ONE YEAR LATER
“Who do you think they are?”
Fleur whispers, “I don’t know, but there are loads of vans. They certainly have a lot of stuff.”
We watch from our vantage point from the spare room window and I say thoughtfully, “The house sold quickly enough. That’s good.”
She nods. “Yes, despite the publicity, they don’t appear to have been put off.”
We watch as a woman drives into The Chase in a large Range Rover, closely followed by a man in a Ferrari. Our eyes widen as the car door slams and a slim, elegant woman jumps out.
Fleur says, “How old do you think she is?”
“It’s hard to tell, early thirties maybe.”
We look as the man races over to her and lifts her into his arms and carries her squealing towards the house. Fleur laughs softly, “He’s not, though. How old would you say he is?”
“Early fifties perhaps.”
We turn to each other and grin. “Interesting.”
We both say the word at the same time and then dissolve into laughter.
We make our way downstairs for the usual coffee and I say thoughtfully, “I still can’t believe we have new neighbours.”
Fleur nods. “I suppose Matthew needed the money to pay his solicitor. Not that it did him any good. Ten years for blackmail was a little excessive.”
I nod. “Yes, but it caused a man to take his own life. I’m sure he’ll be out earlier for good behaviour, which is a lot sooner than Anthony.”
Fleur looks at me with concern and I shrug. “He deserved every year they gave him. I know him though and he’ll work it, so he gets an open prison and the life of Riley. He’ll be out sooner than we think, but he won’t be coming home here.”
We grin at each other as Fleur says, “I can’t believe he agreed to the divorce after your damning testimony against him. He never even fought it and in effect signed away all his rights to the house, cars, and savings. I was impressed because for the first time, he did something noble.”
“Yes, but you’ve got to understand he had an ulterior motive for doing so.”
“Which was?”
“He gets to keep all his future earnings and by the sounds of things, his new project is set to earn millions. Don’t be fooled by Anthony’s generosity, Fleur, there is only one person he cares about – himself.”
I stare at my friend and smile. “Talking of caring. How is the delectable Darren?”
Laughing, Fleur hugs herself and says happily, “Every bit as amazing as I always thought he would be. His new gym is doing well, and he’s got twenty people working for him now.”
“Do you worry about him? I mean, he’s super fit and we both know what a woman magnet he is?”
She shrugs, “I can’t worry about that because if it happened, it just means it wasn’t meant to be. I’m not losing my trust in someone based on another’s infidelity.”
She laughs. “Now it’s your time to spill. I heard Eddie has moved in. You kept that one quiet.”
She links her arm in mine and says happily, “Who knows, we could end up as sisters, after all. What do you say to a double wedding?”
Laughing, I shake my head as Eddie heads into the room. “What wedding?”
We dissolve into fits of laughter and he rolls his eyes. “I’ll never understand women.”
Moving across, I kiss him gently on the cheek and marvel at how I found this amazing man. Like his brother, he is totally gorgeous to look at with rugged good looks and an amazing body. His eyes twinkle and many women would kill for those long, dark lashes and he treats me like a princess.
He wraps his arm around my waist and says gently, “I’ve got to work but should be back by seven. How about I take you to that new bistro that’s just opened in town?”
He looks across at Fleur and says brightly, “You too, Fleur. Bring that brother of mine and we can make a night of it.”
Fleur grins. “Consider it a double date.”
He laughs and as I watch him head off to work, I feel a happiness I always wanted but never really got. Eddie completes my perfect world because he is genuine. He loves me unconditionally and I trust him with my life. I still work at the country club, although I am in the process of setting up my own Interior design company. I already have two clients with huge budgets, so the future is looking good.
Fleur says, “Have you got any of those flyers you had printed? Perhaps you should drop one into the new neighbours. Your home is all the advertising you need and we could find out everything about them over a coffee.”
The doorbell rings before I can answer her and I’m happy to see Miranda standing there when I open the door. She grins in her impish way and says, “Have you seen the cars across the road? I’m guessing an actor or something along those lines.”
She follows me inside and says brightly, “We need to celebrate, ladies. I’ve now completed my final hour of community service and officially a free woman.”
We rush to congratulate her and she breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God that’s over. Now I can start again.”
I stare at her with interest. “What will that involve?”
“Well, James has told me that he’s moving in with his boyfriend. Apparently, he has a flat in Westminster, not too shabby either by the sounds of it, so I’m getting a lodger to help pay the bills. James said he would still pay the mortgage until I find my feet and I have my job at the solicitors to keep me in shoes, but I’ll need help in selecting the most suitable applicant.”
Fleur laughs. “You mean the fittest, most wealthy, applicant.”
She laughs and heads back the way she came. “Just a flying visit, ladies, because I must draft my ad.”
Fleur calls after her, “It won’t be the first ad you’ve drafted. How are things going with the Internet dating?”
Miranda’s laughter is all the answer we get and Fleur grins. “It’s a shame Miles gave up on her. Mind you, it was doubtful she would ever get accepted into the US with a criminal record, anyway.”
I nod. “It is a shame because it sounds as if she had it all worked out and was set for life.”
As I walk Fleur to the door, I feel a sudden rush of affection for my friend and say warmly, “You know, next time you have any bright ideas about visiting fortune tellers, can you count me out?”
She laughs. “I could say the same to you, although I did hear about a medium….”
I quickly push her out of the door and slam it shut, and I hear her laughter float across the path as she heads home. Yes, despite our first impressions, Desdemona Fortune was spot on. My friends did hold the key to my destiny and luckily for me, I escaped more lightly than they did.
Another knock on the door, brings me back to the present and laughing, I open it saying, “Ok what did you forget…”
I stop as I see the stunning woman from across the road standing there, looking at me with a huge smile on her face. “I hope you don’t mind me bothering you, but I’m new as of today and wanted to introduce myself. My name’s Ava and my husband is called Sebastian. We are so keen to get to know the neighbours and wondered if you would like to join us for social drinks this evening?”
I smile warmly. “That would be lovely. I’m Arabella, and my partner is Eddie.”
She smiles and looks around with interest, saying, “You know, this place seems so quiet. It’s what we loved about it. Big gates to shut the whole world out and live a quiet and relaxing life.”
I nod. “Yes, it’s certainly a special place, that’s for sure.”
She smiles and says brightly, “I’ll see you later. I’m off to introduce myself to the others. Are they nice?”
I nod. “The best. You’ll be very happy here.”
As I close the door, I laugh to myself. Yes, Ava and Sebastian will fit in perfectly.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story you may be interested in The Summerhouse Girls
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NB: This book is written in UK English
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