Never the Bride (Dilbury Village #1)

by Charlotte Fallowfield

  ‘I’d prefer a coffee, if that’s ok? Black, no sugar.’

  ‘Of course it is. I’m making a bacon sandwich if you want one, too,’ I offered.

  ‘I’d love one if you don’t mind.’

  ‘Crispy?’

  ‘Is there any other way to eat bacon?’ he scoffed, running the back of his hand over his forehead, where a slight sheen of perspiration was forming as the sun moved higher in the sky.

  ‘Exactly!’ I nodded. How people could eat flaccid bacon, with the fat still raw and chewy, was beyond me. That was one of my secret tests for a man, after meeting the bottom-approval criteria. Did he like crispy bacon? Maybe I ought to check Heath out against my other criteria. ‘I’m thinking we’d better head to the bedroom next, before you get all hot, sweaty, and dirty out there.’

  ‘I have been known to get hot, sweaty, and dirty in the bedroom too, you know,’ he chuckled. Humorous. Tick. Another item off my list.

  ‘Do you flirt with all of your customers?’ I called.

  ‘Only the pretty ones who offer me bacon sandwiches,’ he replied with a wink. Tick, tick. What girl didn’t love a good wink from an attractive guy? Hmmm, maybe I should forget about Miller, who lived thousands of miles away. Heath hadn’t knocked the air out of my lungs like Miller had when I’d first seen him, but I was beginning to really like him.

  I made our drinks and smiled shyly when his fingers brushed mine as I handed his over, then I returned to the kitchen to busy myself with breakfast. I berated myself for running through my remaining criteria. On the one hand, it was so shallow to have a list when it came to a potential mate, but on the other, who didn’t have a preconceived idea of their ideal match? You had to find them attractive, and there had to be key personality traits that told you if you were likely to be compatible. It was just odd that I hadn’t met anyone who even came close in the last eighteen months, and suddenly, in the space of two weeks, I’d met two.

  As breakfast was ready so quickly, Heath didn’t have a chance to go and sort my shelving unit first. He’d wolfed down his sandwich and was lying on his back on the floor, his head and shoulders in my cupboard under the sink, before I’d had a chance to start on the second half of mine. Eating that portion took a lot longer as I sat staring at his toned body while he worked to fix my leak. I blushed as he suddenly slid out and caught me staring at him, and I started choking on some of my sandwich.

  ‘Done. You just had a loose connection on the pipework, so I tightened it for you.’

  ‘Great, thanks,’ I spluttered, banging my chest as I tried to catch my breath. He shot to his feet and grabbed a glass off the long shelving unit, which displayed all my mugs and glasses, then poured me some water and handed it to me to gulp down as he patted my back.

  ‘Ok?’ he eventually asked. I nodded and gave him a grateful smile. ‘Let’s get these shelves done in your bedroom, then I can sort the door and do your hedge. I’ll make some notes on what needs doing in the back garden and we can agree on a time for me to come back and do that, then fix a regular schedule.’

  I was sitting with my feet up, MacBook on my knees as I ran through Georgie’s accounts, when the sound of the noisy hedge trimmer starting up made me jump, breaking the usual tranquillity of my countryside home. I pushed my lap tray to the side and went to look out of the lounge window.

  ‘Holy hotness, bush trimmer,’ I murmured. He’d stripped off his top and was hard at work, bare-chested. I quickly tapped out a message to Georgie.

  Get yourself over here ASAP. Take the field footpath and come in the back way, through the lounge patio doors x

  What’s up? I’m just finishing off Portia the poodle’s blow-dry! she replied.

  Well, if doing that is more interesting than a half-naked man in my front garden, one who could audition for The Chippendales, then I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the view all on my own!

  ‘What do you think, Chubbers?’ I asked, as I shoved my phone back in my pocket and went to give him a head scratch after he snorted himself awake. I got the usual blank, uninterested expression I always got, unless food was involved. ‘Fat lot of use you are,’ I huffed, then moved back to the window to enjoy the view. Phew, this was one vista I could get used to. I began to curse myself for not making more of an effort when I hastily dressed in a pair of leggings and a loose-fit t-shirt this morning, desperate to get rid of my childish pyjamas.

