Page 10 of The Village Midwife
Zoe tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and folded her arms against a wind that was colder than she’d anticipated. She held up her keys to show him. ‘Just got these keys, literally half an hour ago. Maybe if you come back to me in a month I’ll be able to answer your question…So you’re thinking of moving to Thimblebury too?’
‘I don’t want to jinx anything, but…you never know, we might well end up neighbours.’
As she took in his thick, dark hair and soft eyes the colour of chocolate, and the way his voice rasped over certain vowels in the most attractive way, Zoe was struck by how much she’d like that, and it took her quite by surprise. There was an accent she couldn’t place, but it wasn’t from the north of England like her own. It was from somewhere around the home counties, perhaps.
He paused, his lips formed in the shape of the first syllable of a new question, but then he frowned. ‘You’re cold? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to keep you.’
‘It’s all right. I dashed out without a jacket, and that’s hardly your fault.’
‘I won’t make things worse. It was nice to meet you…Sorry, I didn’t ask your name.’
‘It’s Zoe.’
‘Zoe. Hi. I’m Alex. Maybe I’ll see you around.’
Grizzle was straining to get at something he’d seen in the distance. And then he pulled free, his lead trailing behind him as he began to gallop across the fields.
‘Griz!’ Alex yelled. ‘Grizzle! Come back!’ He turned to Zoe. ‘Sorry, got to…Hope to see you again.’
She watched him for a moment, marching over the fields, shouting for his dog and getting nowhere. There was something oddly adorable about it, funny and a little bit sexy, like he didn’t care that his dog was making an idiot of him, and she had to smile as his shouts became ever more exasperated.
By the time he’d caught up with Grizzle, they were so far away Zoe could no longer hear them. She figured he wasn’t coming back to continue their conversation as she watched him carry on in the opposite direction, which left her strangely disappointed. But now she had quite visible goosebumps from the chill, and decided it was probably a good idea for her to head back inside anyway.
As she opened the back door, her phone began to ring. She pulled it from her dungaree pocket to see Ottilie’s name on the screen.
‘Are you in?’ Ottilie asked as Zoe swiped to take the call.
‘Just about.’
‘Can I come and visit?’
Zoe grinned. ‘Could I stop you, even if I wanted to?’
‘I doubt it. I’ve made a casserole – thought you might not feel like cooking on your first night.’
‘Even if I did, I hardly have any food in yet. Casserole sounds lovely.’
‘Perfect! I’m on my way!’
Zoe tucked the phone back into her pocket and scanned the horizon. The figure had gone, perhaps hidden in a hollow or already on his way down the hill. Alex…that was his name, wasn’t it? Zoe rolled it around her mouth.Alex.
Her mind wandered back to those brief moments, looking up into those soft brown eyes, and she couldn’t help but hope that wasn’t the first and last time.
Zoe pushed her plate away. ‘Your cooking’s improved since we were in halls.’
Ottilie laughed. ‘It couldn’t have got worse. In those days, I thought a Pot Noodle sandwich was a delicacy.’
‘I remember telling my dad about your Pot Noodle sandwiches,’ Zoe said. ‘He was horrified.’
‘I’m not surprised. When I think back, our diet was pretty horrific, wasn’t it?’
‘We were poor students; I suppose we could be excused.’
Zoe collected their plates and put them into the dishwasher. ‘I’ll have to figure out how this works later,’ she said, taking a moment to study the control panel. ‘When I’ve managed to fill itup. Though, living alone, I’ll probably only have to start it once a week.’
‘How are you feeling about it all?’ Ottilie asked as she returned to the table. ‘Still wondering if you’ve done the right thing?’
‘How did you…? I didn’t say?—’
