Page 42 of Rough Around the Hedges

OLIVER: I have no idea how to handle you.

ME: That’s exactly what I was going for.

OLIVER: I see this is going nowhere. I’ll come and find you at your plot. When are you usually there?

ME: I’m not telling you.

OLIVER: Must you always be so difficult?

ME: You’re the one disregarding my desire never to speak to you again. Figure it out yourself if you want to see me that badly.

OLIVER: It’s not that I particularly want to see you, more that I must.

ME: Sucks for you, then.

ME: I have to get back to work. I look forward to you chasing me around.

OLIVER: I won’t be chasing you.

ME: Shame. I was going to put it on my LinkedIn profile.

ME: “Owner of Lawn and Order, Chairwoman of Hanbury Allotment Committee, Recipient of harassment from the Duke of Hanbury.”

OLIVER: …

OLIVER: I’ll see you soon, Rose.

ME: Forgive me for not looking forward to it, Oliver.

10

ROSE

A Noble Stalker

“No.”

“Just open the gate, Rose.”

“No.”

“It’s a four-foot-high fence. I can just climb over it.”

“‘No’ is a complete sentence, sir.”

“This is my property.”

“That I pay to occupy,” I said, gripping the gate even tighter. “Landlords cannot force their way into a tenant’s space.”

Oliver gripped the gate either side of my hands, bending down until our eyes were level, and half-smiled. He wassoclose, and I hated the way my body reacted to the fact there were just millimetres between us. My heart thumped against my ribs at our closeness, even though my mind wanted to hit him with my trowel.

After all, I knew all too well what it was like to be pressed up against his person.

“This is an allotment, not a three-bedroom house, and the individual contracts each plot holder signs says no such thing. In fact, they say that the landowner may visit and check the statusof each plot without notifying the tenant,” he said in a low voice. “I made sure to read the contract properly this time, princess.”

I clenched my jaw. Damn it. Someone learnt his lesson. “I really hate you, do you know that?”

“I’m glad my efforts are paying off. So, may I come in?”

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