Taking deep breaths, she focused on the box on the wall. Trying the dials one by one, she managed to turn on mood lighting above the kitchen island. Not very useful, but a start at cooperation? The garage door began its routine again, but she could live with that. Meanwhile Tiger whimpered at the front door, terrified of the robot vacuum that had stopped in front of him.
‘Poor thing, is it spooking you?’ Or maybe she was? Looking down at her ripped cardigan, she decided ‘professional’ was the last word someone meeting her would pluck out of the air. She tried to fix her hair in a mirror on the wall, reaching into her pocket for a lip balm and finding a dog treat. She unhooked Tiger, fed him the biscuit and let him wander into the room where he cocked a leg beside the L-shaped sofa.
‘No, no, NO! What are you doing?’ she gasped, as a dark patch appeared on the white rug.
‘OK, I have seen enough.’
Aria almost jumped out of her skin at the appearance of a tall man.
She was embarrassed about her clammy skin when they shook hands at his instigation, realising they’d met before. Today, he was dressed immaculately, in a light-blue shirt, black jeans and trainers. She pulled herself together and plastered asmile across her face. ‘Welcome to Inglemere’s beautiful lake, Stephen. Or do you prefer Steve?’ He momentarily looked puzzled before muttering either would be fine. She cheered up as she assessed his haircut, clothes and neutral accent. She’d met him coming north on the M6 and from what she’d seen of Southerners, they were so hungry for a lake or stream in their back yard, they’d drink it neat with ice. ‘It’s a pleasure to see you again, and I’m happy you managed to clean up since our service station encounter.’
‘I have to say I’m less than impressed so far,’ he said, pinning her with a stern gaze.
‘Yes, that is fair,’ she quickly replied. ‘Before we start, please accept my apologies for the banging and clanking of the garage door. It seems to have a mind of its own. And I’m afraid I had to bring my dog with me as we moved house a couple of days ago and he’s rather unsettled.’
‘So, you thought it could trash this place instead of yours?’
The man’s eyes continued to bore into her, making her feel uncomfortable. She lost her train of thought for a moment, perturbed by his hostile tone. Who would treat an estate agent with such venom? She was clearly having an off day,right? This man might be good looking, but he was a piece of work.
‘I promise the rug will be dry-cleaned as soon as we’ve finished here,’ she said, trying to keep a wobble out of her voice. ‘We have an amazing little laundry service in town. Please wait one moment while I deal with my errant dog.’ She grabbed Tiger, led him back to the front door, popped his lead over the hook again and gave him a warning to behave. ‘Hopefully he won’t bother our viewing any further.Did you limbo-dance under the garage door like me?’ She fingered her ripped cardigan, wondering why she’d felt the need to apologise to him. For God’s sake this was a show home and it’s not like the rug was a family heirloom. ‘How are you finding our Lakeland weather?’ she pushed on. ‘I’m looking forward to showing you around this wonderful property but, as you can imagine, the main selling point is the view…’ As they both looked over to the shuttered windows, she realised she hadn’t a clue how to open them on purpose. ‘Maybe we could go outside first to truly experience what this house is about,’ she quickly suggested. ‘You can find all sorts of wildlife here, rare butterflies and bats at night, if you’re a fan of superheroes, and who isn’t since the Marvel reboot…’ Aria trailed off. She’d pre-warned herself to stop talking if she couldn’t say anything intelligent. Grabbing Tiger, she opened the front door and led the way to the beach. ‘We also have some spectacular spiders and you’ll catch squirrels running up the trees. Tawny owls often swoop by to say hello. And then there are the tits.’ She turned to check he was still following and noticed his eyes went straight to her chest. While she was used to the male gaze, there was something disconcerting about the intensity of his stare. ‘Great Tit, Blue Tit, Bearded Tit…’ As she stammered out the last one, her attention was drawn to the stubble along his jawline. He’d been clean-shaven the day of their first meeting, and the scruff made him look less preppy and more sexy.Shut up, Aria. He’s just another fuck-boy.‘Do you like fishing?’ she asked, bending down to pick up a pebble.
‘Not really.’
