Although only having met his next-door neighbour briefly, she had made quite an impact on him, probably due to the fact he knew of her heartbreaking background. Human nature did that, thankfully; made people kinder to those in need, no matter how well you did or didn’t know them. And Robindidwant to help her; he knew he could, very easily. He had the resources, as a property developer, to make Jasmine’s life a whole lot easier. They were both in the same position, renovating adjourning cottages. Although Jasmine had a brother to help, Robin doubted he’d have the same skills he and Jack had, as implied by her comment that they would be ‘giving it their best shot’.
A skip was being delivered that morning and, knowing that Jasmine and her brother were about to rip out the kitchen and bathroom (from his eavesdropping), he intended to offer its use to her. He had originally ordered a smaller skip, but he’d called and changed it to a larger one to make extra room.
It had tickled Robin that Jasmine and her brother were camping out in the garden. But why not? It made sense to take advantage of the good weather, rather than being cooped up inside the cottage which would be full of muck and dust whilst working on it.
Yawning, he made his way into his kitchen and filled the kettle. He always took a full flask of coffee and sandwiches with him when working on a job, fuel for the day. His mobile rang, and looking at the screen told him it was Jack.
‘Hi, mate,’ he answered.
‘Hi. The window’s arrived for the skylight,’ Jack informed him.
‘Good. I’ll knock through the roof today and get it fitted.’
‘Need a hand?’
‘Nah, don’t think so. You OK to go to the reclamation yard?’ They had decided to try and source original fittings for the bathroom and wanted a cast iron, rolled top bath along with sinks and shower mixer taps. They’d also wanted an old fireplace to install in the living room.
‘Yeah, sure, leave it with me.’ Then Jack added, ‘Any sign of next door?’
Robin paused, having expected this question from Jack. Part of him was tempted to deny he’d met Jasmine, knowing how inquisitive Jack would be about her. The last thing he wanted was for Jack to go snooping about, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. For some reason, he felt quite defensive of Jasmine. He’d never mentioned to Jack that he’d gone to Bunty to get answers, so he was left in the dark about her matchmaking schemes.
Although he had eavesdropped on her family yesterday, rather hypocritically, he didn’t like the idea of Jack’s interest being satisfied.
Instead of outright denying what happened, Robin played down his answer.
‘Just exchanged names over the hedge,’ he said in an offhand manner.
‘And?’ Jack’s voice rose in anticipation.
‘She seems nice enough,’ came the neutral reply. ‘Like I said, we only introduced ourselves, didn’t talk for long.’
‘Oh.’ Jack was obviously disappointed not to have had a more detailed account. ‘What does she look like?’ he persisted.
Robin rolled his eyes, typical Jack. He was damned well not going to tell him that Jasmine was without doubt one of the most attractive women he’d ever set eyes on. This would only raise Jack’s interest further.
‘Well… shortish hair, friendly face. Her brother’s there too, helping out apparently. Built like a brick shithouse,’ added Robin unnecessarily, but it seemed to do the trick.
‘Oh, right.’
Robin grinned wryly, changing tack. ‘So, if you go to the reclamation yard, I’ll get the skylight done.’
‘OK, will do, bye.’
‘See ya, mate.’ Robin hung up then laughed, shaking his head at Jack. He knew how to handle him, having been his best friend for years.
When Robin’s parents had chosen to leave London and all its pressures behind, they couldn’t have picked a more ideal spot than Samphire Bay. Although only a teenager at the time, Robin instantly became accustomed to the tranquil, coastal village, which held so much charm. He’d loved the quirkiness of the peninsula and the way it could be cut off by the tide. The place intrigued him with its folk tales of stolen contraband hidden in secret coves by smugglers, or shipwrecks out at sea waiting to be discovered. It had all been such a huge contrast to the busy suburb in north London where he’d grown up.
Together with Jack, who he’d immediately gelled with, they had got the most out of the place; barbeques with friends on the beach, dancing until sunset to go skinny dipping under a moonlit sea. They’d had a ball. Having a small community meant people really knew each other well and solid friendships formed.
Looking back, Jack always did have an eye for the ladies. His good looks and natural charisma meant he’d been popular, but perhaps never taken too seriously, while Robin had been the quieter of the two in comparison, but still well-liked; and where Robin was dark, swarthy and with a tendency to brood, Jack was fair haired and the more boisterous.
It had been Jack who had warned Robin of Ellie, his ex-fiancée. Although appearing to have a devil-may-care attitude, it was he who’d had the intuition to see straight through her, especially when she had tried to flirt with him. That, in Jack’s book, was bang out of order. It was one thing chatting up women, but best mate’s girlfriends were most definitely out of bounds. He’d tried several times to caution Robin, without actually telling him just what his girlfriend was capable of. Robin’s friendship was important to him and the last thing he wanted was any kind of rift between them, especially as nothing had come of her flirting.
‘Don’t put her name on the deeds, mate, just yours,’ he’d said, knowing it was Robin’s money which was being poured into the renovation of the barn they had planned to live in.
‘But it’s going to be her home too,’ Robin had reasoned, thinking his friend was acting a touch mercenary. But for all Jack’s advice, which Robin had ignored, he’d been proved well and truly right. If only he had listened to his best mate, he’d have saved himself a whole load of misery and money.
Still, that was in the past and time had moved on. So had Robin. At least Ellie had done the right thing and beggared off, out of Samphire Bay, leaving him free to get on with his life. He laughed to himself when thinking about Bunty and her idea that playing cupid was going to help him. Despite it being totally outrageous the way she was trying to engineer the situation, he could see she meant well. Then again, after seeing Jasmine yesterday, maybe Bunty wasn’t too far off the mark after all.
