Page 20 of Promises & Petals in Nettleford-on-the-Wold (Escape to… Nettleford-on-the-Wold #1)

C losing the front door behind her, she hurried down the garden path and out onto the street.

‘Hey, hold up.’

Turning, she watched as Lucy jogged towards her. Great. She’d been rumbled.

‘Have you got something to tell me, Hannah?’ catching her up, Lucy linked her arm through Hannah’s as she glared at her.

‘Umm... I don’t...’

‘Don’t give me that, Hannah. It’s written all over your face.’ Lucy grinned. ‘And you almost choked on your dirty little secret too.’

Crossing her arms, Hannah looked down at Alfie, who was walking between them. ‘It’s not a dirty little secret.’

Gasping with delight, Lucy gripped hold of Hannah’s elbows and, drawing them to a halt, spun her around to face her. ‘So, you and Josh? You are a thing! I can’t believe you’ve not said anything!’

Hannah’s face dropped as she gained behind them towards Sophie’s cottage. ‘I can’t, can I? Not with everything that’s going on. And did you hear what they were saying about friendship and relationships not coming between friends?’

‘Yes, but...’

‘I’ll end it. I’m going straight home, and I’ll tell him we need to end things.’ Hannah heard her voice wobble. She knew what she needed to do. She couldn’t get with Josh. It would only come between her and Sophie, and she needed her right now. She couldn’t...

‘Don’t you dare!’ Lucy’s expression turned serious.

‘I have to. I don’t have a choice.’

‘You do. You’ve always had feelings for Josh. You can’t ruin things now you’ve actually got together.’ Lucy shook her head.

‘You were sitting in Sophie’s living room with me; you heard exactly what I heard.’ She swiped at her cheek as a tear fell. Why was she even crying? She and Josh had what? Kissed a couple of times, that was it. It wasn’t as though they’d been dating for years or anything.

‘Hannah, listen to me. You deserve to be happy. Anyone can see that you and Josh make a great couple. And after all these years, you deserve some happiness of your own. Sophie will understand. Heck, she’ll likely be thrilled that Josh is even dating again.

She trusts you; she loves you, and she knows you have Josh’s best interests at heart, and he has yours. ’

‘No, I can’t.’ Hannah shook her head as they began walking again. ‘What if we break up? What then? It will destroy Sophie.’

‘Sophie’s just out of a really unhappy relationship, and she’s still standing. Nothing will destroy her. She’s strong.’ Lucy glanced across at her. ‘Besides, who said you and Josh won’t last the distance?’

Hannah shrugged. ‘But if...’

‘You won’t know until you try.’ Lucy raised her eyebrows.

She didn’t understand. ‘I feel as though I’m lying to Soph. I am lying to Soph, and I hate myself for it.’

‘Look, just leave it a few days. See how things between you and Josh go. if it all fizzles out, don’t tell her.’

Hannah shoved her hands in her pockets, the lead still dangling from her wrist. It wasn’t going to fizzle out. She could tell that if they both jumped into the relationship, things most definitely wouldn’t fizzle out. This felt real.

‘If they don’t, then tell her.’

‘I feel guilty,’ Hannah whispered.

‘You don’t need to. Honestly, I think Sophie will be over the moon.’

‘She won’t be. Don’t you remember that whole thing with Claudia and Sophie warning her off him?’

Throwing her head back, Lucy laughed.

Narrowing her eyes, Hannah glared at her. This was serious. This wasn’t a time for laughing.

‘Sorry, but that was, what? Twenty years ago or something. When we were all at school.’ Lucy emphasised the word ‘school’. ‘Besides, Claudia was awful. You must remember how horrible she was to us?’

Hannah frowned. Josh had said much the same thing about them not being at school anymore, not about Claudia being awful. She wasn’t even sure what he’d thought of Claudia, or whether he’d even been aware she’d planned to ask him out. ‘I don’t know.’

‘If you don’t give it a go, you’ll never know if you’ve just passed up on your happy ever after.’ Lucy draped her arm around Hannah’s shoulder.

‘But Sophie...’

‘Nothing will change between you and Sophie. The four of us are solid.’

Hannah rubbed at her temples. She wanted to believe Lucy; she really did.