Her eyes darting back towards him, Florrie knew there was no point trying to deny it, but thankfully Rose started just then, buying her time before she had to answer. Florrie hit the accelerator hard by mistake causing the van to kangaroo forward, then in a second blunder pressed the brake with enough force to catapult herself forward. Feeling a fool, she squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the loud clang of Rose’s bumper falling onto the ground behind her. Tom Houston was making herverynervous.
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m so sorry.’ Her voice was shaky. ‘I could have hit you.’ Her white knuckles were still gripping the steering wheel.
Tom’s expression softened. ‘You’re shaking. I … I didn’t mean to shout at you. It’s just that I only got the car a few days ago. Here, let me move Rose.’ He held out his hand and Florrie hesitated for a moment before letting Tom help her down from the van. The touch of his hand made her tingle and she could feel herself turning slightly crimson as she noticed the familiar aroma emanating from him. He was wearing the same aftershave as he had eight years ago. Standing to the side, she watched as he gently drove Rose back into the space she’d rolled from and parked her.
‘The handbrake is on, this time,’ he said with a smile as he stepped out of the van. ‘And are you okay?’
Florrie knew Tom had every right to raise his voice but he didn’t. He seemed genuinely concerned and more like the caring Tom she remembered. ‘I’m okay, but I think Rose needs some TLC.’ Florrie’s eyes were fixed on the bumper, which was still lying on the ground. ‘You need to assess the damage to your car,’ she reminded him.
Tom walked up to his car. ‘From what I can see there’s just a couple of dents and a smashed front light. Let me take your details.’
‘Yes, of course.’ She grabbed a business card from her bag and passed it to Tom. ‘All my details are on there.’
He turned the card over in his hand. ‘I assumed you changed your phone number. After…’ He paused. ‘I tried this number many times but … it never…’ Tom looked hurt.
Florrie hesitated. ‘It never connected because I blocked your number after what you did.’
Tom raised an eyebrow. ‘Unbelievable.’
She wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but it wasn’t a conversation she wanted to get into right at this second. There was no point dragging up the past. Even though there was a part of her that wished it had never happened, to forget about those two weeks they’d spent together, their bodies entwined, would mean she also lost out on some very special memories they’d shared. ‘I’ll unblock you now.’ Florrie took her phone out from her bag.
‘You still have my number stored in your phone eight years after blocking it?’ he asked.
‘It appears so,’ she replied, tapping on her phone.
Tom’s phone began to ring. Florrie leaned over his shoulder to take a look at the screen. ‘That’s me, but I see you’ve no longer got my number stored.’ She wasn’t sure how she felt about that; maybe there was a twinge of disappointment?
‘I haven’t, no, after whatyoudid,’ he said, a bit pointedly.
It was now Florrie’s turn to raise an eyebrow but she brushed past his implication. ‘You can contact me about the damage and the costs.’
‘Rest assured, I will.’
Florrie was beginning to feel a little agitated. She dropped her phone back into her bag before opening the back doors of Rose. Hauling the bumper up into her arms, she placed it down into the back of the van. As she shut the doors, she glanced down at her white T-shirt and saw that it was now sporting a black stripe right across it. Damn.
Tom smiled in amusement, which irritated her that little bit more. ‘It’s not funny.’
He held his hands up in protest and at that moment his phone rang again. He looked at the screen. ‘It’s the office. I need to take this.’
Florrie watched him walk off towards the lake and remembered that she was here for a meeting with Flynn and Jaydon, which she’d now have to take covered in grime. Hearing an engine, she spotted Isla driving towards her in the farm van. She parked near to Florrie then jumped out of the driver’s seat. ‘I’m just dropping the fresh meat to the kitchen.’ She clocked Florrie’s T-shirt. ‘What have you been doing and what’s happened to Rose?’
‘I’ve had a little bump.’ Florrie nodded her head towards the Bugatti.
‘Woah! Out of all the cars in the car park, you’ve bumped into the most expensive one. Surely it must belong to a film star or someone equally rich and famous.’
‘It’s worse than that. Would you believe me if I told you the car belongs to Tom Houston?’
Isla followed Florrie’s eyes in the direction of Tom, who was leaning against the gate leading to the lake, still talking on his phone. ‘No way. How did he react to that?’
‘To be fair, he’s been quite good about it, especially considering he’s only had the car a few days.’
Isla let out a low whistle. ‘His business must be doing very well.’
‘And that’s the reason I’m here. To try and put a stop to some of that business.’
‘You can’t deny he’s drop-dead gorgeous.’
Florrie stared in his direction before turning back to her friend and scolding her. ‘Isla, you’re meant to be on my side.’
