“Have you heard from Alex?” Eileen ventured, her voice trembling. Despite it being almost three months since the break-up, Pippa’s mother was not coping well with the development. “Are you sure you don’t want to give him a call? Maybe go and see him? It’s been long enough now for you both to cool down.”
“Cool down? It wasn’t merely a bad argument, Mum. We split up!” Pippa tutted. “You do understand what he did to me, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Eileen said. “And I appreciate how you must be feeling but…”
“How I feel is betrayed. Abandoned. Humiliated. Need I go on? Why would I go back to someone who made me feel like that?” Pippa’s lunch churned in her stomach, and she pushed her plate away. It made getting over Alex that much harder when her mother kept bringing him up like this every time they spoke.
“I get that,” Eileen said. “But you were together for over a decade. I thought he’d be in our family forever. Give me grandkids.” She sniffed, blew her nose.
Pippa sighed, relenting. “I understand that this is hard on you too,” she said. “And that you thought he’d be your son one day. But we didn’t know Alex as well as we thought we did. At least,Ididn’t.” Although Pippa knew she was definitely the injured party, guilt twinged. If she’d not been so stubborn, if she’d just given Kent a go, maybe grandbabies would still be on the cards and Eileen would be less upset.
“I’m sure I’ll get used to it,” Eileen assured her. “But I don’t like the thought of you spending so much time alone in that big old house. You know, you could come out here for a bit. Let me look after you.”
“We’ll see,” Pippa hedged. Being spoilt with love sounded incredibly tempting, but Florida was not her type of place. Hot and sticky, with far too many alligators per square metre for her liking. How her parents could prefer it over Hurst Bridge she didn’t know. Besides, plane tickets were not cheap.
“At least let me send you a few quid,” Eileen went on. “To tide you over.”
“Mum, no,” Pippa said firmly. “I’m managing fine. Taking a beat, figuring out my next steps.”
“You’d best get a wriggle on with that,” Eileen fretted. “Squires may well be sold any day now and you’ll be homeless again. Are you sure I can’t send you—”
“Mum, please! I’ll be fine.” Pippa clocked the time, relieved that she had a reason to hang up. “I’ve got to get on, there’s a few more tasks to be done this afternoon.”
“Right you are.” Eileen blew kisses down the phone. “Hang on a sec. Your dad’s here. He’s off fishing today with Ivan from next door. Here you go, Pete, I’ll put it on speaker. It’s Pip.”
“Hi love.” Her dad’s voice boomed down the phone. “You looking after yourself?”
“Yes and—” At that moment the gate buzzer loudly interrupted. “Shit.”
“Language!” Eileen crowed.
“Sorry, but I think that must be the buyers.” Pippa hurriedly shoved her dirty lunch plate into a cupboard to wash later. “They’re early.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen. No messages from Wolfie. Where was he? “Wolfie isn’t here. I guess I’ll have to ask them to wait.”
“Tell them the place is haunted.” Pete Munro giggled down the line like a schoolboy. “Or, better yet, tell them it’s got a rodent infestation. That’ll put them right off buying.”
“Don’t give her ideas, Pete,” Eileen admonished.
“You’re a menace, Dad,” Pippa said with a laugh.
“What’s the saying? Don’t let the bastards grind you down,” Pete said. “I’m sorry about the house, pet. Wish there was something we could do.”
In that moment, Pippa really wanted a hug. She made do with blowing a kiss down the phone. “Thanks.”
“Call us later,” her mum said, love softening her voice.
Pippa promised to do so, then hung up, chuckling at her dad’s suggestions for scuppering the sale. She hurried to the door and pressed the button for the gate intercom. “Yes?”
“Hi. We’re here to meet a Mr Wolfie Squires?” A male voice boomed down out of the speaker. “Toby Hartnell,Top Stay Hotels.”
Pippa’s heart sank as she recognised the name of a well-known budget hotel chain. “You have an appointment?”
“Yes. We’re a little early,” Toby answered. “I do hope that’s okay.”
Pippa briefly wondered if she could just ignore them in the hope they would go away, but obedience won out and she pushed the buzzer. “Come in.” She unlocked the front door and leaned against the frame, watching as the old iron gates creaked open. Her phone buzzed with a text message full of kisses from her mum and her heart squeezed. Being an only child had its drawbacks, particularly when it came to the issue of grandchildren. Guilt started to prickle her tear ducts and Pippa hastily shoved the phone in her pocket, watching as an impossibly shiny Mercedes rolled its way through the gates and down the driveway, coming to a halt in front of the house. Out popped a very smartly dressed man and woman, brandishing sleek briefcases and calculated expressions.
The man reached Pippa first, handing her his business card, a bright turquoise rectangle that readTop Stay Hotelsand underneath was the nameToby Hartnell, VP Property & Acquisitions.
“Toby, pleasure to meet you!” The man beamed down at her; he was all long limbs and balletic movements, with scant strands of red hair gelled back across a freckled scalp. “Allow me to introduce my colleague, Steffany.”
