Page 20 of Never Gonna Happen

‘I envy you,’ he said, looking back across the fields to the house. ‘We’ve got a huge house and we spend most of our time avoiding each other. I’d give it up for a proper happy family any day of the week.’

‘Really?’ asked Emily, gesturing at the landscape. ‘All this?’

Jamie nodded, his eyes blazing. ‘In a heartbeat.’

After twenty minutes or so they rode past a large, red-brick cottage with a thatched roof and white-framed windows. The front door was sage green and flanked by two bay trees in huge pots. It looked like the quintessential English country cottage from a picture book, and Emily was instantly smitten.

‘That’s Wedmore Cottage,’ said Jamie, pulling his horse to a stop. ‘It’s Adam’s house whenever he’s here.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said. ‘What about when he’s not here?’

Jamie shrugged. ‘It stands empty. He’s officially the heir to Bowford Manor, so he thinks he’s entitled to live in the nicest property on the estate. But it saves him living up at the main house so I’m not complaining.’

‘And what about you?’ she asked. ‘Where do you live?’

‘I’ve got a little apartment above the stables,’ he said. ‘It’s nothing fancy, but I like it.’

Emily nodded. ‘How many properties are there in total?’ She’d already been through the estate files and knew the answer, but she wanted to keep Jamie talking. He had a nice voice and it gave her a good excuse to look at him.

‘Fourteen,’ said Jamie. ‘Most have tenants, a few are working farms. There’s a little place by the pool that gets used for guests when the main house is full, which isn’t very often.’

‘I saw that, it’s really pretty,’ said Emily.

‘It used to be the party house when we were teenagers,’ he said with a wistful smile. ‘It was a great place to hang out with friends, have parties by the pool.’

‘Hmm,’ said Emily breezily. ‘I used to hang out with friends by the pool too, except it was a stagnant pond on the caravan park where my best mate lived.’

Jamie gave a bark of laughter, then blushed to the roots of his hair. ‘God, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I must sound like such a wanker.’

‘It’s fine,’ said Emily. ‘Just interesting, that’s all. When was your thirtieth birthday?’

‘October,’ said Jamie, looking at her questioningly.

‘OK, so we’re pretty much the same age; we’d have been in the same year at school. But we grew up in completely different worlds.’

‘We’re not friends with dukes and duchesses, Emily,’ he said with a soft laugh. ‘Dad has a title, but he never uses it. His best friend is the local GP. We’re not exactly high society.’

‘I suppose that depends on your perspective,’ she said, then realised that sounded a bit chippy. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not having a go. This is all just new to me, I guess. Takes a bit of getting used to.’

‘Yeah, I’m sure,’ said Jamie. ‘Do you fancy some lunch?’

‘I’d love some.’ Emily had been too anxious to eat much breakfast and was now starving. ‘What did you have in mind?’

‘I know a pub that has valet parking for horses,’ replied Jamie.

She turned to look at him, wondering what other services were provided to rich people that nobody else knew about. ‘Really?’

‘No, Emily,’ said Jamie, rolling his eyes. ‘But we can tie them to the fence and sit outside.’

She grinned as her stomach rumbled. ‘Sounds like a plan.’

They sat on a wooden picnic bench outside the pub, Luna and Rupert loosely tied to a gatepost so they could chomp on the grass verge. The waitress didn’t seem terribly thrilled about serving food outside in late November until Jamie gave her a killer smile, at which point she looked like she’d have happily delivered it on a silver tray whilst wearing roller skates.

‘What’s the best thing about living round here?’ asked Emily.

‘Apart from being able to take your horse to the pub?’ asked Jamie.

‘Mmm,’ said Emily, chewing on her cheese and pickle sandwich.