  ‘Ok, ok, I made it, and Portia’s not happy to be abandoned and put in a cage mid-pamper,’ came Georgie’s voice, panting hard behind me as she burst through the open doors. ‘Please tell me I didn’t just race around here for David Jones with his shirt off?’

  ‘Oh, I think you’ll find it worth the journey,’ I confirmed without breaking my gaze to turn and look at her.

  ‘Oh, hello!’ she uttered as she came to stand next to me. ‘It’s like we’re in the middle of a Diet Coke commercial. Who’s that??!!’

  ‘My new gardener, Heath. And he’s been flirting with me.’

  ‘Please tell me you flirted back, because if you didn’t, I could be tempted.’

  ‘Sort of, but you know my flirting skills are pretty non-existent.’

  ‘Is he single?’ she asked, hip-bumping me over so she could get a better view.

  ‘Hey, my view and my gardener,’ I protested as I jostled her back over.

  ‘You invited me, so don’t be a mean hostess,’ she countered, giving me a shove.

  ‘Oi!’ I cried as she braced herself at my window, palms planted firmly on the windowsill, legs straight and strong. I grabbed her from behind and started tickling her ribs, where I knew she was sensitive.

  ‘You’ve had him all morning,’ she shrieked as we tussled for pole position. ‘Give me a minute to enjoy it. Oh no, he’s looking over at us staring at him,’ she giggled, dropping like a stone to hide under the window and dragging me down with her.

  ‘Way to embarrass me,’ I moaned as I crouched down next to her, both of us palming the wall.

  ‘So what’s the deal? Is he single? Are you going to forget about this whole Miller thing and go on a date with this hottie?’

  ‘I haven’t asked him. It’s not exactly the sort of question you can ease into casual conversation with someone you just met.’

  ‘Not the sort of question the old Abbie would ask. But after our discussion last night, where you were going to forget all about the delectable Mr. Davis and find someone closer to home, the new Abbie should be getting right in there.’

  ‘You don’t go from shy girl to shameless flirt overnight, Georgie Basset. It takes time.’

  ‘It’s not like I’m suggesting you turn into the village slut, particularly as that position’s already taken by Rowena the barmaid, but what’s the harm in asking if he’s seeing anyone, seeing if he fancies a drink one night?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, David told me he is, but what if he’s some kind of gardening lothario, with a woman at every job? I don’t want to look desperate. I mean, he must get women throwing themselves at him.’

  ‘I can see why,’ Georgie nodded. ‘How are my accounts looking? Can I afford a gardener?’

  ‘Hey, I saw him first, go get your own,’ I scowled, reaching up to grip the windowsill with my fingers and slowly pulling myself up to peek over the sill to see what he was doing. Georgie popped up beside me.

  ‘Where did he go?’ she pouted, as we craned our heads left and right, only to find he was nowhere to be seen. ‘Me want more.’

  ‘Maybe he needed a bigger tool,’ I suggested, waggling my eyebrows at her. ‘I did have a big bush.’

  ‘I reckon he’s already got an exceptionally big tool,’ Georgie giggled, bumping my shoulder. ‘He looks the type.’ We both froze as we heard a polite cough from behind us.

  ‘Please tell me he hasn’t come around the back and has been standing there, watching us watching him, and is now listening to us talking about him,’ I whispered, too embarrassed to stand up and turn around.

  ‘You look,’ Geor
gie whispered back.

  ‘No, you look,’ I pleaded, wanting the earth to swallow me whole.

  ‘What happened to “I saw him first, go get your own?”’ she protested under her breath.

  ‘Are you both ok?’ came Heath’s voice from behind us.

  ‘Damn,’ I muttered, screwing up my face as Georgie broke into a fit of the giggles next to me and dropped her forehead to the windowsill. ‘Ermmm, yes, just doing a … woodworm check. You know old cottages, all kinds of problems.’

  ‘Woodworm check?’

  ‘Yep, that’s right,’ I called as I dragged myself up and dusted off my knees. ‘Happy to report I couldn’t see any wriggly worms anywhere. No, sir. Not a single worm in sight. How about you, Georgie?’

  ‘No, pleased to report no worms here,’ she confirmed, rising up to join me. ‘I pronounce this window woodworm free.’

  ‘You both know that woodworms are actually beetles, right? The maggots only live in the wood before they transform, so if you had woodworm, you’d only see the beetles crawling around on the windowsill.’

