‘We’re on the same side, then,’ she said. ‘Right—giddy up.’ She clicked her tongue and made the coconut shells sound like horses’ hooves. ‘Come on. You, too.’
How could he resist?
It was utterly ridiculous, pretending to be on horseback and galloping all the way back to the car. He probably looked like a total idiot. But Georgie was laughing and enjoying herself, and he realised that this was fun. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything like this, if ever.
Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at him. And it made his stomach swoop.
Once they were back the cottage, he took Truffle out on a long walk. Georgie joined them, but when they got back to the cottage he noticed how wet her feet were.
‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘we need to get you some proper walking boots.’
‘I’m on an early shift,’ she said, ‘and tomorrow night I’m going to Zumba with Parm.’
‘We’ll nip out in our lunch break, then,’ he suggested. ‘And Truffle agrees, don’t you?’
The dog woofed softly. ‘So that’s settled, then,’ he said with a smile.
CHAPTER FIVE
ON MONDAY LUNCHTIME, Georgie met Ryan in his office and they grabbed a sandwich on the way down to the city to choose some walking boots.
To her surprise, the man in the shop actually measured her feet, got her to try on three different pairs of boots along with thick, comfortable socks, and them asked her to climb over a ‘bridge’ in the middle of the shop that had an uneven rocky surface before bunny-hopping down a slope to see if the boots fitted properly.
This was definitely not something she’d ever done in London.
She wasn’t used to wearing something close-fitting around her ankles and it felt weird; but, if it meant her feet stayed dry when she went out on the hills with Ryan and Truffle, she could put up with it.
‘You need to wear them indoors for a couple of hours a night for the next week,’ the shop assistant said when she’d chosen them, ‘and if they’re not comfortable just bring them back and tell us what you don’t like about them, and we can find something that suits you better.’
‘Thank you,’ she said with a smile.
‘And make sure you keep them out of Truffle’s reach,’ Ryan added.
After their shift, Ryan went home to walk the dog while Georgie went out to the Zumba class with Parminder.
‘I’m so pleased you asked me to join you,’ Georgie said.
‘You’re welcome. It’s not easy to fit into a new department. And everyone loved Clara. It was a bit of a shock when she told us she was moving to London for six months and you were coming here in her place,’ Parminder said. ‘We had no idea she was so unhappy here.’
‘Sometimes it’s not so much being unhappy, more that you need a change so you can move forward from a situation,’ Georgie said. ‘She spoke really highly of everyone in the department. It wasn’t anything that any of you did or didn’t do.’
‘Thanks. Because I just kept thinking that I must’ve been such a rubbish friend to her, and I feel bad about that. I won’t push you to tell me anything you don’t want to, though anything you do say to me I’ll keep confidential,’ Parminder said.
‘Thanks,’ Georgie said, appreciating the overture of friendship but not wanting to go back to the same problems she’d faced in London. Parminder would be kind, but Georgie didn’t want to fight off another deluge of pity. She wanted to be herself. ‘I just needed a change from London. Let’s just say my personal life was a bit...’ She wrinkled her nose. How did you describe becoming a widow and then discovering that the husband you’d thought was devoted was actually a cheat and a liar? ‘Tricky.’
‘Fair enough.’ Parminder smiled. ‘And at least Ryan’s a nice housemate.’
‘He’s been kind,’ Georgie said. At least, after the first couple of rocky days.
‘I always used to think that he and Clara would get together after his marriage broke up,’ Parminder said. ‘But they’re more like brother and sister. Clara said she loves him to bits as a friend, but there’s just no chemistry between them and she doesn’t fancy him.’
Whereas whenever Georgie let her mind wander she found herself thinking about Ryan McGregor. About how beautiful his mouth was. About how her skin tingled every time she was walking somewhere with him and her hand accidentally brushed his. About what it would be like to kiss him—especially since that moment at Doune when he’d stopped her falling and his arms had been wrapped round her, keeping her safe. If that tourist hadn’t broken the moment, would he have kissed her? Would she have kissed him back?
‘He’s such a nice guy. But he’s been so quiet since the divorce,’ Parminder said. ‘I think we all wish we could wave a magic wand and find the perfect partner for him.’
A perfect partner rules me out, Georgie thought. She obviously hadn’t been enough for Charlie, or her husband wouldn’t have had to find someone else to give him whatever had been lacking in their marriage. And Charlie was the only child of parents who loved him dearly; he’d never had to deal with heartbreak or misery. If she hadn’t been enough to keep him happy, how could she possibly be enough for a man whose heart was already broken? Plus she was far from perfect.
She changed the subject quickly. ‘It’s the first time I’ve shared a house with a dog, too. I live on my own in London. Though my brother lives a couple of floors up in the same building. Our great-aunt left us both money, and we were lucky enough to get the chance to buy the flats when the building had just been renovated. Our parents had just retired
