Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,2

roof of the shower.

He took two giant steps and ducked into the kitchen, shaking his head incredulously, probably at the size of it.

He looked back at Penny and must have seen the desperate hope in her eyes as his features softened slightly. ‘It’s lovely, and it’s only for a few months so I’m sure I can remember to duck when I walk between the rooms until we find somewhere bet… bigger.’

Penny’s face fell. ‘You’re not staying?’

Henry shook his head. ‘We have our name down for a house in the town. Rob at the agency said he thinks he will have somewhere by March or April at the latest. Did he not tell you this was short term?’

Penny swallowed down the disappointment and shook her head. She had been trying for months to rent out the annexe without any success and in the end left it in the hands of the agency, and even they had struggled to fill it. Now it seemed that, in a few months, Henry and Daisy would be gone, leaving Penny all alone again.

She forced a smile on her face, determined to make those months count. ‘So I’ve put a bed in the second bedroom but if you wish to use it as a study or something else, then I can easily remove it.’

Henry looked at her as if she was stupid. ‘No, we’ll obviously be needing the second bed.’

Penny blinked. Maybe they had separate bedrooms. She knew lots of couples who slept apart for one reason or another. She could never imagine sleeping apart from her husband, but then she didn’t have one of those, so who was she to judge?

‘That’s fine. I, erm… made some mince pies and some mulled wine if you wanted to have something to eat before you unpack.’

‘No, I’d rather just get everything in before it gets dark. Most of my stuff won’t arrive until tomorrow, the bloody removal people got lost and ended up in a different part of the country.’

‘Oh how frustrating for you,’ Penny said. Maybe that explained the almost permanent frown. ‘Well, I can help you bring things in from the car and I’ve made a lasagne for later so if you didn’t fancy cooking, you and Daisy are more than welcome to come round later to share it with me.’

‘Daisy is staying with my sister tonight.’

‘Well, you can still come over…’ Penny trailed off. Was it inappropriate to share dinner with another woman’s husband? It was just dinner but the cosy night in with her new neighbours was suddenly turning into something a bit more intimate now it was just the two of them. Henry obviously thought so too as his eyebrows had shot up at her suggestion. ‘Or I can plate some up and bring it here for you to have on your own.’ There was something even sadder about that, both of them sitting in their separate kitchens eating by themselves.

‘I need to get unpacked tonight. Get it all out the way before all Daisy’s rubbish gets here. She could fill this whole annexe with all her junk so I better get my stuff put away first. I’ll probably just get a pizza and eat it whilst I work.’

Penny felt her shoulders slump in defeat, though she kept the bright smile plastered on her face. ‘Well, let me help you with all your boxes.’

‘I’d really rather…’

‘It won’t take too long with the two of us at it and as it’s starting to snow now, maybe the quicker we get it in the better.’

Henry reluctantly nodded. She followed him out to the car and couldn’t help her eyes wandering down to his bum before she tore them away. What was wrong with her? He was married.

She was disappointed that he hadn’t even glanced at the incredible view yet, the sun covering the waves with garlands of scarlet and gold. He opened the boot and grabbed a box, passing it to her. With the easy way he handled the box, she wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy, but the weight snatched the box out of her fingers and it tumbled to the floor, sending a pile of books over the gravel driveway.

‘Oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise it was so heavy.’

He stared at her incredulously. Penny sank to the floor and started scooping the books back up into the box, noticing wonderful delights from Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, James Lee Burke, classics from Dickens and Thomas Hardy intermingled with Tolkien, Dan Brown