“See you a week on Saturday.”
“If not before.”
With a wave, Tom disappeared from above the fence line and Carole heard him close the kitchen door as he went inside. She lingered for a moment in the cool evening breeze, relieved that such a brilliantly simple solution to her wedding date predicament had presented itself at precisely the moment she needed it.
The plus-one she’d told her mother about was no longer fictional, which meant if Nina tried to harass her again about pairing up with the gruesome Bradley Godfrey, she could name her neighbour Tom as her date for the day.
But knowing she’d have a man at her side when she inevitably saw Steven Weaver at the wedding was even more of a relief.
It didn’t hurt that Tom was a good-looking man, tall and dark-haired and in great shape. If wanting such a man at her side when she encountered Steven again made her shallow and immature, well, she could make her peace with that.
Carole took a final deep breath of the sweet summer air in her garden before going back inside the house. There were still paintbrushes and rollers to be scrubbed, and boxes to unpack upstairs, before she could reward herself with a long soak ina hot bath to ease her aching arms and shoulders after her redecoration work.
She paused to admire the fresh paint on the kitchen walls, now catching the last of the evening sunshine. Seeing the light and warmth of the space, she knew the effort had been more than worth it.
Her new life on Foxglove Street couldn’t have got off to a better start.
