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Meanwhile, Danni was behind the wheel of the Land Rover, the radio babbling in the background, on her way to the feed store and thinking about breakfast, which was an admittedly strange thing to think about at three in the afternoon.

But there it was, her and Eleanor over the breakfast table, a different future from the one she’d ever imagined, but a future all the same. A future where Eleanor chose the farm, where she was there every morning, not because she had to be but because she wanted to be. Where she made breakfast every morning, where she teased Danni about her terrible paperwork. Where she was there, her skin pale and perfect against the sheets every night.

A future where this marriage wasn’t just for convenience, where it was for real.

And Danni felt the stirrings of something that she was pretty sure was hope.

???

That evening, Eleanor made a simple supper and laid it out on the table when Danni came in from the farm, and they sat and ate together. The table was small, far smaller than the one at the house, Eleanor thought. But this felt oddly like home. That was a word she’d never applied to anywhere but the manor before.

She sipped at some wine, glancing over at Danni, who looked tired. “So, how was your day?”

Danni snorted. “Tommy’s convinced that you’re going to break my heart.”

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “Is he indeed? And what do you think?”

Danni leaned back in her chair and looked at Eleanor through heavy lidded eyes that made Eleanor’s heart beat harder. “I think that I don’t particularly care what Tommy thinks.”

Eleanor smiled softly. “I see. He might have a point though, you should be careful. We should always be careful.”

“So should you be,” Danni said. She looked down at her plate. “But I think we’re doing alright, don’t you?”

For a moment, Eleanor took in the warmth and comfort of all this. Sitting down to dinner with someone she had feelings for. The memories of the night before. The promise of what would come later this evening.

“I think we make a rather good team,” she said finally, putting her fork down.

Danni looked up again and grinned. “Yeah. We do, don’t we?”

And as they sat there, sharing a quiet look that said so much, neither of them were pretending anymore.

Because this wasn’t just a business arrangement, not now.

It was becoming something so much more.

And neither Danni nor Eleanor wanted to stop it.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Danni wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and surveyed the newly repaired drainage ditch. It had taken most of the morning, but at least the sheep wouldn’t be swimming the next time it rained. She rolled her shoulders, stretching out the stiffness, and then heard the unmistakable growl of Hector’s truck rumbling up the road. She groaned. Ten-to-one he was looking for her, and fifty-to-one odds this wasn’t going to be a social call.

“Danni?” He called, leaning out of the driver’s side window.

She waved an arm so that he could see her and he pulled into the side of the road, climbing out of the truck and slamming the door shut. “Danni, we need to talk,” he said, as he strode over the field toward her.

“Good morning to you too,” she muttered, treading her spade into the earth so that it stood unaided. “What’s so important that you drove all the way down here looking for me?”

“You weren’t at the house,” he said.

“I’ve got a farm to run.”

“So do I.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s about this investor business. You need to think very seriously about selling.”

Danni snorted. “Seriously? That again? I thought we’d alreadyhad this argument.”

“Yeah, I thought so too. But then I started doing some digging.” Hector’s voice was heavy with what Danni assumed was frustration. “Dan, the sooner you take the offer, the sooner you can get your life back. You don’t have to be tied to all this.”