Page 33 of Be More Lucy

‘It’s north facing. Perfect for artists,’ she said as she unlocked the door. ‘My mother was a ceramicist. She loved working in here.’

Kerry was right. Em did love it. ‘It’s my dream studio.’

It was full of boxes and old furniture, but Em could picture it tidied up and set up with her painting materials. There was room for an easel, a big table, and a drying rack for the paintings she was working on. Plenty of room for shelving and space to store finished pieces. She could even squeeze in a sofa and table at one end for meeting portrait clients. Kerry left them to it.

‘I can imagine you working in here.’ Jack smiled.

‘Where would you write?’

‘I’m bagging that end bedroom.’ He nodded at the window in the side of the house, looking out over the sea.

‘So we both love it then?’

‘Sounds like it.’

‘Can we afford it?’

‘I think we can. I did some rough calculations this morning. Kerry’s keen to get it all sold. Let’s hope her brothers are too. Shall we put in an offer?’

Part Two

Autumn 2019

19

Monday was Em’s day off. She decided to take advantage of the lovely weather to sketch the sea from the garden at Dashford Grange. The view looked almost Mediterranean in the early autumn sunshine.

Jack walked over from the courtyard and sat beside her on the grass. ‘Life’s about to get hectic.’

He was grinning, so it must be good news. ‘Is it the house?’

‘I’ve just had an email from the solicitor to confirm that we’ve finally exchanged contracts. We complete the purchase next Tuesday.’

‘At last.’ Em put down her pencil and threw herself into his arms.

He fell backwards, laughing. ‘It’ll be weeks before it’s habitable.’

‘I know, but it’s ours now. Well, nearly.’ She snuggled into him.

‘It’s going to be a lot of hard work.’

‘Are you determined to put a damper on my excitement?’

‘I just want to manage expectations, that’s all.’

‘We’ve been discussing it all summer. I haven’t suddenly forgotten that long list of changes we made. It’ll be fun turning it into our forever home.’

‘I’ll remind you of that when we’re knee-deep in paint. ’

‘If we’re knee-deep in paint, we’ve got other worries.’

‘We could buy the decorating stuff this weekend.’

Em pulled a face. ‘There’s a slight problem with that. I’ve invited Lucy here to discuss hen party plans and go wedding dress shopping while Josh is watching a bike race in France.’

‘Oh.’ Jack didn’t sound very enthusiastic.

‘We can do get the DIY things one evening this week.’

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