Page 44 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘Lavender fancies him.’
‘Lavender never said anything to me like that.’
‘I can tell. And I’ll tell you who else fancies him…Magnus does. Geoff doesn’t like that at all.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Geoff told me.’
‘Did he?’
‘Not in so many words…’ Flo folded her arms. ‘But I can tell what he meant. And Stacey. Fair fainting over him, the whole village…Can’t see it myself.’
‘Neither can I,’ Ottilie said firmly. ‘I mean, he’s a lovely man and, yes, I can appreciate he’s handsome, but that’s as far as it goes for me.’
Flo gave a slow, silent nod, as if she was mulling over Ottilie’s statement, and then seemed satisfied. Ottilie wondered if she’d been somehow concerned that Heath might get shoved aside for Simon. It sounded silly, but then again, Flo had been hugely invested in her grandson and Ottilie getting together. In fact, she’d done her best to engineer it from the moment she’d met Ottilie.
‘I’m more than a bit partial to Heath,’ Ottilie added. ‘And no handsome new doctor will change that.’
‘I never thought it would,’ Flo said, a defensive edge to her tone.
‘I know. But I’m saying it anyway.’ Ottilie gave a conspiratorial smile and leaned in. ‘So Magnus has a thing for him?’
This seemed to cheer Flo no end. Her troubled frown turned into a grin. ‘Oh, you don’t know the half of it!’
Once Ottilie had phoned Heath and told her about Faith’s news, he arranged for them to spend that Sunday in a spa. He’d said she’d earned it, and he hoped it would help her relax, but Ottilie could tell his heart wasn’t in it when he arrived to pick her up. Her misgivings hadn’t been helped by the fact that they’d been meant to spend the entire weekend together, but he’d been forced to cancel their Saturday plans, saying he was snowed under with work. Somehow, Ottilie couldn’t help but feel this was an excuse, though she tried not to see it that way. But was it more than that? Was there a problem? Was it a bigger deal than she wanted to believe?
‘What’s wrong?’
He kissed her vaguely as she got in the car. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’
‘Nothing’s wrong with me except trying to work out what’s wrong with you.’
‘I’m fine.’
He turned the key in the ignition, and Ottilie closed her mouth, swallowing back any further interrogation. His tone told her he wasn’t in the mood to discuss it, but if he was trying to convince her there was nothing going on, he was doing a terrible job. Something had happened. Was it to do with Mila? She cursed herself. Why was it her mind always went there lately? Why was she so fixated suddenly on Heath’s troublemaking ex? Stupid Ottilie. She was spiralling, and she was heading to a bad place if she didn’t get a hold on this and sort it out.
The spa hotel was an hour away. As they drove in, however, she was beginning to think it might be harder work than a spa day was ever meant to be. She’d sensed an edge in the car, a strange atmosphere that had made conversation more awkward than it had ever been between them. She couldn’t tell if it was Heath’s fault or hers, but it was there just the same.
‘This looks lovely, doesn’t it?’ Ottilie grabbed his hand as they walked towards the vast row of white columns that heralded a grand entrance. The venue was a renovated stately home, beautiful and elegant, with perfectly manicured grounds and a pristine gravel path that crunched beneath their feet. Some would say it was a bit too clinical, especially compared to the wild and wonderful garden of Wordsworth Cottage, Ottilie’s home, but if it meant some desperately needed pampering and relaxation, Ottilie could cope with that.
‘What’s first?’ she added. ‘The pool? Oh, have they got a sauna? They’ll have a sauna, right? And a hot tub? What about one of those hydro things? You know, the ones that massage you? Have they got one of those?’
‘Are you thinking of doing them all at once?’
Ottilie let out a little laugh. Things had been strained on the drive over, but perhaps she’d sensed tension that hadn’t really been there. Perhaps it had come from her rather than him. She still had things on her mind, but she was optimistic, now they’d arrived, that today would go a long way to helping ease that stress.
‘But what do you fancy doing first?’
He turned and raised a saucy eyebrow, and her laughter grew.
‘I mean in the spa,’ she chided.
‘You want to do it in the spa? I don’t think the manager will be happy about that. And as for the other customers…’
‘Stop it!’ Ottilie shoved a playful elbow into him. ‘You know what I mean.’
‘Do I?’
