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Holly and her mother exchanged a glance.

‘Just make sure you take it easy when you’re there, Dad,’ she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘You need to think about your heart.’

‘Oh, just let me have a little fun, will you?’

When the hugging finished, Holly and Evan bid her parents farewell. While her father offered Evan only a brief handshake, her mother made a concerted effort to say Evan’s name right several times, just to demonstrate that she knew it.

‘See you next time you visit, Evan,’ she said, as she waved them away from the door.

As they moved down the path away from the house, Hope on Holly’s hip, Holly’s free hand slipped effortlessly into Evan’s and for a second, she couldn’t help but wonder if every couple’s hands fitted so perfectly together as there’s did. It seemed unlikely.

‘So, time for me to see this cute little cottage of yours,’ Evan said as they climbed into the car. ‘I can’t wait.’

‘You’re going to have to wait a few minutes longer, I’m afraid. I’m going to drop Hope off at Ben’s first.’

‘You are?’

In all the business of the evening and the terror of a potential double date, Holly had forgotten to tell Evan that Hope would be staying at Ben’s for the evening. Still, she’d assumed he would be grateful for the alone time. However, if that was the case, his facecertainly didn’t show it. Instead, it displayed the same hardness he had shown earlier when Holly had mentioned staying later than planned.

‘It will only take a couple of minutes,’ she assured him. ‘It’s really not that far. You can walk home from there if you really want?’

Evan took a deep inhale before taking his phone out of his pocket and staring at the screen.

‘No, no, it’s fine. It should be fine.’

‘Should be fine?’ Holly didn’t mean to sound terse, but this demeanour, unpredictable and slightly controlling, wasn’t anything like the man she’d met on holiday. He’d been in the Cotswolds only a few hours, but already this side of him was a serious red flag she hadn’t expected. Maybe it was better Hope was out of the cottage tonight. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to hear Holly calling it quits on a relationship.

15

Dropping Hope off at Ben’s house went far quicker than Holly anticipated. Hope had started grizzling when they strapped her into the car, and even Evan sitting next to her making up plays with the bunnies wasn’t enough to stop it. By the time they reached Bourton, it was full on wails. Thankfully, Ben was waiting. He had opened the front door before Holly had even got Hope out of the car.

‘I should come and check everything is alright,’ she said, as she handed a crying Hope to him.

‘Don’t be silly. She’s just over-tired. It’s absolutely fine. You go, have fun with Evan.’

‘Thank you.’ She kissed Hope lightly on the forehead. Given the mood she was in, she wasn’t even going to hope for a bye-bye wave. Still, she had just turned to get back into the car when Ben called out to her.

‘Oh, Holly?’ he said.

‘Yes?’

‘About that double date?’

She smiled, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. ‘It’s absolutely never happening.’

‘I thought you’d agree with that.’ He grinned back.

Given that this was the first time Holly had been truly alone with Evan since he had turned up at her parents’ house, she’d expected the car journey back to be slightly more exciting. Even if they weren’t buzzing with conversation, hopefully there would be the buzz of anticipation. Of finally getting to curl up in one another’s arms. Instead, Evan remained in the back, where he had been next to Hope, and continued to check his phone. All the while, his foot tapped on the floor with such force that Holly could feel the shake to the car.

‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.

‘Sorry? Yes, just looking forward to seeing the cottage.’

‘Well, the wait’s over. We’re here.’ She pulled up in her driveway, only to hear a sharp intake of breath from behind her in the passenger seats.

‘Well, you weren’t joking when you said it’s small,’ Evan said. ‘This driveway is way tinier than I thought it would be.’

‘Well, I only have a small house, and the cottage is plenty big enough for me and Hope.’