“Why’ve you kept it so secret?”
“The age gap. I felt weird about it. And I thought it was just sex, to be honest.” Holly laughed. “I feel like I could do with wine for this.”
“Why not?” Lainey put the coffee on the side table and went to the fridge. It was eleven on a Saturday morning. She had no clients. The only thing on her agenda was a meeting about the auction with Keren and Marley, who’d ended up being her partners in crime for it, and they were coming here, where more alcohol would be consumed. She poured two glasses of chardonnay and swapped Holly’s coffee for that.
“So, Josh.” Lainey looked at Holly. “Stop being embarrassed that he’s younger than you. He’s old enough to make his own decisions and know his own mind.” Lainey started to click at the changes she’d seen in her stable hand in the last few months. He’d gone from being fairly quiet and reserved, to taking charge and seeming taller.
“That’s what he told me.”
“I’m thinking you tried arguing.”
“Oh yes.” Holly took a mouthful of wine. “I told him I was too old for him, that I wanted to meet someone I could have kids with and in the near future, not in another ten years. He didn’t take very kindly to that.”
“I think I can see that. So it’s serious?”
Holly nodded. “It is. Would you be okay with him moving in with me?”
“I’m not your mother, Holly.”
“But you are my boss and landlord, and he works for you too. If we split up, it would mean one of us moving on from here.”
“And if you’re planning on moving in together, that’s not likely to happen, is it?”
Holly shook her head. “No. Trust me, I’ve thought a lot about what we’re doing. His parents know.”
Lainey knew Holly wasn’t close to hers, her brother was her nearest family member, so this with Josh’s mum and dad had probably been a big deal. “How did it go?”
“Good. His parents aren’t that young. They’re older than mine – Josh was their afterthought, and his mum was forty when she had him. They didn’t care about the age difference.”
“And neither does Josh, by the sounds of things.”
“No. He really doesn’t.” She laughed. “He may be young, but he isn’t inexperienced and he knows what he wants. Especially in bed.”
Lainey almost choked on her wine.
“Sorry, is this too much information?”
“No, no. Tell me more. About the two of you – I can live without the bed bit.”
“We’ve been seeing each other for a while. I didn’t think it would be able to work, but I, well, I do now.”
“You’ll be gossip in the town when everyone finds out.”
Holly shrugged. “This is Severton. I don’t think the town would bat an eye if they found out Maud was dating Jake, as long as they could talk about it.”
Lainey stared at her wine. She hadn’t told a soul about Jake, not even her sisters. She wasn’t close to Holly, but they had kind of become friends.
Friends who hid things from each other.
“I’m seeing Jake.” She said the words before she could think too much about it. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few months, kind of.”
Holly sat up straight. “This is a day for sharing secrets! Why are you keeping quiet about it? He’s a great guy and everyone loves you.”
Lainey managed a smile. “I think he’d like to tell people, but I didn’t want to be known as Jake’s girlfriend or another woman that he’s slept with. He’s hardly got the reputation of a saint.”
“It isn’t that bad. He’s a flirt more than anything and everyone knows he flirts with everyone – it doesn’t mean anything. Everyone thinks you don’t really get on. I know that’s not true – we’ve seen you spend time together and you seem on good terms. Now I know it’s more than good terms.” She eyed her mischievously. “We should time our reveals. Then the gossip will be split.”
That wasn’t a bad idea.
