  ‘I’ve got some good news for you,’ said Sally.

  ‘Oh?’ Gabe halted in the doorway, clearly surprised to see her still up at one o’clock in the morning.

  ‘Great news. Happy news. You’re going to be thrilled. It might even make you crack a smile.’ Sally was drinking Pernod and water, which was unbelievably disgusting but she’d been in need of Dutch courage and there hadn’t been anything else alcoholic in the flat. Talking things through with Lola would have helped but Lola was away for the night, being wined and dined at a publisher’s dinner being held in a hotel in Berkshire.

  She had to do this on her own. Well, with the aid of Pernod.

  ‘Go on then,’ said Gabe. ‘Thrill me.’

  Having psyched herself up to tell him, Sally abruptly lost her temper.

  ‘See? See? You’re still doing it!’ Her eyes narrowed and her voice rose as Gabe chucked his jacket over the back of the chair. ‘Even now! I’m trying to tell you something that you’ll want to hear and you’re being all distant and sarcastic.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Right, I’m listening. See?’ Gabe made his face deliberately blank. ‘Not being sarcastic at all.’

  And now he was treating her like a child. Her stomach in knots, Sally blurted out, ‘Well, don’t worry, soon you can be as sarcastic as you like because I won’t be here to see it. I’m moving out.’

  A muscle was going in Gabe’s jaw. For a couple of seconds he just stood there looking at her. Then he turned away. ‘Right. Good for you.’

  ‘Is that it?’ Adrenaline was sloshing through her body. ‘Is that all you’re going to say?’

  ‘What else do you want me to say? OK, I’ve got something. Have you told Lola yet?’

  ‘What?’ Sally took a step back. ‘No, because she’s not here. I’ll tell her tomorrow when she gets back.’

  Gabe raised an eyebrow. ‘And how do you think she’ll react?’

  ‘Oh, come on, it’s not that big a deal!’

  ‘Sure about that?’

  ‘We’re all adults!’

  ‘But you haven’t mentioned it before now, have you?’

  ‘Because I only decided tonight! My God, why are you being like this? I’m leaving.’ Pernod flew out of Sally’s glass as she flung her arms wide. ‘Isn’t that enough? I thought you’d be delighted to have me out of here. And what’s this about?’ Agitatedly jabbing a finger at his discarded jacket, she cried, ‘You spend your life nagging me but it’s OK for you to act like a slob. Would it kill you to hang that up?’

  Slowly and deliberately, Gabe picked up the jacket. As he made his way past her he murmured, ‘Poor sod, does he know what he’s letting himself in for?’

 
‘Will you shut up? I’ve worked for him for the last two years, haven’t I? So I can’t be that unbearable!’

  Gabe stopped dead. ‘Worked for who?’

  ‘Dr Willis!’

  He gazed at her in utter disbelief. ‘You’re having an affair with Dr Willis?’

  ‘What?’ Sally let out a shriek. ‘For crying out loud, what are you on? How could you think I’m having an affair with Dr Willis?’

  ‘But… but…’

  ‘He’s old.’ Sally wailed. ‘And he’s married.’

  ‘So who are you moving in with?’

  ‘Dr Willis. And his wife. But I won’t be living with them, not in the same house. It’s a self-contained annex.’ Sally mimed self-containment with her hands. ‘When I wake up in the morning I’ll see sheep.’

  Gabe was gazing at the almost empty glass of Pernod. ‘How many of those have you had?’

  ‘One. It’s vile. And can we please stop arguing now, because I’m not moving out tonight. I’m going to be here for another four weeks yet.’

  He shook his head in confusion. ‘I don’t understand the bit about the sheep. At all.’

  ‘There’s loads of them, all over the hills.’

  Gabe said evenly, ‘Where are these sheep? Where is this house?’

