I'm Not in Love (Once Upon a Winter Book 2) (4 page)

Around eight, Hannah’s phone rang and Gina’s name flashed up on the screen.

‘Hello you, did you make it home ok?’ Hannah grinned.

‘No drama, more’s the pity. A bit of drama makes it all so much more interesting. Unless you count Jess’s phone battery running out of course, which she definitely seemed to do.’ Gina sounded cheerful and rested, despite the two-hour journey home. Hannah hoped some of that was down to her visit. Her sister had been subjected to a pretty awful year and she’d gladly do anything to help make it better. ‘How’s your car?’ Gina added. ‘Still a heap of shit?’

‘No,’ Hannah laughed, ‘Ross managed to get it going with his magic touch.’

‘Hmmm… I have an idea he could get anything going with his magic touch.’

‘Even ladies who are a teeny bit too old for him?’

‘Particularly ladies who are a teeny bit too old for him.’

‘Know any?’

‘I think I’m supposed to say no to that, aren’t I?’

‘Well done.’

‘So, did you see a lot of him today?’

‘I suppose I did really.’

‘Lucky cow.’

‘You say that but I also had to have tea with his mum.’

‘Oh, how horrible. I’d definitely feel like a dirty old pervert if I had to do that. I bet she’s hardly older than me.’

‘You were the one insisting there wasn’t much of an age gap between you and Ross.’

‘I said there wasn’t enough to put me off – there’s a difference.’

Hannah giggled. ‘You’re terrible. It’s lucky I didn’t turn out to be a big floozy like you or Jess would have had no decent role model in the family.’

‘She hasn’t got one now. Why else do you think she’s turned out to be such a little shit?’

‘You don’t mean that.’

‘I’ve just arrived home and opened last month’s phone bill. I bloody do!’

‘Oh dear. Is she going to pay you back?’

‘I don’t know what with. And when you consider that I’m the one who gives her money in the first place it would just be me paying myself back. Anyway, enough of that. What did Ross say about me?’

‘Nothing really.’

‘Nothing? I clearly didn’t make enough of an impression then. Ah well, I suppose there’ll be other fish in the sea. He was rather yummy, though.’

‘Actually I think he does find you attractive, but in all seriousness, he probably wants a girlfriend his own age.’

‘Oooh, you can be heartless, can’t you?’ Gina laughed. ‘Fancy crushing my dreams like that.’

‘Sorry…’

‘What else? You want to tell me something.’

‘I do?’

‘I always know.’

‘Well… Tom came to see me. Except, obviously, he’s not named Tom, and his wife was with him.’

‘That’s good. You wanted to know what had happened. Is he well? Are things back the way they should be? Did they come to let you know?’

‘He looked alright, but he still doesn’t have his memory back. Only bits, he says.’

‘So what’s his actual name?’

‘Mitchell. Mitchell Bond.’

‘Mitchell Bond?’ Gina snorted. ‘Are you serious? That’s got to be a made up name!’

‘I’m serious.’

‘Did he arrive in an Aston Martin with a particularly suspect black umbrella?’

‘Very funny.’

‘What’s his wife like?’

‘She seems nice.’

‘You hate her.’

‘That obvious?’

‘Of course. What else did you find out?’

‘She’s a GP. Loaded, so I’m told. He’s a property developer. No kids.’

‘They told you all this?’

‘Not exactly… our paramedic friend called around to pick up his watch.’

‘You found his watch? Now I’m confused.’

‘Ross found it, actually.’

‘Is there anything that boy can’t do?’

‘I don’t know. I’ll ask him when I see him next.’

‘So your paramedic says they’ve got pots of money. How does he know all this?’

‘One of the consultants at the hospital knows her. I think she’s quite well respected but…’

‘But what?’

‘She’s apparently a bit of a bitch to work with.’

‘Hmmm… that figures.’

‘Why?’

‘She’s in a competitive field. It needs a bit of mega bitch from time to time to make it.’

‘You’re not and you work in a competitive field.’

‘I’m a sales manager. It’s hardly the same.’

‘Don’t run yourself down.’

‘It’s just the way it is. So how did he end up bashing the memory from his head?’

‘They didn’t say.’

‘No explanation at all?’

‘They probably didn’t think it was any of my business.’

‘It’s not, but I bet you still want to know. I certainly do.’

‘Of course I do. I can’t help feeling weird about the whole thing.’

