Page 105 of Never Gonna Happen

‘No, there is not enough work here. I will have to move closer to London.’

Emily stared at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Leon said nothing, focusing intently on his lunch.

‘How much closer to London?’ she asked.

Leon smiled and gave a tiny shrug. ‘South of London. Somewhere easy for Gatwick or Farnborough.’

‘Or Goodwood,’ said Emily.

‘Goodwood is very nice too.’ Leon caught Emily’s eye and they both smiled.

‘I’m going down there on Saturday, just to see,’ he said casually.

‘Are you?’ said Emily, making a mental note to give Kelly a call as soon as possible. It sounded like her best friend had been keeping important information from her.

Emily and Jamie sat on a green tartan picnic blanket on the grass, leaning against the same sunny stone wall where they’d warmed their hands in front of a New Year bonfire. It was still only March, but the wall sheltered them from the wind and created a blissful little sun trap in the late afternoon. Jamie removed his boot and wiggled his toes, the skin pale against the shiny pink scars. His leg was getting stronger and the scars would fade.

All three of Mr Hunter’s dogs had joined them – Bailey was asleep next to Jamie, and Murphy was watching Lily wrestle with a stick, trying to decide if he could be bothered to join in. Instead he mooched over to Emily’s side and rested his head on her lap, his eyes closing happily as she stroked his head. The warm weight of him felt calming and reassuring.

‘Your dad has asked me to stay on,’ she said, taking Jamie’s hand. ‘He offered me a promotion and the tenancy on an estate cottage.’

Jamie grinned. ‘Congratulations. That makes two of us. How do you feel about it?’

‘I’m a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. What do you think I should do?’

Jamie said nothing for a few moments. ‘I think you should take the job but not the cottage.’

Emily’s head whipped round to look at him. ‘Really? Are they that bad?’

‘No, they’re lovely, if you don’t mind freezing your arse off for nine months of the year. But instead of you shivering away in one tiny cottage and me shivering away in another, I thought maybe we could take one of the bigger ones and shiver away together.’

Emily’s mouth fell open. ‘Are you asking me to move in with you?’

Jamie nodded. ‘A joint tenancy, everything fifty-fifty. Proper grown-up shit.’

Emily could barely breathe, let alone process what Jamie had just suggested. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

Jamie shuffled round to face her, looking into her eyes intently. ‘Listen. You once told me that if things were different, you definitely would.’

‘God,’ said Emily, feeling a blush creeping up from her neck. ‘How do you remember stuff like that?’

Jamie laughed. ‘I remember every conversation we’ve ever had, even the drunk ones. My point is that things ARE different. You’re not the same woman who turned up in November with your life in a suitcase. You’re part of the history of this estate now, part of the family. You get to help us decide what comes next.’

Emily blinked the inevitable tears away. ‘It just all feels a bit much, off the back of everything else that’s happened this week.’

‘If you want more time, that’s OK,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to rush you. But I just want you to know that nothing would make me happier than waking up next to you every morning in Wedmore Cottage and . . .’

‘Wait,’ she interrupted. ‘Are you saying we could live in Wedmore Cottage?’

‘Why not? Adam and Victoria have moved out. We could ask Dad for a joint tenancy there, rather than two separate ones. We may need to fumigate it, obviously.’

‘Holy fuck, are you serious?’ Emily could feel herself start to shake, her heart pounding.

Jamie put his hands on Emily’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. ‘Of course I’m serious. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been more serious about anyone or anything in my life.’

Emily looked back at him, her heart racing. ‘It’s just a lot to take in, Jamie. Can I think about it?’

‘Oh,’ said Jamie, raking his hand through his hair. ‘Well, sure. Of course. I didn’t mean to . . .’