Page 127 of Rough Around the Hedges

“Here.”

I looked up from securing my cufflink. “What’s that?”

“What you asked for.” Luke flattened his lips into a thin line. “Are you sure about this?”

I secured the cufflink then took the envelope from him, slipping out the contents. I scanned the first page and nodded. “One hundred percent.”

“You’re lucky there was no penalty to pay.”

“There’s nothing lucky about it. Their acquisition has dragged out too long and we never completed. I just used that to my advantage.” I tucked the papers back into the envelope. “Did Piers look these over?”

I knew my lawyer wouldn’t mess up, but I needed to be sure. This agreement had to be airtight, ironclad, something that was completely unbreakable.

Luke nodded, albeit unhappily. “You just need to check over the clauses you wanted added, then he’ll send the final contract. Said it’ll take a few days though as he’s in court this week.”

“All right, good. I’ll do that later.” I set it on the unit in the dressing room and looked at my best friend. “What are you so pissed about?”

“Nothing.”

“Luke.”

He sighed. “I just don’t get why you’re doing this. The allotments were the first place you decided to offload because of the value of the land. Now, you potentially have to losemore, less valuable land, just because, what? Rose Matthews won’t give up her hissy fit about it?”

I smiled wryly. “This decision has nothing to do with her never-ending hissy fit. Besides, if she didn’t have this to protest, the Rose I know would find something else to rally against.”

Luke snorted. “Listen to yourself.”

“What? It’s true. I know her far better than you do. That’s just the kind of person she is.” I picked up my other cufflink. “I’ve seen what that place means to everyone there, and it isn’t as if selling that land is the only way to raise the funds needed. I can apply for grants for historic homes. I’ll do some jiggling and put my own personal money into it. Selling that land was the easiest option, but it’s different now.”

“What’s made you change your tune?” He eyed me sceptically. “You were adamant about not using your own money for the estate unless absolutely necessary.”

That was before I went to Hanbury.

Before I started to care.

Before that place stopped being somewhere I wanted to escape and became somewhere I never wanted to leave.

Somewhere home was.

Somewhere… Rose… was.

“Maybe it is absolutely necessary,” I said after a moment.

“But it’s not. You can sell that dead land and not have to touch a penny of your personal wealth.”

But it wasn’t dead land.

It had far, far more life than anywhere else I’d ever been. It hummed with a vibrancy unlike anything else. It was a place that needed protecting.

“At what cost?” I shrugged and put away the cufflinks box. “It’s not like I don’t have enough money. It just sits there in the bank. Is it worth keeping it there for my own convenience while hurting the people in the village?”

He shook his head and pushed off the doorframe. “I won’t pretend to understand your thought process. If I do, I might come to some stupid conclusion like you falling in love with Rose, and that’s too terrifying to even consider.”

I said nothing.

Luke froze. “Oli.”

“Hm?” I met his gaze.

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