‘What? Like she was trying to bump him off or something and failed?’

‘God, of course not! I’d never even thought of that. I just meant they seemed as if they were keeping some nasty secrets.’

‘I bet she
was
trying to bump him off.’

‘She’s a GP,’ Hannah wrinkled her nose. ‘She wouldn’t need to thump him on the head, she could subtly poison him or overdose or something. She must know enough about drugs.’

‘Oh, right… do you think we should phone an anonymous tip off to the police?’

‘No…’ Hannah laughed. ‘I’m sure there’s been no foul play. But I do get the impression their marriage isn’t very solid. He doesn’t seem to want to be there at all. Maybe that’s what it was all about: they were having a row and he stormed out?’

Gina was silent for a moment. ‘You’ve been on your own too long,’ she announced.

‘That’s a bit random.’

‘I just think you’re taking too much of an interest in this. You felt connected or whatever on Christmas Day, and you got close because he needed you, and now you feel like there’s
something special there, some bond that means you can’t let him go and you keep beating yourself up about whether he’s alright or not. It’s twisting your logic.’

‘You were the one who just suggested his wife was trying to murder him!’

‘I was kidding. You’re not. Walk away, Han. He’s got his wife back, they’re happy and rich in their big house, end of story.’

‘But they’re not happy, are they?’

‘They might be on the rocks but stay away. It’s a train wreck waiting to happen, and if things are as you say they are, then you don’t want to be on the tracks when it does, no matter how much you like him.’

‘I’m not going to be; I’m just discussing it with you, that’s all.’

‘I know. But you have to ask yourself why you’re bothered about any of it. You don’t know him… you don’t know either of them. What do you care if their marriage is shit?’

‘Because I’m a human being.’

‘Because you’re interested in him.’

Hannah sighed. ‘This is a silly conversation. I’ve got no intention of breaking his marriage up.’

‘I never said that.’

‘But you implied it.’

‘If you think that then you have a guilty conscience and that’s down to no-one but you. I only meant that you shouldn’t get involved. At best it would be a messy affair, at worst you’d be a rebound relationship; either way it wouldn’t be pretty. Han… I hate to see you alone, and I do wish you’d find someone nice, but not him. You understand what I’m trying to say, don’t you?’

‘I suppose I do. But you’re wrong if you think this is about me pining for a man. I’m perfectly happy alone and I wouldn’t settle for any man just for the sake of having one. I’m certainly not going to go out looking for one.’

‘You could go out a bit though, and maybe you’d meet one.’

‘That’s rich coming from you. Perhaps you should take your own advice.’

‘I haven’t been alone as long as you, and I still have a husband to get rid of.’

‘That’s not it.’

‘It is soooo it. When my divorce comes through and I’ve cleaned the cheating bastard out of every penny I can, I’m taking myself off to Spain and finding a waiter with the biggest penis I can.’

‘Howard really did a number on you, didn’t he?’ Hannah said with a faint smile.

‘He hurt me, Hannah, I can’t deny it. He might as well have cut my heart out with a blunt knife. But he’ll be sorry. I’m going to have so much sex it’ll make my eyes water and I might even film it to send to him.’

‘Oh Gina… Please tell me Jess isn’t there right now.’

‘She went out almost as soon as we dropped our bags on the floor. She doesn’t need me anymore, and when all the joking is done, I’m going to be on my own soon. That’s why I don’t want to see you lonely, because I know how it feels.’

‘Well…’ Hannah said, sensing her sister’s mood darkening, ‘you’ll be back here soon, close to me for good and we can keep each other company.’

‘Like two mad cat ladies? Fabulous.’

‘I’ll bring the cats and you can provide the incoherent rambling.’

‘I see you save the best job for me.’

‘Of course. When will you hear from the solicitors?’

‘Soon I hope. I just want it all sorted, to get my money and come and find a place back in Millrise. I want to come home now.’

‘I can’t wait,’ Hannah said.

‘Neither can I. Though I’m not sure Jess is as happy about it.’

‘She’ll adjust; kids always do.’

‘She’s leaving a pretty good social life behind.’

‘It’s only a couple of hours away from Birmingham. She’ll make friends here and then she’ll have two really good social lives.’

‘I’ll let you tell her that when she kicks off as I hand my house keys back,’ Gina laughed. ‘For now I think she’s pretending it won’t happen.’

