Making the Running (Aspen Valley Book 4) by Hannah Hooton

Author:Hannah Hooton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horses, romantic comedy, womens fiction, love triangle, horse racing, romantic drama, workplace romance, horse books for adults, equestrian books, pony books
Publisher: Hannah Hooton

Chapter 27

A week into January and Kate had little time to mourn her failed relationship with Nicholas. With the opening night just a week away, she had rehearsals to attend every night. She and Saskia also had to find a new place to live, and finding reasonably priced rentals in Helensvale was harder than she’d anticipated.

Finally, a flat within their budget popped up in her email alerts from the local estate agents, and Kate and Saskia took the afternoon off work to go view it.

‘Who’s this knobhead?’ said Saskia, looking at the designer suit with Brylcreemed hair waiting for them outside the block of flats.

‘Hush, Saskia. He might be able to lip read.’

They got out and the young man stepped forward.

‘Hello. Jensen Llywelyn,’ he introduced himself in a thick Welsh accent, and tucked his leather folder under his arm to shake Kate’s hand.

‘Kate Creswell,’ she replied. ‘And my sister, Saskia.’

Saskia batted her eyelashes at him and gave him the once over.

Jensen Llywelyn beamed at them both and rubbed his hands together. ‘It’s a bit chilly out here. Shall we go inside?’

Kate glanced up as they walked up the steps to the building’s entrance. As far as first impressions went, they weren’t off to a great start. Sooty dirt clung to the peeling cream facade.

Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers. This was the only place on the company’s website that was within their budget.

‘No lift, I’m afraid,’ Jensen said, tramping up the stairs. ‘But it’ll get you fit if nothing else.’

‘What floor is it on?’ Saskia asked.

‘Fourth.’ He paused and winked at Saskia. ‘Penthouse suite.’

Kate tried to think positive. They had to move, so she might as well make the best of it. However, the smell of stale fish and chips mixed with diesel fumes did nothing to encourage her. Noticing the grime in the corners of the landing and on the iron balustrade, she avoided touching anything.

‘And here we are,’ said Jensen, unlocking a door on the top landing and swinging it wide for them to enter.

Kate’s spirits plummeted back down to ground level. Inside, the smell of fish and chips was even more apparent. She tripped over a balding carpet into the lounge and looked around. The only window had one of its panes replaced with a square of MDF, making the room dark and feel smaller than it already was.

‘This is definitely the place I saw on your website?’ she asked.

Jensen beamed even wider, but couldn’t quite meet her eye. ‘Absolutely. I appreciate it’s not in the best of conditions, but you have to admit, you’ll be getting it for a bargain.’

Kate wandered through the flat, cold despair filling her gut. She and Jensen Llywelyn had very different ideas of what constituted a bargain. This place was thirty pounds more expensive than Mrs Singh’s flat and wasn’t half as fit for dwelling.

She stopped in the kitchen, where the grime imbedded along the tiling was the same colour as the manure heap at Aspen Valley.

‘You must try to look at the bigger picture,’ she could hear Jensen telling Saskia.

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