Читать книгу The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 18

Chapter Seven

Eva pulled off her rubber gloves and stretched out her back. Finally, she had removed all the wallpaper. She had spent the past two days in a cloud of steam, stripping off layers of wallpaper that had been up so long it had flaked away in little pieces and fallen at her feet in a sticky mess. But now at last it was all off and the room looked much bigger and brighter.

She glugged a mouthful of water from her bottle and then, after a short break, set about lifting the carpet. Donning her heavy work gloves she used her knife and started to cut the carpet into manageable strips before rolling them up. Who needed the gym she thought hurling bits of carpet into a corner of the room. Eva was pleasantly surprised to discover the wooden floorboards were in good condition. It wouldn’t take too much effort to restore them to their original glory – some sanding and varnish and they would look lovely.

Much later, covered in sweat and with aching muscles, Eva surveyed the room. Apart from a bit of plastering where the leak had caused damage, the room was ready for decorating. She had created a blank canvas to work with and, most importantly, it no longer felt like the MacKenzies’ room. It felt a little sad, as though Eva was stripping away their memories, but she knew they’d had a happy life here and now it was someone else’s turn. Would that person be Ben? she pondered.

Knowing she was working in Ben’s house – doing it all for him – felt personal, made her feel connected to him, but as she gazed around the room now, it dawned on Eva she had no real plan what to do next. Usually her mind was brimming with ideas and colour schemes. She’d always found it easy decorating her own home but with a sinking feeling realized all her creative thoughts seem to have floated off somewhere else.

As if looking for inspiration she wandered into the hall where boxes remained unopened, a clear sign that Ben hadn’t made up his mind about staying, and Eva felt her heart drop. Feeling horribly nosy but unable to stop herself, she walked through to the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but wanted to see if she could get more of a feel for Ben’s life that might give her clues for decorating.

As in her own house the kitchen was a large, bright space but there was nothing to suggest Ben was cooking or even spending much time here. Some fruit – not too fresh-looking – and an opened packet of biscuits lay on the worktop and several dirty mugs competed for space with a stack of books on the table. In one way she supposed it was typical for a man living on his own but there was also something sad – an emptiness – like seeing a life on hold.

She couldn’t see any personal touches or anything to show he intended to stay and certainly no hints of his personality that might help with her decorating. She thought about what she did know about him. She knew he had experienced loss and that his relationship had ended. She had detected a serious, studious side to him but also a very human side. She had observed how good he was with her son.

Watching him and Jamie walking home the other night and chatting so naturally she had felt her heart do a little dance in her chest. Jamie responding so positively to Ben was lovely but she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake allowing her son to form a bond with him. She had missed the MacKenzies dreadfully at the beginning but the truth was she was beginning to get used to Ben as her new neighbour.

Thinking about him now Eva felt the stirrings of something. She couldn’t identify the exact feeling – part fear, part exhilaration. She was beginning to realize how much it mattered to her that Ben liked what she created. Whatever her motives had been when she first offered to do the job, it was beginning to feel about much more than paint and wallpaper, almost as if she was investing part of herself into the project. The sudden knowledge that she didn’t want him to leave struck her with her a force that left her feeling bewildered and she bolted out of the kitchen as if she’d been caught trespassing.

With forced concentration she focused on tidying up: folding up the stepladders, packing away her tools, and tucking all thoughts of Ben neatly to the back of her mind. It had been a long day and her early start was finally catching up with her. This morning she had told Jamie he could go on the trip. Remembering the expression on his face made her smile. Breaking his own no-hugging rule, he had voluntarily wrapped his arms around her.

‘Thanks, Mum! I love you.’

‘I love you too,’ she had replied, holding him tightly.

***

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee met Eva as she walked into The Coffee Hut on Saturday morning. Heather was already settled at their usual table and waved over to her. Eva shrugged off her jacket and flopped down beside her, grateful for the seat.

It had been a bit of a disastrous Saturday morning with the discovery that Hamish had chewed one of Jamie’s new football boots. When they had finally hunted down his old pair, it was only to find they had no laces and somehow it was all Eva’s fault. Heather nodded in sympathy as Eva recounted the morning’s events.

‘I don’t know how you did it three times. I can hardly manage with one.’ Eva shook her head in dismay. ‘Please tell me it gets easier.’

Heather let out a little puff of air. ‘I wish. They seem to go from happy to snappy in the blink of an eye, don’t they?’

‘Jamie refused to take any responsibility whatsoever. No matter what I said, all I got were eye-rolls and smart comebacks,’ Eva said indignantly.

‘Ah yes, I know it well. Arguing with kids is a losing battle believe me, I have the scars to prove it.’

‘The days of playdough and jigsaws seem a lot simpler now,’ Eva sighed despondently. This morning Jamie had seemed to resent her very being, making her feel like the most annoying human on the planet. Heather tried to reassure Eva and make her feel better.

‘This is an awkward age; they’re just figuring out who they are. There’s a lot more outside influences now. But don’t worry, it’s all perfectly normal.’

‘I certainly hope so,’ Eva muttered. ‘I wasn’t even sure football would be on with all this rain.’

‘There was a pitch inspection earlier and the referee decided to go ahead. They’re lucky to get their game though; the forecast isn’t looking good.’

‘You see, that’s why I love you. You know everything.’ Eva grinned at her friend.

‘Only the stuff that matters to mothers who have a vested interest in having their sons run around for ninety minutes.’

Eva chuckled. ‘That’s true. Jamie’s definitely a happier boy after a game of football even if the weather is terrible.’

‘Playing football in Scotland’s not for the faint-hearted that’s for sure.’ Heather put her mug down, raising her eyebrows at Eva. ‘So?’

