Life was pleasingly satisfying and straightforward, with his rapport with Soli on an even keel, both knowing exactly where they stood with each other.
There was no pretence and no underlying conflict of interest.
It was the most simple and rewarding relationship he’d ever had.
She seemed to know just how to pull him out of one of his funks with a few choice words and a smile, and she charmed him with her positivity and humble joy. For those few weeks he felt as if he was finally living the life he’d always wanted.
A few days after they decided to ignore their no-sex agreement Soli moved into his bedroom – which he’d suggested, saying it was ridiculous for her to return to her own room every night.
He loved waking up with her beside him. It had been a long time since he’d shared his bed like this, and he was surprised to find how much he’d missed it.
Setting off for the office bright and early one morning, he turned back from opening his car door to see Soli standing on the doorstep, still wearing the short silky pyjamas she looked so damned alluring in, blinking in the sunshine.
‘Where are you off to so early?’ she asked, carefully picking her way over the gravel towards him in her bare feet.
He met her halfway and lifted her into his arms so she could wrap her legs around his middle and save the soles of her feet from the sharp stones.
Walking back to the car, he put her down gently onto the bonnet and leant in to kiss her, breathing in the enticing, sleep-warmed scent of her.
‘I’m off to the office. I want to get everything that needs doing today finished in good time so I can come home early and take you out for dinner. I’ve booked that new place on Hampstead High Street that you mentioned the other day.’
‘Really?’ she said, beaming at him. ‘That’s so thoughtful of you.’
He smiled back. ‘It’s mostly a selfish move on my part. I really fancied checking it out too.’
Leaning back in, she kissed him hard, and he felt her smile against his lips.
‘What are you going to do today?’ he asked when they broke apart.
‘I’m going to check in on Mum, then go to the cafe. The marketing I’ve been doing seems to be paying off and we’ve seen a real increase in business recently.’ She took a breath and he felt her fingers dig into his back as she tightened her grip on him. ‘And I’ve decided it’s time to give the place a new fit-out.’ Her brow pinched in a frown as if she found this idea troubling. ‘I can’t keep clinging on to my father’s vision for the place. It’s looking so shabby now and needs modernising.’ Her eyes welled with tears. ‘Time to let go of the past and look to the future.’
‘I think that’s a good decision,’ he said, running a finger gently under her eye to brush away a tear. His heart gave an extra-hard beat in his chest as it suddenly occurred to him that she was talking about a future he’d have no part in. His time with her would quickly slip away and at some point soon, so would she.
‘You know, I think my time with you has really made me grow up and look at life from a new perspective. So thank you for that,’ she added with a sad sort of smile.
‘I’m glad to have helped,’ he said roughly, leaning in again and kissing her hard to try and disguise the troubling emotions that were now raging through him. Emotions he didn’t know what to do with.
She let out a small sigh of contentment and pressed herself harder against him.
His mind went mercifully blank. All he wanted to think about right now was the feel of her soft, supple body against his and the luscious, honeyed taste of her in his mouth.
So it was a few seconds before he realised there was someone standing on the driveway with them, clearing his throat to politely get their attention.
Pulling away from Soli, he turned his head to see Samuel Pinker, his great-aunt’s spy, looking back at him with a slightly sheepish look on his face.
‘Sorry to interrupt you. The front gate was open, so I thought it’d be okay to come right in. I have some documents from your great-aunt’s solicitor to drop off and as I was in the area…’
They nodded politely, all of them patently aware that it had actually been another ruse to check up on the two of them, as per Aunt Faith’s decree.
‘That’s quite all right, Mr Pinker,’ Soli said with a grin in her voice. ‘I was just sending my husband off to work in the best possible way I know.’
Mr Pinker cleared his throat again as a red flush appeared to creep up his neck and brighten his cheeks. ‘Your husband’s a very lucky man, Mrs McQueen,’ he replied. ‘And could I just say, I think the two of you make a lovely couple?’ He turned to look at Xavier. ‘Your great-aunt would be very pleased to see you so happy, Mr McQueen.’
And with those incisive words hanging in the air, he handed the envelope he was carrying to Xavier, gave them both a friendly nod of goodbye and strolled away back towards the open gates.
Soli couldn’t help giggling. ‘I don’t think we need to worry about him thinking we’re not behaving like a real married couple any more,’ she said with a grin.
Something about the way she said this, on top of Pinker’s parting shot, made a shiver of discomfort rush across his skin. Were they acting like a married couple? He wouldn’t have said so. They were just enjoying each other’s company whilst they were forced to live together. In order to be convincingly married there would have to be a palpable emotional connection between them as well as a physical one. Which he didn’t think they had.
