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‘I don’t know right now. I’ve got my laptop, so I’m going to have to set up some kind of working area in your dining room, if that’s okay? There’s room at the minute, but I didn’t want to my put stuff out there yet. Not without asking. I figured you might have you own way of setting things up. Besides, if it’s a huge problem, Ben has said I can use the office in his house during the day while he’s at work.’

This was all too much. She stepped towards Evan, lifting her hands in the air as she spoke.

‘I’m sorry, you’re going to use the father of my child’s house to work in?’

‘Only if you don’t want me to work here, although Ben and I both agreed that it’s probably best if I stay here in the cottage, until you get used to looking after Hope one-armed.’

Holly shook her head. She wasn’t surprised at Ben trying to take control of the situation. That was what he did. It was one of the reasons that had them destined to fail in a long-termromantic relationship together. But she hadn’t expected Evan to follow suit.

With a deep breath, she stepped forward and placed her hands on his chest.

‘Look, I appreciate you wanting to help. But this is too much. You and Ben taking control?—’

‘No, that’s not what I’m trying to do,’ Evan cut across her before she could finish. ‘I promise you. And if you say you don’t want me to be here and assure me you can handle Hope and the shop the same way as normal, even with a broken arm, then that’s fine. I’ll go. I can be on the next flight to the States if you think you’re okay. But people trying to help you is not the same as taking control. That’s all I’m trying to do. Because that’s what you do when you love people. You help them.’

There was a way he spoke that had an abnormally calming effect on Holly. Like she could tell he wasn’t just saying the things to appease her, but because he really meant them.

‘You have to admit, you and Ben talking to each other about this stuff is weird,’ she said, still not willing to let the matter go entirely.

‘I don’t think so. I think it’s merely two grown-ups working together to make the best of a crappy situation. Better than us yelling at each other. Now, how crispy do you like your bacon?’

Being waited upon was a luxury Holly had not experienced before, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. To start with, she couldn’t remember ever feeling so completely useless. Wanting to prove she was capable of something, she stretched up to the cupboard to grab some plates for the food, only to yelp in pain.

‘Will you please go and sit down?’ Evan insisted, pressing his hands on her shoulders and turning her back toward the living room. ‘Or better still, go find the drugs the doc gave you. They told you to take them for a reason, you know.’

As much as Holly wanted to object, she knew he was right. Painkillers first. After that, she could keep a better eye on what Evan was doing in her kitchen.

Sharing a kitchen wasn’t something Holly was great at doing, and when Fin had moved in with Jamie, she’d been more than a little peeved to find him shifting around her pots and pans. Yet, on first inspection, Evan seemed to be keeping the area pretty tidy. Not to mention he was doing an incredible job of frying the bacon to the point of perfect crispiness.

When he turned around, she saw the bowl in his hand.

‘What are you doing? I thought we were having bacon sandwiches.’

‘What? No way. It’s bacon and pancakes all the way here. Though I think I might have done a bit much; I’m always starving after a morning run.’

Holly shook her head, not sure that she had heard him correctly.

‘You went for a morning run? When?’

‘About half five, I think. I bet there are some amazing routes around here. I didn’t do anything too exciting though, just a couple of laps around the village to hit a 10K.’

Holly wasn’t sure if she was impressed or horrified by this knowledge. Of course, she knew he was keen on exercise; the water skiing in France had shown her that. Even so, getting up at five thirty rather than lying in felt like insanity to her. She just hoped that wouldn’t be his plan every day. Especially not on days when they would get to lie-in together.

‘Go, sit down, have a drink,’ he said. ‘The food is nearly ready.’

45

After finishing the food, Holly wanted to be helpful and at least wash up, but it wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. With her left hand in a cast, she had to use her right to wrestle with the dishcloth and the crockery simultaneously. More than once, she nearly smashed a glass, but Evan, to give him his due, only asked once if she wanted him to take over. After her response, he didn’t ask a second time.

‘I’m going to get you a bigger frying pan,’ he said, as he patiently waited to dry each item one by one and put them away. ‘You could only do a couple of pancakes at a time in that one.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with my one. I like it. It’s small. Like the cottage.’

‘Which is cute, but honestly, a big frying pan would be far more efficient.’

‘How about we see how we cope with your clothes in my wardrobe before you start messing with my kitchen, too? Trust me, that’s the quickest way to end this relationship,’ she laughed.

‘In that case, the small frying pan stays,’ Evan said, as he bent down and kissed her gently.