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Holly took a deep inhale, which she let out with a sigh. There was no point in her saying she was fine with it all. Evan knew that wasn’t the case. And frankly, anyone’s opinion on how to deal with the matter had to be better than the thoughts going through her head. Which, at that moment, consisted of burying her head in the sand and ignoring it altogether.

‘Go for it,’ she said.

‘Well, do you really need to mention this at all? So what, Giles is your landlord and your mother was keeping it from you? They were obviously only doing it because they thought that was best. Why don’t you just stay quiet and pretend you never found out? No harm’s been done.’

So, it turned out Evan was having exactly the same thoughts as her. But rather than Holly feeling relieved or it reinforcing that it was the right thing to do, a familiar knot formed in her chest.

‘I know. And on the one side, you’re right. It’s what I keep thinking. But I can’t let it go. I can’t. I’ll just end up resenting my mum for keeping all the secrets. To be honest, there’s a lot I’m feeling she’s keeping from me at the moment, and it’s not good.’

Evan nodded, but he didn’t pry into what those other things could be. And Holly was grateful. She couldn’t bear to think about Maud right now, too.

‘In that case,’ Evan said, ‘why don’t you ask Giles about it first? Maybe talking to him will be enough, and you won’t feel the need to discuss it with your mum. Or maybe you’ll find she didn’t even want to keep this from you at all.’

‘So you’re pushing me to see Giles again?’ Holly winked, yet Evan simply rolled his eyes.

‘I think it’s pretty safe. I mean, I did nearly get arrested for you today.’

‘I don’t think I’d go that far.’

‘Oh, I definitely would.’ He smirked. ‘This is a story I’m going to tell our grandchildren.’

‘Is that right?’

‘Yes, absolutely.’

They leaned in and kissed. It was the type of kiss that meant you forgot about the sofa and the film you were going to watch. Or even the work that was waiting on Evan’s laptop after he’d spent all day with her. At least, that’s the type of kiss Holly suspected it would’ve been, had her phone not started ringing. Her instinct was to ignore it, but her eyes pinged open reflexively, and there, on the table, she saw Jamie’s name flashing away.

‘I should get this,’ she said.

49

‘How’s the patient?’

Despite all the chaos going on in her own life, Jamie’s first question was checking on Holly. Of course it was. That was the type of friend she was.

Holly answered truthfully. ‘Okay actually, but I’m only on day one and it already itches. I’m dreading to think how much my arm is going to stink when I finally get this thing off.’

‘Not to mention tan lines. I mean, summer really is a bad time to do that.’

‘Thank you.’

‘And you know you’re likely to lose a lot of muscle strength, too? It’s crap, but it’s just an effect of not using the muscle at all.’

Holly wasn’t overly grateful for Jamie’s input on the situation at that moment, though it wasn’t like she was a weightlifter or anything. She was sure she would be fine.

‘What about you? Hopefully, you’re ringing with some news? Any luck with the wedding?’

‘Yes, and no.’ Jamie let out a sigh, implying it wasn’t all as sorted as Holly hoped it would be. ‘We’ve found somewhere forthe family to stay, on the days when they were meant to be at the wedding venue.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, sort of. It’s a new glamping place that’s set up by Naunton. They weren’t meant to be opening till the week after, as they’ve had some delays with furniture and things, but I’ve told them as long as there’s a bed in each tent then we’re happy.’

‘That’s good, and what about weddings? Can you get married there?’

There was a slight pause, in which Holly assumed Jamie was shaking her head.

‘No, they’re not registered for that yet. And even if they were, we still haven’t got anyone that can do the wedding. No registrars are available. At least not one that we have a contact for.’