  ‘Ermmm, no, didn’t actually know that. Very helpful tip though, thank you, Heath,’ I nodded, plucking up the courage to turn and face him to find him standing with his hands on his hips, a knowing smile on his face. Damn, he definitely knew we’d been checking him out. And why wouldn’t we? I was finding it hard to keep my eyes on his and not wandering down that chest and six-pack he was sporting. ‘Can I help you with something?’ I asked, trying to erase the excited squeak from my voice.

  ‘Like his big tool,’ Georgie muttered quietly as she turned around to stand next to me.

  ‘I wanted you to come and look at the hedge, to see if you wanted me to take it back any further. But it err … looks like you already got a good look, as you were … woodworm hunting.’

  ‘An excellent look,’ I nodded vigorously. ‘I mean, an excellent trim, it looks gorgeous, I mean fine. Fine, the hedge looks fine.’

  ‘Great,’ he grinned. ‘I’ll go and shape it, then I’m done and we can discuss a date.’

  ‘A date?’ I squeaked, as Georgie elbowed my side.

  ‘To come back and do your back garden and the painting,’ he reminded me.

  ‘Oh right, sure,’ I replied, feeling mildly disappointed. ‘Can I get you another coffee?’

  ‘I’d love one please. I’ll leave you and your friend to your … err, woodworm hunt.’

  ‘Great, thanks,’ I nodded, feeling my cheeks flame.

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ Georgie called. He did that cute lopsided grin and winked before striding off, my shoulders slumping immediately.

  ‘Oh God, could that have gone any worse?’

  ‘On the plus side, you didn’t end up wet like you did with Miller,’ Georgie reminded me as we headed to the kitchen and I flicked on the kettle. ‘So, he seems nice, good looking, hot body. Are you going to ask him out?’

  ‘If you can find the balls and courage that I seem to have misplaced lately, sure. Are you having a coffee?’

  ‘I’d love to, I’d love nothing better than to be here to see how you handle this, but I really have to get back. Portia’s mum will be coming to pick her up in a while and I haven’t finished styling her.’

  ‘Go, go, then,’ I retorted, shooing her towards the open French doors in the kitchen. ‘Abandon your best friend in her time of need, in favour of a poodle named Portia. I know where I stand now.’

  ‘You know I’d stay if I could,’ she replied, giving me a peck on the cheek. ‘I’ll pop over as soon as I’m done, see how it went. Don’t back out, Abbie, I like him. And if he is single, he won’t stay that way for long, not looking like that.’

  I rolled my eyes, then gave her a parting kiss and watched her hurry out and down the back garden towards the gate to the field behind. I let out a sigh, then made the coffees and went to stand by the stable door, which he’d fixed in a matter of minutes by shaving off some of the wood down the sides. I just needed to buy some matching paint to touch it up and it would be as good as new.

  ‘Coffee,’ I yelled, not wanting to get near him while he was wielding a chainsaw-looking device. He turned it off and ambled over, stripping off the thick gloves he was wearing. I had to admit I’d always been a Naval Officer fantasy sort of girl, but this rough and ready lumberjack-style look was really doing it for me. Then again, after eighteen months of being single, pretty much anything did it for me. He took his cup from me with a smile, and I leaned on the lower stable door as we both sipped in silence. Embarrassed as I was, it seemed rude to walk away to leave him to drink on his own.

  ‘What exactly is that?’ he eventually said, flicking his head to Mr. Sumo’s walker. He burst out laughing when I told him. ‘Seriously? He doesn’t walk? You pull him along on that?’

  ‘Seriously,’ I nodded.

  ‘Does he fit on it?’

  ‘Barely. He’s a bit overweight and those extra bits I tried to fix on to accommodate him are starting to come loose.’

  ‘I could build you a new one if you like,’ he offered.

  ‘I should say yes, but …’ I blew out a deep breath. ‘I can’t bear to part with it. My dad made it for me and he … he passed away and …’ I shook my head and sucked my lips into my mouth, feeling emotional at the reminder.

  ‘It has memories for you,’ he suggested in a soft tone. I nodded. ‘How about I create a larger seating area, a tray of sorts, and we attach that to the existing skateboard instead of these two bits of wood that you’ve tacked onto the sides. The rest looks pretty sound. I can even put some sides on it to make sure he doesn’t fall out, and hinge one to make it easy for him to walk in and out. It could be a sort of ramp that you could then lift up and secure shut.’

