Page 57 of The Do-Over

‘If I understand correctly, you’ve put £600,000 in so far and Rebecca has £300,000. Is that right?’

‘That’s right.’

‘So I thought I’d come in with an equal amount to you – £600,000. That should easily get us everything we need, don’t you think?’

‘And what would you want in return?’

‘An equal partnership in the business with you, I suppose.’

This is all moving way too fast and I feel like I’ve lost control of the situation. I can feel my heart hammering in my chest and my breath is short. Even the normally soothing presence of George isn’t doing it for me.

‘I need time to think,’ I tell them all, pushing back my chair and getting to my feet. This room suddenly feels claustrophobic and, despite the fact that the weather outside is awful, I need to be in the fresh air. Pulling on my raincoat, I stumble outside, slamming the door behind me.

I have no idea where I’m going, I just know I need to be alone. In the end, I make my way to one of the barns to get out of the rain and plonk myself down on a hay bale. I feel completely blindsided and outmanoeuvred. I was certain that everyone else would feel the same way as me about Rebecca’s idea, so finding myself in a minority of one is a very nasty surprise. This whole project feels like it’s spiralling completely out of control and I’m powerless to stop it. For the first time in nearly nine months, I’m regretting leaving Morton Lansdowne.

‘Are you OK?’ I look up to see George standing in front of me.

‘No. Not really,’ I tell him honestly.

‘Can I sit down?’

‘Sure.’

‘The others thought it would be best if I came to find you, given that I’m a neutral party in all of this,’ he says after a while. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘It’s going to make me sound stupid.’

‘Thea, if there’s one thing I think we can all agree you’re not, it’s stupid. Come on, what’s up?’

‘I just feel railroaded, and I don’t like it. I feel suddenly like I’m a helpless passenger on a mad rollercoaster that I never signed up to ride. When we bought this place, it was supposed to be with an aim to converting the mill and selling it on. Now we’re staying here and opening a bloody petting zoo?’ To my horror, atear splashes down into my lap. I haven’t cried since the mini-breakdown after leaving Morton Lansdowne, and crying in front of George is particularly mortifying.

George says nothing, but I’m aware of his arm reaching out, wrapping around me and pulling me into him. Normally, this would set my hormones on fire, but right now it’s exactly what I need. I let him hold me as the tears fall.

‘You can say no,’ he says gently after a while. My head is resting on his shoulder and I’m breathing in the smell of him. It’s a soothing mix of soap and fabric conditioner.

‘On what grounds, though? I honestly thought this was an idea so stupid that it would bury itself, but not only does everyone else, including you, seem to think it’s great, but Rebecca has also found funding through her boyfriend and I suspect bloody Ben is an animal husbandry expert too. I don’t want to be a grinch, because I love Rebecca and the way she manages to come up with new ideas every time something goes wrong, but I can’t sign up to this. It’s spiralling out of control and turning into a monster. It was supposed to be simple, but this bloody mill is biting us in the arse at every turn.’

‘I don’t remember specifically saying that the family farm was a good idea,’ George says gently. ‘I just said lots of HIBT partners had done similar things. But you have to do what’s right for you. If you don’t like it, tell them.’ His fingers are lazily stroking my hair and running down my arm, and I’m slowly becoming more aware of the sensation. My tears have stopped and my brain has finally registered where I am and started firing up my hormones. I can feel the heat building inside me as I lift my head from his shoulder and meet his eyes, which are impossible to read beneath those incredible lashes. As if drawn by a magnet, I lean forward and brush his lips with mine. It’s not long before his mouth gently opens and our tongues find each other.

This is so much hotter than I imagined in even my dirtiest dream. I’m on fire and hungry for as much of him as I can get.

‘Thea, I can’t,’ he says suddenly, breaking the kiss and releasing me.

‘What? Why?’

‘I’m so, so sorry,’ he says again, releasing me and getting to his feet. ‘I think I’d better go.’

‘George, wait!’ I call, but he’s already gone, sprinting back in the direction of the house.

As I plonk myself back down on the hay bale, there’s only one thought in my mind, and it has nothing to do with the farm. What the hell just happened?

26

‘What on earth did you do to George?’ Rebecca asks when I make my way back to the cottage a few minutes later. ‘He came tearing in here looking like he’d seen a ghost, grabbed his stuff, made some lame excuse about being called away and then shot off up the drive as if he couldn’t get out of here fast enough.’

‘Where’s Ben?’ I ask, noting that she’s alone in the kitchen.

‘He’s gone home. He figured you and I needed time to talk.’

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