  ‘Near Skipton. In Yorkshire. That’s where I’m going to be living.’ As she said the words, Sally wondered if she really wanted to go. ‘Living and working. It’s a fresh start.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Why? Because I’m hoping it’s going to be nicer than living in London. My boss is moving to Yorkshire and he offered me a job in his new practice. You don’t want me here in this flat, you’ve made that perfectly obvious. Of course I’ll miss Lola, but it’s not going to stop me… Skipton’s a really friendly place, I’ll meet loads of new people, the views are—’

  ‘So what happened? You and Nick broke up? Or is he moving up there too?’

  For a split second she couldn’t work out who he meant. ‘Nick who?’

  Gabe gave her a look. ‘Come on. I know.’

  Sally didn’t know what he knew, but she felt herself flushing anyway. Great waves of heat and shame swept over her. If Gabe knew, that meant Nick must have told him. Except… oh God… it was far more likely that Nick would have told Lola who in turn had told Gabe, so basically they’d all been laughing at her behind her back.

  ‘OK, I get it.’ As her flush deepened Gabe said dismissively, ‘You’re moving up there together.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Sally stared at him; how could he even think this? ‘I’m not having an affair with Lola’s dad!’

  ‘You mean it’s over?’

  ‘I mean it never happened!’

  ‘No? Take a look in the mirror.’ Gabe’s tone was triumphant. ‘If it’s not true, tell me why you’ve gone redder than a traffic light.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry, are we in court?’ That was it; Sally lost the last vestige of control. ‘Are you the lawyer for the prosecution? Not that it’s any business of yours, but just to shut you up and get you off my back, the reason I’ve gone red is because, OK, I did have a bit of a crush on Lola’s dad a while back and I did make a complete idiot of myself one afternoon telling him I liked him. But he was very nice about it and turned me down really gently, and I don’t know what makes you think it ever went any further than that, but it definitely didn’t. And if you don’t mind, I’d really prefer it if Lola never found out.’ Unable to meet his gaze, she said, ‘Can we stop talking about this now? It’s humiliating.’

  No reply. Sally carried on staring at the floor. Finally she heard Gabe say, ‘There’s nothing going on between you?’

  Her hands clenched in frustration. ‘For God’s sake! Isn’t that what I just said?’

  ‘Sorry. Just checking. The afternoon you made a bit of an idiot of yourself…’

  ‘An awful lot of an idiot of myself.’ In fact, actually admitting it out loud felt quite cathartic.

  ‘OK, but was it a Sunday afternoon?’

  Sally nodded and gritted her teeth, cringing at the memory. The ridiculous thing was, she no longer even thought about Lola’s dad. The crush had died as quickly as it had sprung up, almost as if subconsciously she’d always known it would never turn into anything more. ‘Yes, it was a Sunday. Lola was working. You were off out somewhere.’

  ‘And you and Nick were standing over there, by the window.’ As he pointed, a glimmer of a smile appeared at the corners of Gabe’s mouth for the first time in what felt like months.

  ‘I suppose so. Yes.’ Admittedly she’d been slightly the worse for drink at the time but not so far gone that she couldn’t remember the way the winter sunlight had streamed through the window, lighting up the glints in Nick’s dark hair… oh! The penny dropped. ‘You were outside the flat!’ Her mouth fell open. ‘You were watching me make a prat of myself!’

  ‘I didn’t know you were making a prat of yourself. He had his arms around you.’

  ‘He was keeping me upright. And I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but I’ve had a bit of a bad leg.’ Sally couldn’t believe what she was witnessing; before her very eyes Gabe was metamorphosing from the tetchy grump of the past few weeks back into the old sparkly-eyed human Gabe she’d missed so desperately since the evil twin had taken his place.

  Chapter 51

  ‘I thought you were shagging him.’ Gabe’s whole face had changed, cleared. He was smiling now with what appeared to be relief.

  Glad the misunderstanding had been cleared up but mystified by the relief, Sally said, ‘Is that why you’ve been so grumpy and weird?’