  ‘You can do that?’

  ‘I’m good with wood,’ he smiled, almost making me choke again at the reminder of mine and Georgie’s conversation about his tool.

  ‘Ok, as long as the skateboard stays, and he can still see over the sides, let’s do it,’ I nodded.

  ‘I’ll finish the hedge, then measure it up, and then I’d better get going. I’ve got another job this afternoon.’

  I took his cup off him and headed back to the kitchen to wash it up, trying not to look at him as he started up his trimmer again. I went to carry on with Georgie’s accounts in the lounge, where Sumo was snoring loudly. What a life. Eat, sleep, fart, get pulled around on a trolley, and be subjected to a bi-monthly doggie spa experience. He had no idea how easy he had things.

  I handed over Heath’s cash when he came to tell me he was done, his tight khaki top back in place, but not erasing my memories of what I knew lay under it. Could I really do this, ask a guy on a date? I’d never done it before and my stomach was churning at the thought of it. But what if I didn’t? Would I kick myself for a missed opportunity, just like I’d been doing for the last two weeks with Miller?

  ‘I’ll see you in few weeks then, Abbie,’ Heath smiled.

  ‘Are you seeing anyone?’ I blurted out before I had a chance to talk myself out of it. He looked surprised and blinked a few times.

  ‘No, actually I’m not.’

  ‘Oh, ok,’ I nodded. I bit my lower lip as he gave me a puzzled look. Was I supposed to do more? Did I need to make it clearer? ‘My friend Georgie thinks you’re really cute, that’s all, and I wondered if you were available.’ Way to go, total cop out, Abbie Carter, I scolded myself. And now he was going to say, “Actually, I really fancy her. Can I have her number?”

  ‘Oh, right. Well, as it happens, I just got out of a ten-year relationship with a girl I’d been with since college, so I really wasn’t looking to rush back into dating quite yet.’

  ‘I’m really sorry to hear that, but I’ll let her know,’ I nodded, feeling a touch relieved. ‘See you in a few weeks.’

  ‘Sure,’ he smiled. He turned around and started walking up my path, then hesitated and turned back. ‘Abbie?’

  ‘Yes,’ I answered.

  ‘I was kind of
hoping it might be you that was interested, you know, for when I am ready to get out there again.’

  ‘Oh.’ My eyebrows raised in surprise. What were the odds? Two guys that I found attractive in two weeks, and they both preferred me to Georgie. This was unheard of. Tell him, Abbie. ‘Well, when you feel like it’s the right time, if you come to ask me if I want to go on a date, and I’m still single too, I …’ I hesitated, feeling shy again all of a sudden. I was used to men doing this, taking charge and asking me out.

  ‘Would you say yes?’ he asked, a hopeful look on his face. Damn it, Abbie, you’re twenty-eight years old, not twelve.

  ‘I’d say yes,’ I confirmed, feeling a familiar blush spreading across my cheeks. He broke into a wide grin.

  ‘Then I’d better hope you’re still single by the time I sort myself out. See you in a few weeks.’

  ‘See you,’ I waved. I shut the top door and flopped back against it, feeling a little giddy. Wow, I was on fire this month.

  Chapter Four

  Dress Ten

  December

  ‘GREAT, TODAY OF ALL days you want to go for a walk, when there’s a few inches of snow on the ground. Uh-uh,’ I advised him with a waving finger as he stood by the front door. His little curled and stumpy tail hadn’t mastered the art of the wag, so instead he shimmied his whole butt in time to his wheezy panting.

  I’d just come down, dressed in my black skinny jeans and warm, fleecy black Ugg boots. I was also wrapped up in a grey V-neck jumper over a loose white shirt, a grey felt cloche hat, and grey wool fingerless gloves. Sumo whined at me, giving me his best pleading face, but I didn’t have time. Today I was putting on bridesmaid dress ten for Julia, and the taxi was due any minute. Georgie had been invited as my plus-one, but couldn’t make it. And as much as the flirting and banter was going well with Heath, he still didn’t seem anywhere near over his ex. He talked about her a lot in casual conversation whenever he came to do his bi-monthly gardening work, which had made me wary. No one wanted to go out with someone who was still in love with someone else. Even I wasn’t that stupid. So I was going to this wedding on my own.