Page 24 of Hit For Six (Balls and Banter #1)

Was it her imagination, or had Monty suddenly lost his nerve?

They came to an awkward standstill at the top of the next small flight of stairs, where Lola realised she’d been rambling on about the less endearing features of the apartment (the compact bathroom with its broken window pane that provided excellent ventilation in the summer months, the quirkily uneven staircase that dated back to who knew when and would probably only cause a problem if you’d been on the wine or were treating yourself to breakfast in bed, the arty farty but unreachable cobwebs on the high hallway ceiling which had the added benefit of housing big fat spiders– and the moths and earwigs they feasted on) in admirable estate agent patter, as if she was trying to sell him the place.

Monty’s brows shot up. Ha, she’d got him. And now she could narrow down his own dwelling to one of those fancy new riverside apartments. Lola knew it!

Finally they descended to the kitchen. At a certain time of day when the golden ball in the sky deigned to put in an appearance, its rays hitting the window at just the right angle, it created a lovely cosy patch right next to the dining table, its light spangling across Squiffy’s second cat bed.

And the rest of the time, this room needed constant illumination if you wanted to be sure that you’d put a tea bag in your cup or bread in the toaster.

Monty hung back by the fairy-lit doorway, the reality of his goodwill finally dawning on him.

This had been the worst idea. Why had Lola opened her big mouth this morning?

The power of that indulgent cinnamon roll and its instant sugar hit.

Squiffy meandered over, then, miaowing softly and Lola bent to stroke her.

‘She won’t scratch.’ Lola hoped. ‘Come in, park yourself on the sofa and let her get used to you.’

Lola gestured at the battered two-seater, which had long been a fixture in the unnecessarily large kitchen.

Monty perched himself rigidly on the edge of the couch, folding his hands ineptly in his lap one moment and threading his fingers together the next.

His lack of experience and nerves were showing already and Lola didn’t need another reason to find him endearing, dammit.

‘Cup of tea?’

She smiled, gritting her teeth beneath the facade. On the other hand, this was going to take significantly longer than planned. But what choice did she have? She needed to make Monty feel comfortable. He was her only hope and the trip was in a matter of days!

Lola bustled about at the sink, pulled two small mugs from a cupboard, dropped a tea bag into each of them (suddenly wondering if he’d favour Earl Grey since he was posh, and then remembered her newfound confidence: PG Tips would have to blimming well do), and waited for the kettle to boil.

At which point, she had to do a double take.

Squiffy was currently brushing herself against Monty’s leg, purring softly!

Sure, their visitor was still on his guard, his own body hunched over like a question mark that was about to bolt out the door.

But his panic stricken face now displayed the beginnings of a grin, his eyes growing saucer wide at Squiffy’s approval.

Oh, thank fuck for that. And yes, the silent expletive was necessary.

Lola was beginning to think she’d need to find a cat hotel so she could take Squiffy to Germany with her.

She didn’t dare break the spell so she made the tiniest of movements to fetch the milk from the fridge and the teaspoons from the drawer.

But she needn’t have worried. Squiffy was smitten and had jumped onto the couch, whilst Monty’s posture now resembled an exclamation mark.

She purred even more contentedly, padding about next to him, her tail high.

It was all Lola could do to concentrate on not burning herself as she poured hot water over the tea bags and let them brew.

‘I honestly thought she’d be more aloof. Wow.’

But Monty didn’t dare respond yet, and the next thing she knew, Squiffy was nudging his thigh with her ginger head. Monty let slip a nervous giggle.

‘I think we’re growing on each other,’ he finally chanced.

At this, Squiffy put a tentative paw on his lap, testing his thighs for paddability. Liking what she felt, she jumped up and started to circle for the best spot.

‘Okaaaaay. Easy, Tiger.’

Uh-oh. Lola had competition. Hang on. Why was she thinking that? She’d been an estate agent in a rush not five minutes ago. Estate agents didn’t throw themselves at their clients. This was fine. It was more than fine. Now she could go to Frankfurt and maybe even enjoy herself.

Slowly, Monty reached out his hand, barely touching Squiffy’s soft fur.

The little minx was putty already. Only when she took a seat and elongated her paws beneath her so she could rest her chin on them, did Monty decide it was safe to smooth her.

Now Squiffy was purring so loudly, Lola could almost feel the vibrations through the floor.

As wonderful and life-affirming as all of this was, it had created something of a situation.

Relaxed at last, Monty was looking extremely comfortable for somebody who’d called in to quickly run through a To-Do list. Lola placed his cup of tea on the kitchen table, wondering if it would be impolite to ask him when he planned to get to it.

What other answer could he give her than ‘whenever this little fluffball decides to let me; I’m not in charge of my life anymore’?

Well, this was a complete one-off. Squiffy could think again about any ideas of Monty becoming a regular.

‘Anyway, now that you’re properly acquainted, I’m going to have to grab an early night,’ said Lola. ‘Let’s talk dietary and toilet habits. You can stay right there. I’ll give you a presentation.’

Making Monty feel like he’d prolonged his visit before he’d taken a sip of his tea was the last thing she wanted to do but it was best that she set firm boundaries.

Lola was proud of herself for getting through these two unplanned encounters with him today without encouraging a move.

Monty had been on her mind 24/7 since that kiss and all the sweet nothings he’d shared with her in the rain.

She was stronger than she’d given herself credit.

All she had to do now was rattle off an informative spiel, hold up an array of objects, explain their location in the apartment, hand him a spare set of keys and assure him that she’d talk to the grumpy neighbours in the top floor apartment so they didn’t think he was breaking in. Then they were done.

‘Sure,’ said Monty, a curious grin lighting up his face as Squiffy rearranged herself to cuddle into him and Lola tried not to feel envious. ‘And then I was wondering if you might do something to help me?’