Jenna turned into the drive and parked alongside Finn’s van. The slam of the car door was loud in the quiet of the garden. Startled wood pigeons flapped into the air from the trees. As she headed to the front door she heard scraping and assumed Finn was working round the back of the cottage.
Compared to outside, the kitchen with its flagstone floor, thick stone walls and small windows was cool. She dumped her bag, went over to the sink and peered out of the window. She could just make out a bucket and the side of Finn’s tattooed arm as he worked on the cottage wall.
Jenna opened the fridge’s freezer compartment, pulled out two ice creams and went outside. She made her way round to the back of the cottage and on to the lawn. As soon as she’d got the lawn mower at the weekend, she’d cut the grass and it had transformed the garden. It looked even bigger with some of the wildness tamed. The sun pounded down, and out of the shade it was even hotter than by the sea. The trees surrounding the cottage garden were completely still, the only movement the occasional bird swooping between branches.
‘Just you today?’ Jenna shaded her eyes and watched Finn repairing the stone next to the kitchen window. ‘Fancy a break?’
‘Hell, yeah.’ Finn turned and dropped the trowel into the bucket.
Jenna smiled and chucked him a mini Magnum.
‘I didn’t know if your dad was here.’
‘No, just me today.’
Jenna waggled the remaining Magnum. ‘I’ll have this one then.’
Finn wiped his arm across his forehead and stepped out from the shadow of the cottage. ‘You’re a lifesaver.’
Sweat glistened on his face and chest, and with no T-shirt tucked into his back pocket, it looked like he hadn’t even bothered to wear one at all.
‘Bit hot isn’t it?’ Jenna sat on the dry grass and peeled the wrapper off. The chocolate beneath was already beginning to melt. ‘The heat even shut down filming today, which hardly ever happens.’
‘So you’ve got the afternoon off?’ He joined her on the grass and sat next to her. He leant back on one hand with his Magnum in the other.
‘Yeah, back in early tomorrow though.’ Jenna cast her eyes away from him to the cottage. ‘You seem to be getting on well. The roof looks great.’
‘Yeah, Dad’s on another job for the rest of the week now the roof’s done. I’ve started on the wall; there’s a really damaged bit which probably accounts for the damp you’ve got in the kitchen beneath the stairs.’
The reclaimed slate tiles Finn and his dad had used blended in with the original tiles, but now the roof was crack-free and water tight, a hint at how the whole cottage would look once Finn had finished with it. Jenna couldn’t do anything to the inside of the cottage besides clean it, until the work putting in new sockets, unblocking fireplaces, repairing the windows, ripping out the kitchen and re-skimming the walls with plaster had been done. Until then she was happy to tackle the garden.
‘This,’ he said, waving the ice cream, ‘is the next best thing to a cold pint in a pub garden.’
‘Oh God, I couldn’t think of anything better.’
‘But I’m working, so this is perfect.’
‘There must be some good pubs around here though. Where do you go?’
‘Not to the really touristy ones, although lots of those have the best beer gardens or are close to the sea. We usually just go to the one in the village.’
‘Where do you live?’
‘In Mullion.’
‘Oh really? That’s near to where most of the cast are staying. Bet it’s a bit different living down here rather than being on holiday for a couple of weeks though.’
‘Yeah, part of me wants to get away from here; live somewhere more exciting.’
‘Seriously? I’d love to live down here.’
‘You are.’ He motioned to the cottage in front of them.
‘Only for eight weeks.’ Jenna bit into the ice cream. The coldness made her cheeks clench and a piece of chocolate dropped on to her bare leg. She whipped it off her skin and popped it into her mouth. ‘I’d love to live somewhere like this. I’m fed up of city living. It’s not all it’s cut out to be.’
‘Neither is living in the country or by the sea.’
‘Shame we can’t swap.’
‘I guess you need to live near London for work? I mean I know you’re working down here but I presume it’s a one-off?’
Jenna nodded. ‘Most jobs are in or around London.’
Finn finished the last bite of his ice cream and rested back on both elbows. The sun beat down and even with Factor 30 on, she could feel her skin sizzling in the heat. Finn looked like he was used to working outdoors, his chest golden, no tan lines on his arms. His skin gleamed, the tattoos edging the top of his chest and down his arms, black and bold in the sunshine.
Jenna realised she was staring. ‘When did you get your first tattoo?’
‘At eighteen.’ He pointed to the tribal band at the top of his arm. ‘Kinda got hooked. Saved up to get one each year ever since – or at least expand on the ones I’ve already got.’
‘Nice.’
‘Have you got any?’
Jenna smiled. ‘I may have.’
‘You going to show me?’ He met her eyes and grinned.
‘They’re not exactly in an obvious place – it’s easier in this job not to have tattoos on show, really. I’ve done quite a few period dramas. Easier getting cast without them.’
‘Do you get typecast?’
‘What, the girl next door parts?’
‘I didn’t mean it quite like that, but yeah I guess. I mean you’re pretty. Like really pretty.’ He dropped his gaze from her and looked at the cottage instead.
Jenna brushed a stray hair from her face; she was already hot but her cheeks flushed even
