Pippa paused. Wasn’t that what she’d been thinking of late? Shame burned her cheeks. Was she really in that bad of a rut?
“Do you even know how to beyouwithout him?” Mae went on, her voice soft. “I get it, you love Alex and want to marry him, but babe, is he as committed to you as he is to being the next big business mogul?”
“We’ve been together since we were kids.” Pippa’s voice was clogged with red wine and emotion. “If he wasn’t committed, then what the hell has he been doing all these years?”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t love you,” Mae said hurriedly. “But—”
“There’s no ring!” Frankie interrupted. “He keeps moving the goalposts. At first it was decided you’d get married after the farm was up and running after Ted’s retirement. Then he decided that once he could hire a deputy manager to take away some responsibilities he could commit to a marriage, and how long did it take for you to fill that role? Then everything had to wait until after the orchard business was launched…” Frankie slid into the chair next to her. “You seemed happy enough with all the farm stuff – and killing it, by the way, dead proud of you – so we didn’t say anything, but I can’t deny we’ve been worried.”
“That farm would be a wasteland without you,” Mae hiccupped. “You literally saved it.”
“And if you went to Kent, I’m sure you’d save that place too,” Frankie added kindly.
“I don’t want to go to Kent.” Of that, Pippa was as sure as anything. As certain as she was that she loved Alex, she was also convinced that Kent was not for her. But what did that mean for her relationship? Surely, her love for Alex surpassed mere geography? Yet the thought of settling down anywhere other than Hurst Bridge was so alien it made her head spin.
“You said Kent was a done deal though,” Frankie murmured.
“It is. It’s happening.” Pippa gulped. “For sure.”
“Maybe not,” Mae said encouragingly. “Maybe there’s time to discuss it? Cancel the sale? Or at least, come up with an alternative plan?”
“I don’t think so,” Pippa said sadly. She thought back to the resolution in Alex’s face. “I think this project is more important to him than … anything. More important than me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Frankie reached for her hand. “I don’t know what to say other than I think Alex has done a really shitty thing and I pledge to hate him forever if that’s what you require.”
Just then, the kitchen door opened and Theo shuffled through, yawning. Dressed comfortably in sweatpants and a tight vest, he gave the friends a lazy grin. “Evening,” he said as he pulled a tumbler out of a cupboard.
“Hi.” Pippa couldn’t believe the perfection of his arms. Those biceps! She stole a glance at Frankie, who was gazing at his flatmate with stars in his eyes.
“Nice to see you again, Pippa.” Theo filled his glass with water. “Hey, you live in Hurst Bridge, right?” When Pippa nodded, Theo smiled. “There’s that gorgeous old house there,” he said. “Squires?”
“That’s right,” Pippa said. “How do you know about it?”
“Driven past it a few times,” Theo said. “Lots of important conservation sites around Hurst Bridge.”
“Theo’s an ecologist,” Frankie said proudly.
“You think Squires is gorgeous now, you should have seen it in its heyday.” Mae swirled her wine glass. “We used to go up there for all sorts of events. Really was the heart of the town.”
“Not anymore,” Frankie muttered, and Theo raised an eyebrow.
“What happened to the house?” he asked.
“Nothing major. It just isn’t what it used to be,” Mae answered. She’d have said more but Frankie butted in.
“Old man Squires died is what happened.” Frankie was clearly thrilled to be in the spotlight of Theo’s attention. “And his son, Carmichael, just wasn’t as bothered about the house or the town, so he never opened his home up to the people. All the traditional events just … stopped without the support of the Squires family. Then Carmichael’s kids naffed off as soon as they were old enough.”
“That’s right, Emilia married some toff in Cumbria and popped out a bunch of kids. Trudy moved over to be with her when Carmichael died,” Mae added, shrugging when Frankie and Pippa looked at her in surprise that she knew so much. “What? It’s all on Facebook if you know where to look!”
“I thought you said Facebook was the tool of the patriarchal elite,” Frankie said impishly. “Didn’t you call it Faeces-book for a while?”
“Consider me happily oppressed,” Mae tutted. “The thing is, as a business owner I have to use it. Anyway, Wolfie – Emilia’s twin brother – lit out of town at eighteen and we haven’t seen him since.” Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh, by the way, did you hear about Grantham?” Mae explained for Theo’s sake: “He was the caretaker at Squires.”
Pippa had fond memories of the wiry Yorkshireman, one of those men who always seemed elderly no matter his age.
Frankie said, “Yeah, I heard his wife was ill. What was it again?”
Mae’s brightly painted lips curved downwards. “Parkinsons, I think.”
