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‘Why are you so loud?’ Bex screamed into the pillow as she wrapped it around her ears, trying to block out the noise. Unfortunately, Ruby took the fact that she was now awake as a sign she could jump from her armchair onto the bed. After bouncing her way up the mattress, she flopped next to Bex, her head on the neighbouring pillow, which, Bex had learned, was her favourite position to be in.

For several minutes, Bex kept the pillow over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the noise of the birds and ignore the smell of dog breath that filled her nose. But it was no good. These damn animals weren’t going to let her sleep. And if she wasn’t sleeping, she might as well get to work.

It was with a flutter of excitement that Bex walked into the study with her laptop. It was the first time she had seen any reason to bring the computer down from her room, and there was still a long way until things were sorted, but at least she could now start digitising what she had, and after the week of sorting, this felt like an absolute treat. With a cup of painfully weak instant coffee at her side, she tried to work out where to start. Bank statements, she decided. That was going to be the best place, and not only that, but she was going to put on some music, too.

Bex had always been one of those people who liked to listen to music while she worked. If she’d had her way, she would have had her speakers on full, blasting upbeat tunes into the entire office, lifting the mood and her work rate every day. But other people didn’t feel the same, and so most of the time she resorted to keeping one earbud in so she could enjoy her music, while still being able to hear if anyone needed her. But given that she was working alone, she turned the volume on her computer up to full and felt the smile rise to her lips.

‘Why have I not been doing this all week?’ she said to Ruby, who looked somewhat perturbed by the strange noises that filled their normally quiet space. ‘This is much better, isn’t it, girl?’

The Labrador responded with a beat of her tail against the floor, which Bex took as a definite yes. Soon she was so absorbed in placing all the paper bank statements she had into chronological order that she didn’t even hear the door open.

‘You have to be joking. I knew this would happen.’

Bex turned around to find Duncan standing in the doorway, combing his hands through his hair. ‘You’re a complete workaholic. You are aware it’s Saturday, right?’

Bex hadn’t expected to see Duncan, though why she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know much about being a groundskeeper, but it didn’t seem like a job that was confined to normal office hours. Not that she could remember what those were any more.

‘Exactly, it’s the weekend, which means I have even more hours to work,’ Bex replied, though she couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at her lips at the sight of him in a plaid shirt. He really wasn’t helping her daydreams of him chopping wood like it was some pine-scented aftershave advert. ‘So, did you want something, or just to interrupt me?’

‘Actually, I came to give you something.’

‘Two gifts in one week?’ she teased. Though the key had been more of a necessity than a gift, it was still thoughtful. And in her experience, the only time men gave her presents was when they wanted to get her into bed, which she’d made very clear was not going to happen with Duncan.

‘I think you might like this one, even more than the key,’ he said.

‘Well, now I’m intrigued.’

Wordlessly, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a brown paper bag. The item inside couldn’t have been larger than a deck of cards or a pack of cigarettes. As he handed it to her, Bex found herself tempted to brush against his skin again, just to see if she got that same electric feeling. But why would she want to do something like that? Even if he had felt the same spark as she had, it wasn’t as if they were going to do anything about it. So instead, she carefully took the bag, opened it up and looked inside.

A loud laugh cracked from her lungs.

‘Oh my goodness! Earplugs! You saint.’

The plastic box inside contained five pairs of bright orange foam earplugs, which, according to the label on the outside, had a reduction of 38 decibels. She had no idea whether that was good or not, but it sounded like it should be.

‘Thank you,’ she said, her eyes meeting Duncan’s for the first time all morning. ‘This is really thoughtful of you.’

‘I’m a thoughtful kind of guy,’ he said. ‘Speaking of which…’

He turned around and headed back out through the door, before returning a moment later with a far larger box in his hand.

‘Oh my God, it’s a coffee machine! Is this for me?’

Bex shook her head in disbelief. She’d been considering ordering one herself and charging it to Nigel. She’d probably even mentioned as much to Duncan during one of their conversations.

‘Of course it’s for you,’ he replied. ‘Do you know how much takeaway coffees cost? I thought I was going to go broke. So I found a solution.’

He placed the box down on the now-cleared section of the desk.

‘We need to get mugs now,’ Bex said, excitement sparking in her voice. ‘You’re staying for one, right?’

Even sorting bank statements and starting on the accounts wasn’t as exciting as the thought of constant access to decent coffee. And given that he was the one who had brought her the machine, not to mention the earplugs, the least she could do was offer Duncan a drink, but as he leaned against the doorframe, his smile was broad, and his trademark smirk twisted at the corner of his lips.

‘Well, given that it’s Saturday, and you really shouldn’t be working, I had a different idea for how you could say thank you.’

‘A different idea?’ Butterflies swarmed her stomach, but she tried to quash them. Friendship only. That was to be the limit of her relationship with Duncan, she reminded herself. But there was nothing wrong with that, was there? After all, who didn’t benefit from having another friend or two? ‘What might that be exactly?’