I stop stirring and look up. ‘How is that romantic?’
Nemmie looks at me like I have no idea. ‘We come as a package. There’s no point you meeting them on your own.’
Angel’s nose is at my elbow, and he’s quietly drooling on my foot as he breathes in the scent of chocolate. I take some spoons from the drawer, scoop a dollop of mixture and hand it to Nemmie, then take the same for myself.
‘So that’s it?’
Nemmie’s voice is thick with cocoa. ‘I’ll take that as a yes!’
I turn to exchange eye rolls with Angel, but instead of finding solidarity, there’s a second doggy face looking up at me.
I let out a cry. ‘How long has Martha been here?’
Nemmie thinks. ‘She tiptoed in a few minutes ago. She can’t have come through the gate though because we locked it when we came in.’
Zara calls to us from the window. ‘Mum’s waving for us to go outside. It looks like we’ve got visitors.’ She’s craning her head to see higher up the garden. ‘They’re coming down the steps now.’
I wipe my hands on my apron and head for the door, pleased to get a break from the dating pressure. Then I look up and see some muscular thighs in tattered jeans sauntering down the steps, and I wish I’d stayed inside.
I get in first with the greeting. ‘Hello, Lando, and it must be my lucky day; you’ve brought Sav and Martha along too! If we’d known you were up in Mum’s rose garden we’d have come to say hello earlier!’
Sav is laughing. ‘Martha came on ahead of us. We were checking out next door’s boundaries, and this was the fastest way down from the top.’
This could be a metaphor for Sav’s whole life. ‘You always find the easy option, don’t you?’ I know I’m hitting out, but he’s so annoying I can’t help it. He’s also closing in on my territory again. ‘It’s quite a wilderness over the fence, I’m surprised you were there at all when Lando’s ruled it out as unsuitable and you’re still paying off your debts.’
As far as I know he still owes Mum just as much as ever. I told him to disappear and never come back, so he’s the last person who should be walking round our patio waving estate agent’s keys.
Sav shrugs. ‘Catch up, Maeve. Berry and Erica are doing a roaring trade at the Sardine Club; we have wall-to-wall bookings at Silver Meadows, and with this morning’s price reduction we’re viewing the place next door in a whole new light.’
Whenever I see Sav I get wildly agitated or mockingly ironic, and with his last boast I push the terrifying prospect of having either of them living next door out of my head, and my mood twists.
‘So I take it our competition’s warming up?’
The smile on Sav’s face widens. ‘We’re playing a blinder at our end! We’re so busy vacuuming confetti at Unicorn Creek, I barely have time to count our brides.’
If anyone else had told me, I’d be worried, but as Sav is completely unreliable, I’m no nearer knowing what the truth is. At least it’s saved us all from sitting through their plans for next door’s building work.
So far Nemmie’s been standing quietly in the doorway, but she steps forward. ‘Well, our news is that we’re all going dating. Our quest is to find Mum a husband before the end of summer, so if you know anyone cool send them our way.’
I have enough time to catch Lando’s mouth make a shocked ‘o’, then Sav’s smirk pushes me over the edge and I turn to Nemmie. ‘One of Jess’s lawyers was single, hot and keen to meet up; we could try him! He’s fun and sporty, we laughed a lot, and he smelled fabulous.’
Nemmie wrinkles her nose. ‘We don’t have space in the bathroom for anyone with shedloads of body products.’
‘You might be able to borrow them?’
Lando jumps in. ‘If you mean Pasco Pentreath, you’re worth a lot more.’
‘We’re talking veggie burger and chips with three kids at the Crab and Pilchard ball pit. Anyone who accepts that challenge can’t be all bad,’ I protest.
Nemmie twitches her nose. ‘We can do better than a ball pit. We were thinking of a cream tea up in the rose garden.’
It’s staggering how fully formed this plan is already.
Sav grins at her. ‘Lando likes scones, don’t you?’
I’m horrified at where this is going. ‘We already see far too much of each other at work.’
Sav pulls a face. ‘If you don’t mind guys in their earlytwenties, the line of hunky builders I know would reach from here to the sea.’
