Page 41 of Fundamentals in Flirting

“I’m going out. Feel free to have a shower. Pull the front door closed behind you when you leave.” Getting to my feet, I retrieved my car keys from the pot in the kitchen and grabbed my riding boots and jodhpurs, knowing that more time with Pluto was what I needed.

“What? Wait! Hannah! Where are you going?”

“I think I’ve probably learnt all I need from your flirting masterclass, and I think you’re now fully aware of my lack of DIY prowess. So whatever this is”—I gestured between us—“can absolutely stop now.”

“Please, wait! Just give me a chance?”

He ran his hands through his hair, and a few wet leaves dropped to the carpet, but I already had the door handle in my fingers and was twisting it forcefully in my haste to get away.

Racing down the stairs, all I heard was him shout after me, “Shit! Why am I so bad at this with you?”

ChapterFourteen

The slow creep of dawn had turned the Cotswolds countryside into a misty wonderland of spiderwebs glistening with dew, the warmth of the sun leaching into the day, and the promise of a heatwave ahead. Another late-night call-out had left me exhausted, and I sat alone in the car park, head leaning gently against my steering wheel with my eyes closed as I relished the quiet of this time of day.

I hadn’t seen Teddy for a few days, and had purposefully ignored his calls and texts, believing it would be better not to see him, even though there was a strange, empty feeling inside me now. Emptiness that had, I think, been there for a very long time, but had recently been filled to the brim with flirty banter and daft antics, a warm sort of friendship, and more laughter than I can ever remember having had before. But now I’d been left with an architect-shaped hole in my chest which I was refusing to dwell on, and I swallowed away the desire to call him or see him; or watch him squeal and run away from a goat, or fall on his backside covered in plaster. No, I was not going to let my guard down with the world’s biggest flirt, because falling for him was not on the agenda and would likely end up being a catastrophic pain in my arse. And in my heart.

Reluctantly, I got out of the car, forcing myself to face the day. Yearning for some toast and a strong cup of tea to fortify myself for the undoubtedly busy clinics that lay ahead, in order to try and be civil, doing my best to read other people and respond accordingly. Despite Ted’s preliminary training, the spiky hedgehog was definitely back. Perhaps it had even morphed into a poison-tipped puffer fish of prickliness. Even Giles hadn’t been brave enough to pick me up on my snappiness, and clients were, wisely, choosing not to complain. Not to my face anyway. There were a couple of worryingly titled emails in my inbox, which I hadn’t yet opened. Perhaps returning to academia was the right thing to do? Perhaps Jonathan’s declaration was the open door I needed. I could slip into the anonymity of research once again and remove myself from too much “peopling”. I could hide behind a lab coat and goggles… Could I givehimanother chance? I shuddered at the prospect, but the opportunity to be successful, to be respected, to get back to being the me I always thought I’d be was dangling like a carrot in front of my nose.

Locking the car door behind me, a glimmer of movement across the car park caught my eye.

“Agnes?”

Barefoot and clad only in a long white cotton nightgown, our elderly neighbour was bending over and examining the underneath of the hedge. She was muttering something I couldn’t quite catch from this distance, and her movements were jerky and agitated.

“Agnes, are you ok?”

But she didn’t seem to hear me. She only tugged at her loose grey curls with one hand and bunched her nightdress in the white-knuckled fist of the other.

“What are you looking for?”

As I got closer, she finally noticed me, the startled twitch of her body making her stumble forwards, but the stare that she returned was blank, glassy, and devoid of any recognition.

Slowly I reached my hand out towards her.

“Agnes, are you sure you’re ok? It’s me, Hannah, from the vet’s.”

She watched my hand creep towards her, fascinated and horrified all at once, and as my fingers brushed the crêpey skin on the back of her hand, she slapped me away, her palm stinging against my wrist.

“You’re not Hannah. She has dark brown hair like me.” Her expression was mulish as she looked into my face. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not my sister.”

“No, I’m not your sister, Agnes. I’m one of the vets. What are you doing out here at this time of the morning?”

She shook her head, confusion flitting over her features.

“I’m looking for Edward. He said he’d be back soon. He went to get me strawberries, but I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

“Do you mean Ted?”

Agnes knitted her brows and folded her arms. “He doesn’t like being called Ted.”

“Oh, ok.”

“He said he’d be back. He said he wouldn’t leave me alone if anything happened to Frank.” A tremor was shuddering through her body, and I couldn’t tell if it was the slight chill of the morning air or anxiety that was making her tremble. “But he hasn’t come back. Where can he be, Hannah?”

“I don’t know.”

Slowly, so as not to spook her, I removed my jacket and inched forwards, draping it over her thin shoulders. She finally smiled at me.

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