Page 46 of A Recipe for Romance in Brambleton

‘I get that,’ Noah replied. ‘And it’s entirely up to you. If you want, I can find out a few more details, like how long they’re likely to be here for, which rooms they’d like to use, that sort of thing. Everything’ll be negotiable, and if you don’t want them here, then there are plenty of other locations they could consider, I’m sure.’

‘That’s good to know.’

‘But they’ll pay you a decent whack for use of the place,’ Noah added. ‘I’ve had companies approaching me before, when I ran the Fulham office, asking for houses they might use for location shoots. A lot of my clients liked the idea of media companies using their spaces while they were on the market – it helped to drive potential customers their way, and the fees came in handy to help ease the pain of stamp duty.’

‘But I’ve already paid that,’ Marc pointed out.

‘I know, but wouldn’t some extra cash come in handy? It might even help you to replace the heating!’ Noah, even in a thick blue jumper, was shivering like a greyhound on a track.

Marc shook his head. His brother knew better than to turn the full beam of his searchlight sales patter on him, but he had to give him credit for his logic. The house did need a new heating system, and probably some new windows, too.

‘Did Bella have some ideas about which parts of the house she’d like to use?’

‘Well, the picture window in your living room was a firm favourite. The views across the lake are stunning.’ Noah stood up and ambled towards the living room. ‘Call me an old romantic, but even I got misty-eyed at the prospect of Bella lip-syncing her latest in front of that amazing panorama.’

Marc followed his brother into the living room, mostly because he was surprised that the sensible, pragmatic, business-oriented Noah had entertained such flights of fancy. But then, Noah’s approach to life had softened ever since he’d met and fallen in love with Bella. The ruthless estate agent, who had been intent on making a killing on every property, had conceded that his life needed more than just money. While Noah still worked hard, it was becoming clearer to Marc that his brother was beginning to learn to live a little.

And, he conceded to himself, that was largely down to Bella. Perhaps the idea of loaning out the beautiful view from his living room window for a day or two to help her launch her new single wasn’t such a bad one after all.

‘It really is a stunning view,’ he said, as he joined Noah at the window. ‘Although, isn’t it the wrong time of year to be shooting a music video in this part of the world? Surely, the view would be much prettier in the summer.’

Noah laughed. ‘It’s quite an angsty song.’

‘Oh, mate,’ Marc teased, ‘don’t tell me she’s writing break-up songs already? If she is, you really need to try harder!’

‘Twat.’ Noah threw him a withering glance. ‘Bella reassures me she doesn’t have to be sad to write sad songs. But winter suits the aesthetic, apparently.’ He shrugged. ‘All I know is, her producer loves the track and thinks it could be a real hit, as big as “Heartbreaker”, her debut single was, back in the day. They want to create the whole package – a narrative for the video, in a perfect location, that TikTok will clip and rework, and – most importantly – share, to generate as much income as possible. The song’s absolutely gorgeous, and with the right visuals…’

‘All right, all right.’ Marc held up a hand to quell his brother’s sales pitch before it really got going. ‘I’ll think about it. Get her to find out how much hiring the place out is worth, and we can talk.’ He shook his head. ‘You know I adore Bella, and if this is going to help her to succeed, then I’m sure you can persuade me.’

‘Cheers, bro, you’re a legend.’ Noah clapped a hand on Marc’s shoulder. ‘But if it feels as though it’s going to be too intrusive, you can still say no.’

‘I know. And I’ll need to make sure the boys are okay with it, too.’

‘Absolutely.’ Noah rocked on the balls of his feet, clearly impatient to go and share the good news with Bella. ‘I’ll call you later, once I’ve got some more details. I said I’d pick her up from Purrfect Paws in about twenty minutes.’

As Marc walked his brother out, he felt a combination of emotions. On one hand, he was excited to be able to help Bella. On the other, did he really want the intrusion of a film crew in his house? He smiled, imagining what Tessa would say if she were still here. She’d probably tell him to stop worrying so much and just go for it. She would’ve loved meeting Bella and learning more about her music career. And the house was, in its own way, scruffily picturesque. Even in its current state it would make a great backdrop for a music video. Suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about Noah’s proposition, Marc decided he might just say yes.

39

Shortly after Noah had left, Joel came yawning through to the kitchen. He looked rough; he’d drunk more alcohol than his brothers had yesterday and was clearly still suffering.

‘All right?’ Marc asked as he pulled another mug from the cupboard and, without being asked, filled it with coffee and placed it in front of his younger brother.

‘Thanks.’ Joel sipped the coffee. ‘Got any sugar?’

‘Nope,’ Marc grinned. ‘There’s honey, if you want it.’

Joel grimaced. ‘I’ll keep it as it is.’

They sipped their coffee in silence, Marc noticing how tired Joel looked. He wondered if the drinking was a way to blot out his worries about losing his job. It would be characteristic of Joel to try to avoid thinking about it by invoking the oblivion of booze.

‘Got any plans for today or tomorrow?’ he asked.

Joel shook his head. ‘Not really. Saving myself for the London trip.’

In his current state, Marc wouldn’t have let his sons out of the door with Joel, but in a couple of days’ time, he was bound to be back on form, and Bella and Noah were really the ones in charge. He swallowed his first response and merely said. ‘Yeah, that’s still fine.’

‘What about you? Any plans for the next couple of days? Or are you saving yourself for a night of passion with what’s-her-name? You seemed to be getting on very well yesterday.’