‘Want me to talk to her?’

‘There’s no point yet. It could be months before I’m in a position to go anywhere – there’s just no way of knowing with legal stuff. When the time comes I’m thinking I might just get a sack and some strong rope so I can tie her up and throw her into the removal van.’

‘Good luck with that,’ Hannah laughed.

‘Thanks. I’m going to need it.’

*

Hannah clicked
submit
. A message popped up on the screen to congratulate her for registering on
Starcrossed. com
. She chewed a fingernail and sat back in her seat waiting for
something to happen. She didn’t know why she was doing this. Perhaps something Gina said had sparked off a realisation. She was nervous as hell now, worried about what sort of nutters she might get replies from, but it was done. And you never knew… didn’t lots of people meet their true love on dating sites, every day? So they couldn’t be a complete waste of time, could they? There were biometric testing and glossy photos and profiles and scientific formulae of all kinds helping to match couples, not like in the old days where you turned up wearing a pink carnation and hoping he still had his own teeth. What she had said to Gina, about not needing a man – she felt sure that was all true; but there was no harm in seeing what was out there. She might even have fun in the process, meet some nice people, make some good friends. And maybe, just maybe, she’d find that elusive soulmate she had given up on.

She refreshed her inbox once, cursed herself for being stupid enough to think that anyone was going to respond that quickly, and then minimised the screen so she could get some work done. It had piled up during Gina and Jess’s visit, and there was more than enough now to keep her working until midnight for the next couple of weeks.

Three days had passed since Gina had gone home, and the house had become Hannah’s again. The peace had been welcome at first, but now it felt almost too quiet. Hannah had tidied away the Christmas mess, and then she had gone to the antique wardrobe in the spare room, bundled Jason’s clothes into a bin bag and dropped them off at the church for their monthly jumble sale. It was a simple act of decluttering, but it had meant so much more. Everything had gone, even the clothes Mitchell had borrowed; it was Hannah’s way of putting all that behind her, a promise to turn over a fresh page and start a brand new chapter in her life. It would be nice to date, have a few nights out, enjoy some frivolous sex once in a while, but never again would she get hung up on a man and let him take over her life. That was the intention, anyway. She’d heard no more from Mitchell or Martine, and while she was still intrigued by the mystery that surrounded them, she decided that it was probably for the best if she didn’t see them again. It was even something of a relief, if she was honest, because Gina was right: it could only lead to trouble. She hadn’t told anyone about signing up to the dating agency either; she’d just see what happened. Probably nothing, so until something did, there was really no need to tell anyone. Despite this, it would have been nice to share it with Gina. She had wondered a few times about telling her, but then decided against it for reasons she couldn’t quite put her finger on. For now she was just quietly getting on with the rest of her life.

*

An hour later Hannah checked her inbox again. No messages so she went back to work. Usually she found the process of designing soothing, but her mind wouldn’t stay on anything today. With a sigh, she grabbed her duffle coat. A breath of air might be just the thing to clear her head.

The morning was bright and clear, and if it hadn’t been for the bitter wind, Hannah could almost imagine it was spring. She wandered in the direction of Holly Farm, for no other reason than her feet seemed to take her that way. Perhaps it was the subconscious need to see a friendly face, and when she found Ross digging a hole for a new fencepost on the farm’s boundaries, she couldn’t help a broad smile.

‘If it isn’t my favourite knight in shining armour.’

‘Oh aye…’ he turned to her and leaned on his spade with a sweaty grin, ‘you know a lot of them do you?’

‘Ooooh, tons. None as good as you, though.’

‘What brings you this way? Come to see my mum? Please say you’ve come to see my mum because she’s been going on about you ever since your last visit.’

‘Has she?’ Hannah smiled.

‘Yup. Determined to get you involved in the WI.’

Hannah’s face fell again. She had hoped to have dropped off Briony’s WI radar by now.

‘I thought that would wipe the smile off your mush,’ Ross laughed. ‘Actually she’d just love to see you again, says she really enjoyed your chat last time and I shouldn’t have stolen you away.’

Hannah recalled that it had been less of a chat in the traditional sense and more of a barrage of gossip from Briony at Hannah. Still, it had obviously made her happy and Hannah couldn’t grumble about that. ‘I’ll call tomorrow if she’s going to be around. I’d love to see her today but I have a ton of work to do.’