‘Maybe I’m just not normal,’ she muttered.
She was startled by at an apparition at the door – an unshaven ghoul with a bandaged thumb.
‘Talking to yourself is not very normal behaviour, I agree.’ Nic grinned.
‘You made me jump,’ she told him, putting her hand on her beating chest. ‘Will you please stop creeping around?’ But he wasn’t listening as he walked to her sofa and nodded at the bedding.
‘Getting comfy?’
‘Yes, well I…’ She abandoned the speech she’d prepared. She was clearly living here. Any idiot could see that. She froze, waiting for the inevitable.
‘I have a proposition,’ he said.
‘What kind of proposition?’ she asked sceptically. Not what she expected. And not welcome. He held all the cards while she possessed an empty hand. They stood, a few metres apart but a world away in experience, lifestyle and power.
Although it was her home, he took the initiative and sat down on the edge of the sofa bed. Running his fingers over the quilt, he looked directly at her. ‘How long have you been living here?’
‘I’m not—’
‘Look, we both know you can’t fish. And we both know you don’t just come here to swim. The cabin is packed with your possessions. I’m sure you’ll be aware it’s against regulations to sleep over. You could be evicted if someone found out. Unless…’
‘I thought this might be coming. Are you hoping to buy, bully or blackmail me out of here? Should we establish that up front and save time?’ His eyes turned to flint. Now she was seeing the businessman in him, and despair pushed through her. When she next spoke, her voice was small. ‘Please don’t tell anyone. I can’t afford anywhere else. I gave up my flat inthe south. My credit card is maxed, and my bank account is empty. I’m planning to get a proper job, and I have a couple of freelance things lined up until then. I need to stay in the hut while I save for a deposit. It won’t be forever, just a few weeks. I have no one to help me out of this fix. My dad was my lifeline and I’m pretty much alone now.’
If she expected pity, she was disappointed as anger flashed in his eyes. ‘Ah yes, the saintly Eddie Wilson. Why did you lead me on to think he was still alive? A ploy to retain the hut? Or a conspiracy with the rest of the town to keep me out of the loop?’
She looked up, surprised. ‘It wasn’t a secret. I can barely talk about the fact that he’s gone without crying.’
His expression softened. ‘Aria I’m sor…look, maybe we can help each other out. As you know, I’m trying to provide a quality tourism experience in a place that’s rested on its romantic past for too long.’
‘Well, evicting someone is certainly not a romantic ideal!’
He clenched his fingers in frustration. ‘I have a company, Aria. I’m not doing all this for fun. People’s livelihoods and families depend on me. And if I don’t buy the land around the acres I already have, someone else will snap it up. I need this too, more than you know, and I am in a precarious position right now. Another developer wants to build holiday parks around the whole lake. He’s also started charging people to use the beach.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Are we talking about the Hetheringtons?’
‘Friends of yours?’
‘It’s complicated.’
He paused as though formulating his words. ‘I’d like to make you a genuine offer. But it comes with a catch.’
‘As all “genuine offers” do,’ she said, sarcasm edging her voice.
‘I want you to move in with me.’
‘Wait, what? Why would I do that?’
‘To help secure a business deal I’ve been working on for months.’ He must have spotted her confusion, as he quickly elaborated on his proposal. ‘I am suggesting you and I pretend to be together to get us both what we want and need.’ She stared, shocked, as he continued. ‘First off, I’d like to invite an influential local councillor round for dinner at my place. Donna Rushton is apparently obsessed with property going to locals, which is also what the district council is set to recommend. If she sees that you and I are a package, she may help me push through the final planning stages on the land I already own, while encouraging others to turn a blind eye to the purchase of some more. As a reward for our deception, I’ll get my houses built and you’ll enjoy a temporary home until you can sort something else out. I can see this place isn’t really fit for purpose,’ he said, nodding to the buckets in the corner of the hut. ‘I’ll also throw in a fee that’ll go some way to help you with a deposit to secure a new place. It’s a win-win situation.’ He held out his hand. ‘What do you say?’
‘What?’
‘Do we have a deal?’
‘No! Why don’t you just ask your girlfriend to sweet-talk her mother?’
Now it was his turn to look bemused. ‘I don’t have a girlfriend…’
‘I can’t move in with you. I don’t even know you.’