Her stone skimmed twice in the water and she felt proud when Tiger barked his approval. Despite herself, she was starting to warm to the dog. The man standing in front of her – not so much. ‘As I was saying, the real star of this show is the lake,’ she pressed on, reminding herself this was her only paycheck. ‘Stick around for long enough and you’ll see it is the life force of this town. There are plenty of ways to enjoy it. There’s a tourist boat for a start, or a lot of people rent motorboats and canoes at weekends. I think the developer might be persuaded to throw in some sample kayaking classes if you were to purchase immediately, particularly if you are a cash buyer.’ She stopped suddenly, reminding herself not to go off-piste with wild claims. ‘And, of course, the residents of the Castle Enterprises luxury development have a private beach, so no one will see you sunbathing.’
‘It’s the house I’m interested in. I can take or leave the nature.’
Wow.She might have expected buyers from London to be less into nature, but not immune to it. The lake looked like a mirror today. How could anyone step foot on this beautiful shore and not fall in love? While she might have been attracted to the guy’s fit body and hypnotic eyes, she could definitely take or leave his personality.
‘I enjoy wild swimming here. It’s wonderful,’ she said, keeping herself on track. ‘And a lot of people come for the angling – myself included,’ she added in case he bought the property and she was still in situ.
‘Well, there will be no access to the lake for wild swimmers from here,’ he said, without even pausing to considerthe joys of taking a dip. Aria felt like he’d just erected an electric cattle fence between them. Not only was he being presumptuous as he hadn’t even put in an offer, it was a totally selfish move.
Putting her hands on her hips, she struggled to keep it polite. ‘I’m afraid purchasing a house, even one as big as this, doesn’t give you ownership of the lake. This is a natural body of water, a tourist attraction and a vital part of the wilderness some of us are trying to preserve, defending it against developers, farmers and industrialists who don’t have nature’s interests at heart.’
‘Right. So, what are you doing working for a property agency, then? Aluxury boutique chainthat sells gated properties in honeypot towns throughout the Lakes. Doesn’t that make you a rather hypocritical type of hippy?’ he said, watching her closely for her answer.
A hippy?
‘We…sell all sorts of buildings, from assisted housing to adorable fishing huts like that one over there.’
The man harrumphed when he saw what she was pointing at. ‘I very much doubt you’ll be selling that dilapidated shed this side of eternity. I hear the owner has turned down all kinds of generous offers, despite the state of it.’
Anger pushed through her, but she reined it in. ‘I’m afraid I can’t discuss other owners. It would be unprofessional.’
‘And everything so far has beensoprofessional,’ he snarked. ‘Anyway, I’ve met plenty of the ‘not in my back yard’ brigade in my career. I’ve found their objections quickly folded when the price was right.’
Aria called Tiger to heel as she couldn’t bear to look at this man’s face anymore. She knew her dad had batted away every single offer from the developer Castle Enterprises. The guy in charge sounded like a carbon copy of the man in front of her. She’d wrap up this tour and get back to her garden.But how would she afford the plants and tools to sort it out?Everything felt impossible right now and she no longer had her guide and moral compass at her side. The dog was a poor substitute for wise old Dad.
‘And what might your career be, Stephen?’ She decided on a polite approach as she led him back to the show home.
‘Stephen?’ he said, like it was someone else’s name, before asking about the solar panels on the roof. She sneaked a look at her notes, and gave him what she knew, before scrolling down to the door code. She didn’t want to risk being plucked up by the garage door again like a battery turkey at Christmas, especially not in front of a man who treated women with contempt. As she punched the numbers in, she decided Disney-prince teeth didn’t count for anything if you were born with a sneer. Gesturing for him to enter the house before her, she couldn’t help but notice how his backside filled his designer jeans perfectly. She swiftly popped the thought into a mental dustbin full of memories of Justin. They passed through the open-plan living area without any further conversation, and she guided him into the hall, calling up the measurements for the bedrooms. She’d diligently read the notes the estate agent supplied and remembered the ensuite bathrooms were a bit special. But when they entered the master bedroom, she grew flustered. The shower head must have been off its hookwhen she messed with the wall panel and the whole floor had been sprayed with water, including towels that were probably the colour of pearls when fluffed, but now looked sodden and beige.
‘I think the owner must have been in a hurry this morning,’ she grimaced. A flash of annoyance passed across his features before he undid the buttons on his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. ‘It is hot in here,’ she commented, as he folded arms flecked with dark hairs. ‘In new properties like this the double-glazing plus the underfloor—’
‘I have a meeting with a councillor before noon, so we need to be winding up,’ he cut in.
He was so rude, but she wouldn’t take his bait. ‘Bad luck,’ she said breezily. ‘My dad was on the town council for years. He said their meetings were as turgid as a sturgeon and could go on for days.’
