Free Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream by Abby Clements Page B

buyers, give yourselves time to work out a plan?’
    ‘Possibly,’ I said. ‘I’ll look into it next week. I just can’t forget about the cottage, though – the garden, the space, the fireside. It’s so peaceful out there – you can hear your heart beat. I really wanted this. Both of us did.’
    ‘I’m sure you’ll find somewhere else.’
    ‘It won’t be the same,’ I said sulkily.
    Sunita raised an eyebrow.
    ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘Did I just regress to ten years old?’
    ‘Listen. I know a good short-term cure. Hot chocolatewith whipped cream. You’ll keep a pregnant woman company, won’t you?’
    *
    I got back from the centre of town later that evening, and found Jack working on a storyboard at the kitchen table.
    ‘How was your day with Sunita?’ he asked. ‘Did you get everything she needed?’
    ‘It was good, thanks. You’re really interested in hearing about all the baby stuff?’
    ‘Yes, why wouldn’t I be?’
    ‘A baby monitor and some other bits and pieces,’ I said. I located a pile of takeaway menus by the doormat, and pulled out one for a local curry house. ‘Fancy a takeaway tonight?’
    ‘Yes, sure. Sounds good.’
    ‘How was your day today, anyway?’
    ‘Busy. I’ve been working on this storyboard, but I can’t get it quite right. I can’t stop thinking about the cottage.’
    ‘Yep,’ I said, nodding in acknowledgement. ‘That makes two of us.’
    ‘What do you think we should do now? I feel we’ve already said goodbye to this place.’
    ‘Me too. If we do stay here, I’ll need to think about work right away, line up another job in London for the start of term in September.’
    ‘Staying’s not our only option,’ Jack said. ‘We can still move, we just have a more limited budget now, that’s all.’
    I paused. ‘I suppose we could keep looking … see if there’s anything we could get with a mortgage based on just your salary. And somewhere we can live over the summer without relying on a joint income.’
    ‘Let’s do that. I bet there are some bargains out there.’
    I felt less sure than Jack seemed. ‘We’ll be OK, won’t we?’
    ‘Of course we will.’
    The next day at school I looked around for Carly in the staffroom but couldn’t see her anywhere. I checked my phone for messages and saw one from her.
    Toilets, now?
    I walked down the corridor and pushed the door to the staff toilets open. Carly was leaning against the far wall, her eyes puffy and red from crying.
    ‘Carly, what’s happened?’
    ‘It’s Alex,’ she said. Her tears came fast, and she put her hands up to her eyes to brush them away.
    ‘Come here,’ I said, bringing her into my arms for a hug. She held on to me tight, like a baby koala, sobbing into my shoulder.
    ‘What is it? What’s he done?’ I said after a moment, pulling back.
    ‘It’s not what he’s done. Well, it is, but I can understand it. He finally told Jules about us and he freaked out.’
    ‘I thought he was going to wait until the end of term?’
    ‘Yes, me too. But apparently one of Jules’s friends saw us out together and he started to get suspicious. He’s furious that his dad’s been lying to him even though – well, you know … nothing’s even
happened
between us. Alex feels awful – he wants us to stop seeing each other.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Carly. God, I really thought this would be OK.’
    ‘Well, it definitely isn’t. We should have been straight with Jules from the start. I’ve got a class with him this afternoon. This has all turned into a nightmare. I’m just praying that Garrett doesn’t get to hear about it – that really would be the icing on the cake.’
    ‘He won’t,’ I reassured her. ‘No one ever tells him anything, definitely not the students. You know that.’
    ‘I just thought …’ Carly said, tears still in her voice. ‘I thought that a bit of time was all we needed.’
    *
    When the weekend rolled around I was pleased to get out of the flat. Jack drove us down to