After a lazy Saturday morning catching up on some sleep, and a lunchtime spent doing a little housework and having a Skype call with her mother, who was keen for her to take some time off soon and visit her in the South of France, Sophie decided to wander down to the village to get some supplies in for a quiet evening at home. She’d earmarked a series on Netflix that she fancied binge watching that weekend, and needed wine, pizza and ice cream to accompany it. Having skipped both breakfast and lunch, she was feeling hungry. She’d popped in on Lily after heading down to the shops and was now on her way back from giving Barney, her grandmother’s Weimaraner, his afternoon walk when she saw a familiar figure coming down High Street towards her. Surmising from the shorts and T-shirt that he must be on his way back from a run, Sophie wondered whether she should cross the road so that she didn’t disrupt his momentum, but, as she drew closer to him, he caught sight of her and smiled, taking out his earphones.
‘Hi,’ Alex said as they reached each other. ‘Nice afternoon.’
‘It is,’ Sophie replied, gesturing towards Barney. ‘It was too hot to walk him earlier, so when I popped in on Gran I offered to take him out now it’s cooled down a bit.’ Barney panted by her side, exhausted from the dash down the Strawberry Line, but as Alex extended a hand he lifted his big wet nose and nuzzled it into Alex’s palm.
‘Oh, Barney!’ Sophie shook her head. ‘You don’t have to show everyone quite so much love when you see them.’
Alex laughed and ruffled behind the Weimaraner’s ears. Barney rested his huge head against Alex’s thigh. ‘Good boy. Barney’s pretty much the size that Prince, the Doberman I had as a kid, used to be.’
‘Don’t be fooled.’ Sophie snorted. ‘He’s as lazy as he is huge. Which is just as well, since Gran’s struggling to do the walks she used to. I take him out when I can, but he could really do with a bit more exercise, just so he doesn’t get any fatter.’
‘How much exercise does he need?’
‘Oh, only about half an hour a day,’ Sophie said. ‘But he’ll do more if he’s pushed.’
Alex was still stroking Barney’s big, lugubrious face, and the dog reacted ecstatically to his touch, belying his sombre appearance. Sophie found herself feeling strangely jealous. Alex did have such wonderful hands, after all. Tearing her gaze away from them, she tried to focus on his face again, but that combination of hair, eyes and glorious bone structure was equally distracting. Clearly it had been too long since she’d been on a date; she needed to get a grip.
‘I don’t mind taking him out,’ Alex said. ‘I run most days, and it would be a good way to get to know the countryside round here.’
‘I’m sure Gran would appreciate the help,’ Sophie said. ‘Although bear in mind that Weimaraners can be quite particular about whom they’ll listen to. Barney can have selective hearing sometimes!’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ Alex said. ‘Anyway, since I’ll be sharing his living space from tomorrow, it’s the least I can do.’
‘You decided to take Gran up on her offer, then?’ Secretly, Sophie wasn’t surprised; Lily could be very persuasive once she’d set her mind to something, and she’d obviously taken a bit of a shine to Alex. Lily had told Sophie she’d be having a house guest for the rest of Alex’s internship when Sophie had popped in to get Barney. Sophie had felt a genuine flutter in her stomach when Lily had broken the news to her; the knowledge that her path would cross with Alex’s in her downtime as well as at work made her uncertain how to feel. Would it be crossing professional lines a little too far to be socialising with him as well as working with him?
‘Your grandmother has a knack of talking people into things, I’m guessing.’ Alex smiled, then glanced at his watch. ‘I ought to get going, anyway, or I’m going to be late for dinner.’
‘Where are you off to?’ Sophie asked, and then cursed herself for sounding so curious. It really was none of her business.
‘Matthew’s invited me to dinner at his place. I guess I’d better be on my best behaviour, as an intern.’
Sophie grinned back. ‘I wouldn’t worry. He’s got three children and a dog, and from what I can gather things are pretty informal.’
‘I’ve got to get to the wine shop and grab a bottle anyway,’ Alex said. ‘I wonder if they already know what his favourite wine is.’
Sophie laughed. ‘He and Kelli are pretty good friends, so I’m guessing they will.’
‘Uh, speaking of going out…’ Alex said, suddenly looking hesitant.
‘Yes?’ Sophie’s stomach fluttered a little more at the sudden change in direction of the conversation.
‘Would you like to, er, go out for a drink with me some time?’
Sophie’s stomach suddenly started turning somersaults. For a second she paused.
‘Not to worry if not,’ Alex said hurriedly. ‘It was just a thought. But I didn’t want to make things awkward between us. We’ve got to work together, after all.’
Sophie’s head was screaming at her to politely turn Alex down; that it couldn’t go anywhere, even if they did go on a date or two, and that mixing work and play was definitely a bad idea. But her heart was fluttering in her chest, and she was flattered to be asked. The way her body had been responding to Alex was sending her a very definite signal that she was attracted to him. And anyway, turning him down would make things awkward between them, at least for a little while. Perhaps it was better to say yes, and if things didn’t work out after one drink, they could agree just to be colleagues for the duration.
Taking a deep breath, and before her head could win, Sophie took the plunge. ‘I’m a bit wary of going out with people I work with.’ Seeing Alex’s face drop slightly, she continued hurriedly. ‘But I think I’d like to go for a drink with you. Let’s sort something out next week and see how it goes, shall we? Since you’ve got to rush off now.’ So much for not crossing professional lines, she thought. One offer of a date and she’d caved right in quicker than a landslide on Cheddar Gorge.
‘Sure.’ Alex replied. ‘I’ll look forward to that.’ He gave her a final smile, and then set off at a jog, leaving Sophie alone with Barney tugging on the lead beside her. Realising her heart was still racing, she breathed out, wondering exactly how to play things over the next few days. Working with Alex was one thing, but seeing him socially added a whole new dimension. She hoped it wasn’t going to be an awkward one, especially since he was moving in with her grandmother, too. What if Alex broke her already fragile heart? After Mark, she wasn’t sure she could cope with another trauma.