Page 14 of The Lucky Winners

Tuesday

Since our first visit to Lakeview House, everything’s moved fast. Between taking calls from DreamKey’s advisory team and trying to keep up as solicitors walk us through the things that need to happen before we can move, I spend my time, when I’m not at work, on packing and endless admin.

Legal forms. Financial assessments. Council tax bands and maintenance costs.

Terms like surveys , self-assessment and property deeds get tossed around, and with every conversation, the enormity of what’s happening hits me all over again.

I sit on the edge of the sofa one evening, a mountain of paperwork spread across the coffee-table. Dev paces between the living room and the kitchen, waving a letter in the air.

‘Five months,’ he says, exasperated. ‘We’ve got five months left on this tenancy, and they won’t let us end it early. Unless we find someone to take over, we’re stuck paying for it.’

I nod absently, leafing through a document. Then something clicks. I look up. ‘I’ve got an idea.’

‘Go on.’

‘What if Paige moved in?’

Dev stops pacing. ‘What?’

‘She’s desperate to get out of her parents’ place. We’ve got an empty house for five months. It makes sense.’

He frowns. ‘She’d pay the rent?’

I hesitate. Asking Paige for money when we’ve landed on our feet so spectacularly doesn’t sit right.

But, more than that, I want to do something for her.

‘She could pay something, I suppose,’ I say carefully.

‘But it feels wrong charging her the full amount when we don’t need the money.

This could give her the breathing space to save for her own place.

She was so excited about trying to buy one of those shared-ownership flats when I saw her last.’

Dev tosses the letter onto the table and slouches into a chair. ‘She’s your friend, but her living here, it could get messy.’

‘Messy how? It’s not like she’s a random tenant. We trust her. And it would help her get some independence away from her parents’ house. No deposit, no long-term contract.’

He exhales, running a hand through his hair. ‘I get what you’re saying. And, yeah, we can afford to be generous. But you know what they say – money and friendship don’t always mix.’

I fold my arms. ‘If the roles were reversed, she’d do the same for me.’

Dev studies me, then sighs. ‘Fine. But let’s set clear terms. If we’re doing this, we do it properly.’

Relief floods through me. ‘Deal.’