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‘Hiya.’ She popped the call on hands-free to be able to check the wing mirrors as she slowly backed out, careful not to knock against the gateposts at the entrance to her brother’s lochside property.
‘Tell me all about Ben!’
Frankie had been expecting this. ‘Ben. Right. I’ll tell you everything I know. I met him at the wedding. He’s a friend of Colin’s, they used to work together and Ben does something on television with politics. Ben is staying at Colin and Helen’s house, watering their plants while they’re on their honeymoon. He hasn’t killed any of them yet. He lives in London and is getting his flat refurbished. He drinks tea, with milk, which his builders keep taking. Unsure if he has sugar. By his own admission, he has two left feet but not having witnessed any dancing first hand I cannot corroborate the veracity of that statement. He picked the beef option over fish at the wedding and drank red wine. He also intimated that he likes cheese.’
From the silence over the phone, Frankie had a sneaking suspicion her sister was noting down these facts.
‘You missed out that he’s handsome with a good smile,’ Valentina carried on. ‘Probably had braces, still takes care of his teeth. Bit of a crooked nose, possibly broken, most obviously from a rugby injury, which would indicate a more posh school and fits more with his accent. Fit but not gym bunny self-obsessed fit. Nice clothes but not all designer, so I’m guessing not vain. Shirt looked ironed so I think quite domesticated.’
‘Shoe size?’
‘Considering his height, probably a… Oh! Now you’re teasing.’
‘Yes I am.’
‘Do you like him?’ Valentina said.
‘He’s a likeable kind of guy.’
‘How long did he stay yesterday?’
‘Not long. He helped me clear up and…’ She was about to say he’d asked her out for drinks but stopped.
‘And?’ Valentina missed nothing.
‘And he thinks you and Rocco seem nice.’
‘Anything more to add?’
‘Nope.’
‘Plans to see him again?’
‘I need to go as I’ve got a couple of dogs to pick up.’
‘You always say that when you want to end a difficult conversation.’
‘I wasn’t aware this was a difficult conversation. It may be a frustrating conversation for you as I’m not really giving you any substantial gossip.’
‘Is there gossip to be had?’
‘None.’ Frankie was tempted to add ‘yet’ but feared the excitement would bring on an early labour for Valentina.
‘Urghh— Hang on, it’s Sunday! You don’t walk dogs on Sund—’
Frankie cut off Valentina’s wail of annoyance to concentrate on driving so she could head home and spend the rest of her weekend in peace.
CHAPTER 12
FRANKIE
To accommodate everyone who had signed up for the Canine Cupids Christmas Club, Frankie had juggled her walks around a little and along with her usual Monday morning group, she’d added in Hendrix and Aragorn.
She parked in a lay-by next to the little area of water which was at the edge of one of her favourite walks.
The dogs, once released from the van, ran all over, picking up the doggy information they could glean from sniffing tree barks, sticks and foliage.
Frankie was delighted to see the beautiful wolfhound Aragorn respond to the sleek Weimaraner as Hendrix adopted the playful bow position before dashing off together.
