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‘I’m Henry Travis.’
Pe
‘Pe
She ushered him in but, as she looked out, Daisy was nowhere in sight. Maybe she was coming later. She closed the door and stepped back into her front room, which seemed so much smaller all of a sudden now Henry was filling it with his enormous size. She tried to get past him to lead him into the kitchen but he was too big to squeeze past. He stared down at her with confusion as she tried to slide through the tiny gap and then finally he stepped to one side.
She walked into the kitchen, feeling awkward and clumsy in his presence.
‘This is the co
‘But we have our own separate front door, don’t we?’ Henry said.
‘Of course, but this will always be open so feel free to pop in any time.’
Henry’s scowl deepened so much she could barely see his eyes. He stepped through the door, banging his head on the low door frame. He swore softly as he rubbed his head.
‘Oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise it was that low.’
He glared at her as he stepped into his lounge. ‘Jeez, it’s tiny.’
Pe
‘Erm… through there is your kitchen and your front door which leads out on to the back garden. So I suppose technically it’s your back door.’ She giggled, nervously, mentally slapping her forehead with how stupid she sounded. ‘Upstairs are the two bedrooms and the bathroom.’ Pe
He took two giant steps and ducked into the kitchen, shaking his head incredulously, probably at the size of it.
He looked back at Pe
Pe
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?’
Pe
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.’
Pe
‘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,’ Pe
‘Daisy is staying with my sister tonight.’
‘Well, you can still come over…’ Pe
‘I need to get unpacked tonight. Get it all out the way before all Daisy’s rubbish gets here. She could fill this whole a
Pe
‘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. Pe
Henry sighed, softly. ‘Here, I’ll get these, you take this. It’s pillows so it should be a bit lighter for you.’
Pe
He rolled his eyes and sighed, heavily.
‘Oh crap, I’ll get my Hoover, I’ll clean it up.’
‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I think it’s best if I just unpack myself. This place is small enough without the two of us banging into each other.’
‘Of course, sorry, I’m not really helping, am I? Let me just clean this up for you and—’
‘Just leave it.’ Henry was clearly trying to stay calm when he was well and truly pissed off.
Pe
‘I think I’ll just use my own front door, start as we mean to go on.’
Disappointment slammed into her at that obvious statement of segregation.
‘Shall I run through a few things with you, how the oven works and—’
‘I’m sure I can work it out and I know where to find you if I get stuck.’ He forced a smile onto his face. ‘Thanks for your help, I’ll see you around some time.’