Page 19 of The Wedding Pact
August pondered. ‘Not bad. He seems like a bit of a grouch, but also like he just wants his mum to get on and pick someone to live here. That might work in our favour if she’s been hard to please up until now.’
‘You might be right.’
They waited for a bit, looking out the window, both trying not to let their hopes get too high. He could sense, though, that August’s hopes were practically clawing their way through the roof, and up into the atmosphere, until she asked, ‘Is this idea a bit bonkers?’
‘Yep,’ answered Flynn.
‘Are you annoyed at me?’ she asked, quite serious.
‘Not at all. You didn’t force me.’
‘I forced you alittlebit.’
‘It takes more than a pretty face and some skilled persuasion to force me to do anything.’
August shrugged. ‘Well, that’s all it takes for me, so luckilywewon’t have a problem,’ she joked.
Abe walked into the living room, clapped his hands together and the gathering stopped whatever corner of wallpaper they were admiring to face him.
‘Thank you for coming, everybody,’ he said, with all the sincerity of a tanked lobster inside the entranceway of a restaurant. ‘I have an announcement to make.’
Chapter 14
August
‘Mrs Haverley has now settled upon tenants, pending paperwork,’ Abe said to the room. ‘If any of you would still, truly, be interested should this arrangement fall through, please take an application form on your way out and return it promptly so we may keep it on file.’
August and Flynn held their breath, and their hands, not that they strictly needed to still be holding hands at this point, but it felt like moral support.
And then it happened. Abe’s gaze swept the room and landed on their faces. He walked over, all immaculate and handsome and formal, and asked, ‘Remind me. You are … ?’
‘Flynn Miyoshi, and this is August … my wife.’
‘August Anderson. I kept my name.’ She held her hand out to shake, but instead Abe placed an application form into it.
‘Abe Haverley. You two are the “winners”, as it were; my mother has deemed you suitable to rent this apartment from her.’
‘That’s very kind,’ August squeaked, really trying to keep her cool.
‘Fantastic news,’ Flynn said a little too loud, causing a few sneers from the other hopefuls, now exiting the flat.
‘Yes,’ said Abe. ‘Would you mind completing this application form so we can make it official? I’ll also need to see some documentation to prove your right to rent in the UK, that could be a passport—’
Before he’d even finished his sentence, both Flynn and August had whipped their passports out of their pockets.
‘Right, thank you.’ He took the passports and used an app on his phone to take a digital scan of both passports. Afterwards, he pulled two contracts out of his briefcase and handed them over, along with their returned passports. ‘Here’s the contract. If you could have a read through and sign them – you can either both sign one or sign one each, it doesn’t really matter. Could you return both the contracts and application form within an hour or two, please, as I need to head back to London late this afternoon.’
‘Of course,’ said August, taking the items from his hands. ‘Are you just here for the weekend?’
Abe smiled for what seemed the first time. ‘Just this weekend, and the last, and the one before that. But I think we’re finally there.’
‘Well, we’ll go and get a coffee nearby right now, go over these, and then drop them back over.’
‘Thank you,’ Abe said, back to formalities. ‘I’ll then have my mother look through everything and counter-sign before I leave, and I’ll make copies of the contracts and get them in the post to you, first class.’
Better use my address on the application form, August thought.
With Abe leading the way, August and Flynn left the apartment that would soon be theirs, and as the three of them descended the staircase August ran her hand on the bannister, saying a silent hello and asking it,remember me?
