Page 39 of Someone For Everyone

‘Of course.’ She looked away, knowing her answer lacked conviction.

‘I’m serious, Kate. I don’t want you short-changing yourself.’

‘I know. And I will, I promise.’ She was such a liar. There was no way she was going to charge him her full rate; it didn’t seem fair, not with the care home being in such a precarious position. As long as she came away with enough to clear the tax debt, that was all that mattered.

‘Kate…?’ She still hadn’t turned to face him. ‘Katiekins?’

That got her attention. She turned, both eyebrows raised.

‘I thought that’d get your attention. You need to bill for every hour you work here, okay? Don’t do me any favours.’ He reached out and touched her arm. ‘Please?’

She gave an exaggerated eye-roll. ‘Fine. I’ll bill for every hour.’ The intensity in his gaze was unnerving. She returned to admiring the wine. It was safer that way.

He stepped over a wine crate. ‘What about your mum? How’s she doing these days?’

‘Oh, she’s okay. She’s with a lovely man called Brian, who worships the ground she walks on. She’s happy, and thankfully no longer has to worry about money. I just wish she didn’t have to worry about me,’ she said, touching a bottle. ‘Which is why I’m so determined to turn things around. I need her to stop fretting about my dire financial situation.’

‘I’m sorry things are so grim for you.’ His hand rested over hers, and the sensation gave her quite a jolt. ‘You don’t deserve it. I hope this job makes things better for you.’

‘Me too.’ Her brain told her to move her hand, but for some reason her body wasn’t cooperating. ‘I can’t fully move on until that wretched tax debt is cleared, but once that’s sorted, I’m hoping I can make a fresh start and turn things around.’

She slid her hand out from underneath his. Touching him in such a confined space felt too intimate, even though she knew there was no ulterior motive. He wasn’t that kind of man. And even if he was, he wouldn’t be interested in her. He was a Ferrari; she was a 2CV.

‘Talking of money,’ she said, moving away in the guise of admiring the wine. ‘I’ve listed the garage blocks for auction. That should free up some cash.’

He followed her around the confined space, flinching when he nearly collided with a cobweb. ‘I thought we couldn’t sell anything until probate had been granted?’

‘Normally, we can’t. But as the value of the estate is so large, we don’t have the funds to pay Inheritance Tax, which has to be settled before the grant of probate can be issued.’ She blew dust away from one of the labels. ‘This wine is over eighty years old.’

‘Some of them are even older.’ He lifted a bottle from the rack. ‘This one was bottled in 1901. So what do we do about the tax bill?’

‘That’s where Alex comes in. We can apply for an instalment option and delay paying Inheritance Tax, as long as we provide robust accounts. It’ll buy you more time if you decide you want to continue running the place.’

‘Which I don’t.’

‘No, but at least this way we can get probate granted and start selling off assets. Alex is meeting with the tax people tomorrow to formalise the application. I probably should’ve run it past you, but I knew you didn’t have the funds to pay the Inheritance Tax upfront.’

‘I don’t, not unless I sell my house in Leeds.’

‘You don’t want to do that… do you?’

‘Not really.’ He replaced the wine bottle. ‘Or at least, I didn’t think I did. Truth is, I’m not sure I want to live there anymore.’

She glanced at him. ‘Why’s that?’

He shrugged. ‘Bad memories. Maybe I’d be better of selling up and starting afresh somewhere else, like you’re doing.’ He shook his head. ‘Anyway, I’m fine with your plan to arrange an instalment agreement. Thanks for doing that. I appreciate it.’

‘No problem. Happy to help.’

His eyes met hers and when he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

The small space seemed to close in on her. ‘Not something you have to worry about. I’m not going anywhere,’ she said, trying to keep her tone light, but it didn’t stop the long pause that followed.

A pause in which they both looked at each other, unsure of what was happening… until a spider landed on Calvin’s forehead and he nearly upended one of the wine racks in his attempt to escape it.

‘Christ, get it off me!’ he yelled, his usual calm demeanour suddenly gone.

‘Stand still,’ she said, trying to remove the spider, which was tricky since his arms were flailing about. ‘I can’t catch it unless you stay still.’

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