‘So?’ repeated Eva innocently.

‘Who was he?’

Eva rolled her eyes. She hadn’t seen Heather since the morning she’d driven past her standing with Ben and had known she’d never escape the inevitable inquisition.

‘My new neighbour, Ben Matthews. He’s working at the university, a physics lecturer.’

‘Really?’ Heather contemplated this information for a moment before taking a bite of a warm croissant. ‘Bit rugged for a physics lecturer, isn’t he?’

‘Um, he does seem quite well built I suppose,’ Eva said lightly. Heather put her cup down with a clatter, sudden comprehension dawning on her features.

‘Ah, so he’s the new hottie Professor!’

‘He’s the what?’ Eva chortled.

‘I heard Adam mention it. You know how he’s studying engineering at the university – well, his friend Amber is doing chemistry and she told him apparently a new Professor in the science faculty has caused quite a stir among the females. Bet his classes are popular then!’ Heather sat back, looking quite pleased with this turn of events. ‘What’s he like?’ she asked Eva, her voice full of interest.

‘Well, he wasn’t the easiest person to talk to, at least not at the beginning. But I’ve got to know him a bit better and when he came round for pizza –’

‘He came round for pizza?’ Heather exclaimed.

‘Don’t get excited. I was just being neighbourly.’

‘So what did you find out about him then?’

‘Um, he’s from London. He seems kind of quiet and recently split with his partner.’

Heather’s eyes lit up. ‘He’s got a broken heart? That’s even better.’

‘How do you work that out?’

‘You can console him of course.’

Despite herself Eva laughed, shaking her head. ‘How many times have I told you – I’m not on the lookout for a man. I’m happy the way things are.’ Eva had said the same thing to Heather countless times. She had Jamie and her business and that was enough; she didn’t need anything else. There were times she looked at her friends or other mums in the playground and envied their lives full of children, and husbands or partners. But that wasn’t the way her life had unfolded and there was no point in wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen.

‘Anyway, I’m not going to console him – at least not the way you’d like. But I am going to decorate his living room!’

‘Oh wow, that’s great –’

‘What’s great?’ Freya had bustled over carrying a tray laden with coffee cups and cakes. ‘Jack’s taking over for a bit so I can come for a natter.’ Freya cosied up on the sofa as she often did on a Saturday morning when Heather and Eva came in.

‘Thanks,’ Eva said, taking a mouthful of lemon drizzle cake and rolling her eyes to the heavens. ‘Delicious.’

Heather happily filled Freya in. ‘Eva’s going to be decorating her new neighbour’s front room who just happens to be a hunky physicist.’

‘Is that the guy you had coffee with in here the other day?’ Freya asked innocently.

‘You had coffee with him as well?’ Heather’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

‘He was very handsome – had that whole smouldering thing going on.’ Freya made a dreamy face at Heather.

‘Some people might think he’s handsome,’ Eva said primly.

‘And you don’t?’

‘Technically he is, yes … I suppose …’ Eva lifted her coffee to hide her blush although she didn’t mind her friends’ gentle teasing. Being married and having Jamie so young she always felt she’d missed out on a chunk of growing up. She had gone from what was essentially her first big romance to becoming a wife, mother, and then widow. Men were just something that happened to other women – boyfriends, husbands, partners – they simply hadn’t been on her radar.

‘So you’re decorating his house?’ Freya broke into her musings.

‘I offered to decorate his front room. He had a leak in his living room –’ Eva ignored Heather snorting into her coffee ‘– which I helped him with, so it left some damage. We got talking and I found myself offering to decorate the whole room,’ Eva finished matter-of-factly.

‘You are pretty handy with a paintbrush – I can vouch for that.’ Heather’s head bobbed up and down.

‘So how’s it going then?’ Freya wanted to know.

‘That’s the thing. For some reason I’m struggling with ideas, almost like I’ve got a mental block.’

‘You’re usually so good with decorating.’

‘I know,’ Eva sighed. ‘I’ve haven’t used one before, but I was thinking of creating a mood board.’

Heather’s eyebrows shot up suggestively. ‘A what board?’

‘It’s an arrangement of colours, material scraps, images – anything to help give ideas,’ Freya explained before turning to Eva. ‘You’ve never had trouble before. Do you think you might be trying a bit too hard?’

Eva felt her shoulders slump. ‘Could be a possibility,’ she admitted.

‘Hold on, I might have something to help you.’ Freya bustled away. Eva and Heather exchanged mystified glances while finishing their coffee. A few moments later Freya reappeared with a small canvas.

‘Before I start painting a seascape I work on a small canvas first. It helps to give me an idea of colour and composition.’

Eva studied the canvas, which she realized was basically layers of colours representing a view of the beach. The sky was painted light blue while the hills in the distance were shown with strokes of white. The rocks in the foreground were brown and the water turquoise. Light grey depicted the small peaks of foam in the water and finally there was a sweep of golden beige for the sand.

‘I adore the colours in this; it’s really lovely,’ Eva said appreciatively.

‘Do you think it might help you at all?’ Freya asked.

‘You know, I think it just might,’ Eva replied thoughtfully. Even though it was quite abstract, the layers of colours captured the essence of the sea, sand, and sky and Eva could already feel it igniting ideas, imagining Ben’s brown leather sofas set against very pale grey walls.

Heather nudged Eva, reminding her it was time to go and watch the last part of the football game. Neither of them was overly keen at the prospect of leaving the warmth of the coffee shop for the cold sidelines of the pitch but duty called. Full of cake and clutching Freya’s canvas, Eva pulled on her jacket, feeling much happier.