  He hesitated, then nodded. ‘You could say that.’

  ‘All because you thought I was having a thing with Nick? Would Lola really have hated it that much?’

  There was that old familiar smile again, as if he knew something she didn’t. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, Gabe said, ‘No idea.’

  ‘But that’s why you were so iffy?’

  A longer pause this time. Much longer. Finally he raked his hair back with his fingers.

  ‘Actually, that wasn’t why I was… iffy. I just didn’t think you should be seeing him.’

  ‘You didn’t approve? Because of the age difference?’ Sally hazarded. Blimey, who’d have thought it? ‘But he’s only twelve years older than me.’

  Gabe grinned, shook his head and looked… well, to be honest she wasn’t absolutely sure how he looked. If it had been anyone else she might have said embarrassed.

  Finally he took a deep breath. ‘OK, I can’t quite believe I’m standing here saying this, but the reason I wasn’t happy about it—’

  ‘Not happy about it? Ha, that’s an understatement!’

  ‘Don’t interrupt,’ Gabe ordered. ‘Let me get this out before I lose my nerve. The reason I was bloody furious about it was because I was… I was…’

  Encouragingly Sally said, ‘Spit it out.’

  ‘Oh, for crying out loud, it was because I was jealous.’ He threw both hands up in the air. ‘There. Said it. Now you know.’

  Sally stopped dead in her tracks. Surely not, surely not…

  Gabe shrugged. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Oh my God. Gabe! That explains so much,’ Sally blurted out. ‘I even guessed! I asked Lola and she said I was wrong, but I knew, right from the word go!’

  ‘You did?’ It was Gabe’s turn to look stunned.

  ‘I knew before I even met you.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The whole tidiness thing.’ She was triumphant. ‘Dead giveaway. Keeping everything neat and always nagging me to clear up my stuff. All that hassle about not leaving my plates on the carpet. Forever complaining when I forget to hang up the towels in the bathroom. It’s so obvious.’

  ‘You really th
ink I’m gay?’

  Flummoxed, Sally said, ‘Isn’t that what you’re telling me?’

  ‘No.’ Gabe clutched his head, looking as if he was on the brink of tearing his hair out. His eyes, wide with disbelief, fixed on hers. The next moment he reached out and grabbed her. Before Sally knew what was happening, she was being kissed. His warm mouth covered hers, her whole body was pressed against Gabe’s, her skin was zinging like a bit of bubbly and… cut.

  Just as abruptly as it had begun, the kiss ended. Gabe let her go and she was left standing there like a cartoon character, dazed and panting and with confusion in the form of giant question marks exploding out of her head.

  ‘I can’t believe you thought I was gay.’ Gabe was breathing heavily too.

  ‘But…’

  ‘Oh shit, this is all going wrong. I thought I could do it but I can’t.’

  Before she could react, he was gone. The door of the flat slammed shut behind him and Sally heard his footsteps clattering down the staircase. She sank down onto the sofa and clutched her hands tightly together to stop them trembling. Her palms were damp too; desperate though she was for a glug of Pernod she knew the glass would slip through her fingers and crash to the floor.

  OK, concentrate. Gabe had jumped to the wrong conclusion. And so had she. He wasn’t gay, she was certainly convinced of that now. And if he wasn’t jealous at the thought of Nick being involved with someone else, then it stood to reason that he had to be jealous at the thought of her seeing another man…

  Shaking now, Sally replayed the incredible thought in her mind. But how could this be happening, exploding like a bomb in front of her with no warning at all?

  And why was she feeling, amongst all the confusion and disbelief, as if it was something she’d been longing to happen for months?

  But so secretly that she’d barely even acknowledged it, because it was simply the most unlikely scenario on the planet.

  Sally wrapped her arms around her waist, rocking back and forth in order to think more clearly. Had she, deep down, been seriously attracted to Gabe since the first time she’d clapped eyes on him?