Page 34 of Yule Party on Sunflower Street

‘Now that sounds interesting,’ she replied.

Seth leant forwards and pushed a button and soon, heat flowed up Tara’s back and down her legs. ‘This is luxurious.’

‘It’s good, right? Always makes me feel like I need a nap, though.’

As they drove, Tara noted how the wintry scenes of Wisteria Hollow with its trees and fields, hedgerows and lanes gave way to wider roads and stretches of open scenery. This led them to increasingly built-up areas, dense with houses, junctions and traffic lights as they neared Wandsworth. It made her long to return to Wisteria Hollow where she was becoming increasingly comfortable in the rural village with its trees and green areas, postcard-pretty cottages and unique shops.

‘What’s your flat like?’ she said. ‘Is it all grey furniture and white walls?’

‘Excuse me?’ he said with mock indignation that made Tara giggle.

‘Or is there a lady or lord of the manor who keeps you in line?’

Seth glanced at her. ‘There’s no lady or lord. It’s just me and my thoughts.’

‘Is it grey then?’

Seth laughed. ‘It is a bit. I guess it’s what you’d call minimalist.’

‘I knew it!’ she said. Then more seriously, ‘Has there ever been someone? I mean… sorry if that’s too personal.’

‘It’s fine. And no, not really. I’ve had relationships in the past but not for a while. I’ve dated a bit and even tried the dating apps, but I don’t know… Life is busy and dating takes a lot of energy.’

‘It really does, right?’ she said. ‘I came out of a relationship at the start of the year, and everyone seemed keen for me to get back on the dating horse. I was not keen, but I didn’t want to worry them all, so I tried the dating apps and… It wasn’t for me. All that swipe left and swipe right.’

‘And hearting pictures?’ he said.

‘Turned me cold. I mean, since when did deciding on someone from a photo or a few photos make a good start to a relationship? As we all know, photos can be edited and no one in their right mind puts a realistic photo on there because then they’d never get any dates.’

‘This is true. And so there’s catfishing,’ he said.

‘Definitely!’

‘Did you go on any dates, Tara?’

‘A few. Never more than once with each man though. It was enough for me to decide that it wasn’t for me.’

‘Do you have funny stories?’

‘There was one guy who said he loved reading, which was a yes for me, but when we met in person he admitted he’d only said it because my profile photo showed me standing in front of bookshelves. Another claimed to be almost six feet but when we met, he was much shorter. And there’s nothing wrong with being on the shorter side but the fact that he’d exaggerated it suggested it was something he felt conscious of. I’m not exactly tall but he told me I’d never be able to wear heels when we went out and that seemed a bit premature of him. So, I didn’t call him back after the date.’

‘Wow.’ Seth shook his head. ‘I had something similar. The one woman I went out with claimed to be a heart surgeon, but over dinner, she admitted she was a receptionist at a GP surgery. It’s a great job too, of course, and I didn’t care what she did for a living. But lying just to get a date sends out all the wrong signals. I was always happy to give someone a chance, but I think the dating apps are just too cutthroat. Like, these people have been burned before and it makes them desperate. They lie to get dates, then panic when questioned about things they’ve said in their profile.’

‘Yeah, it was too weird. If I’m going to date again it will have to happen organically or not at all.’ She looked at Seth and he turned briefly and met her eyes, and something passed between them. It was a mutual understanding of what they’d experienced and something more. Warmth. Friendship. A connection she’d not found with any of the men she’d met via the dating apps.

‘I’d like it to happen organically too,’ he said.

They fell silent for a bit and Tara turned to gaze out of the window, feeling comfortable enough with Seth to sit quietly. The chair was warm and the movement of the van lulled her into a doze, and it was only when her head bobbed that she snapped awake.

‘Where do you usually spend Christmas?’ he asked.

‘With my parents and Sadie and her husband since they got together.’

‘What’s he like?’

‘Sander is nice. He’s an offshore engineer so he works on rigs at sea and that’s where he is this year. She misses him terribly, but decided to focus on the pop-up shop while he’s away.’

‘I can imagine that’s tough.’