The Vintage Summer Wedding by Jenny Oliver

Author:Jenny Oliver
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781472096319
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Published: 2014-10-19T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The first thing Anna noticed as she pedalled up to Primrose Cottage was that the roses had gone. Shorn off at the base of the stem, the bush was now bare. The second thing was Seb, sitting on the front step, his arms draped over his knees.

She wheeled the bike up the path and he looked up and said, ‘I’m moving out.’

She paused. ‘Right,’ she said after a second, nodding.

He looked up at her, his face rigid and nodded back.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Into the shed.’

Anna snorted a laugh, unable to help herself.

‘I don’t think it’s very funny.’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘But you can’t live in the shed.’

‘I’ve swept it out. I’ve put up a camp bed and there’s an old camping stove, a radio and I’ll come in if I need the loo.’

‘Sounds cosy. Like a man cave,’ she said, trying to find some neutral ground where they might crack the surface and remember that they liked each other. ‘Maybe you’ll quite enjoy it.’

‘No, Anna. It isn’t a fucking man cave, it’s a shed. I won’t enjoy it at all.’

‘Why are you doing it, then?’

‘I thought you’d want me to.’

‘Shouldn’t you have checked with me first?’ she asked.

There was a pause.

‘Maybe I want to,’ he said. ‘Your phone arrived this afternoon. Could you do me a favour and delete that app?’

‘You really think I’d keep it?’ she asked, incredulous.

He looked stubbornly down at his hands.

Tell him you’re sorry. ‘Well, fine, enjoy the shed,’ she said, wheeling the bike to the side of the house and locking it up to a drain pipe. ‘I’m sure you’ll be very happy there. Your parents will be delighted to hear about this turn of events.’

‘I’m not telling them,’ he replied as she walked back round to the front door.

Don’t ask. ‘Why not?’

‘Because I don’t want them to have anything else against you.’

Tell him that maybe you are afraid. ‘How chivalrous. Especially considering you’re the one who stayed out all night with Melissa Hope.’

Seb pushed himself up off the step. ‘I think the horse had already bolted by then.’

Laugh. ‘Please don’t use one of your dad’s sayings at a time like this.’

‘See you, Anna,’ he said as he walked away in the direction of the shed.

Follow him, Anna. Follow him and live in the shed with him. Are you winning?

No. No I’m not.

But years of training. Years of poise kept her standing exactly where she was.

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