Shona whistled. “She must be something special if you’re taking extra time off work. Spill!”
Mattie wanted to play it cool, but words bubbled out of her as she regaled Shona with the previous day’s adventures and how she’d managed to swap her shifts with her news editor’s blessing. She had, after all, worked on a story during her leave.And yes, Nell was worth it. “She’s smart, witty, and incredibly hot.”
“Just your type,” said Shona.
Mattie hesitated. The women she usually dated or enjoyed flings with were like her: ambitious, always on the move, gregarious, and sure about who and what they were. Like Zabu, her friend with benefits, before Kenya screwed everything up. She was a doctor working for a medical emergency response team, and was passionate and exuberant about everything she did.Everyoneknew when Zabu was in the room. “Nell’s quieter, more perceptive. She thinks before she acts.”
“Interesting,” said Shona. “So it’s a summer fling? Getting back on the horse, so to speak?”
“We haven’t put a label on it.” Mattie gripped the phone more tightly. “But we agreed to no strings. You know me. I’m a queen at the no-emotional-attachment gig.”
Shona made a hm sound. “Tread carefully, Mattie.Nellmight not be such a queen.”
A while later, Mattie’s phone buzzed with a text notification.
Leaving office now. See you in about 30 mins.
Butterflies fluttered gently in Mattie’s stomach as she read it. They were at full pelt when she heard car tyres crunching on the gravel outside the cottage announcing Nell’s arrival.Whoa, simmer down.She opened the door and went to greet her. “You’re here. I wasn’t sure if you’d come.”
“I changed my mind four times.” Nell thrust a bottle of wine and a plastic container full of raspberries at her. “I picked them from my garden this morning. They’ve been in the fridge all day so they should still be fresh.”
Mattie took them from her. Where was her overnight bag? Maybe she wasn’t planning to stay? Mattie decided to play it cool. “Come through, and I’ll get you a drink.” In the kitchen, shegestured at the bottle of wine already in the cooler. “A glass of something cold? Or would you prefer tea?”
“Wine, please.” Nell looked around. “This place is cosy.”
“Tiny, don’t you mean?”
“Yes, that too.” Nell’s laugh was tinged with nerves. “How’s your day been?”
“Easy next to yours, I suspect. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been slaving in the kitchen all afternoon to make us dinner.” Mattie retrieved a box containing oven-ready lasagne from the fridge. “Marks and Sparks’ finest. Pre-packaged food, I know, but far superior to anything I can cook. My culinary skills are somewhat limited.”
They wandered around the garden, which was at least three times the length of the cottage.
“That’s dogwood.” Nell pointed at a reddish-brown stemmed shrub. “And there’s jasmine, lavender, and viburnum.”
Why was Nell giving her an A-Z of garden plants? She might be dressed casually, but her posture was stiff, and she was as jumpy as a spooked cat. Mattie handed her a glass of wine. “Is everything all right?”
“My common sense and uncharacteristic desire to be spontaneous have been arguing with each other all day. This,” Nell gestured between the two of them, “may well be something you do all of the time, but I don’t. So I have to ask, what exactlyisthis?”
That was the second time she’d been asked in the space of a few hours, and Shona’s warning came to mind. “It’s a chance to enjoy each other’s company and have some fun.” She held Nell’s gaze. “I’ll be frank. We’re both way more invested in our careers than we are with relationships. I’m monumentally crap at them even when I try. We’ve already worked out that there’s a connection between us, and we’re great in bed together.” When Nell’s cheeks pinked, Mattie longed to make her flush inother places too. She tucked a lose tendril of hair behind Nell’s ear. “Let’s not overthink this. Focus on the here and now, with neither of us expecting or wanting anything more. Does that work for you?”
Nell’s face was impassive and for a worrying moment, Mattie thought she was going to turn her down.
Nell lifted her wine glass and smiled. “I’ll get my overnight bag from the car.”
Mattie grinned. Dinner, bed, and breakfast were back on the menu.
After Nell had left her bag in the bedroom, they sat on the matching deck chairs lined with thick cushioning, which squeaked as they relaxed into them. Mattie topped up their glasses. “Are you tired?”
“A little weary, but I’ll cope.”
“You’ll have to let me fuss over you in order to replenish your energy reserves.” Mattie winked.
Nell arched her eyebrow. “It makes a change to the packet of Hobnobs, glass of calvados, and bland TV that I usually resort to.”
“How often does that happen?”
“More than is good for me.” Nell flexed her grip on the thin stem of her wine glass. “What do you crave when you’re exhausted?”
