Maddie Please - A Year of New Adventures - The hilarious romantic comedy that is perfect for the summer holidays

Elaine smiled and cocked her head towards Oliver’s bedroom door. ‘It’s fine, dear; I can see how you’re fixed. I’ll just have to manage. Don’t you worry. I expect it will do me good; I’m getting very lazy these days.’

‘Well thank you for being so understanding, Elaine.’

I took her case up to the room. It was at the top of the staircase, a pretty room above the kitchen with a delightful leaded dormer window overlooking the garden. The single bed was high and stately with a deliciously plump duvet and pillows. I was suddenly tired and I could have crawled in for a power nap myself given half a chance.

Elaine was delighted. I introduced her to Nancy and Vivienne and I left them to settle in while I went back downstairs to finish off blending the soup and unwrapping the cheese. I took a glorious wedge of Stilton and waved it at Oliver’s room in a gesture of defiance – and of course at that precise moment he opened his door and caught me in the act. Oh FFS.

He stood and raised his eyebrows at me and I froze, the cheese in front of me like an axe head.

I started to wave it around. ‘Just airing it,’ I said, ‘like you do.’

‘I’ve not seen that done before,’ he said, narrowing his eyes.

‘Really?’ I put it behind my back. ‘Can I get you anything?’

‘No, I was just wondering what the Wi-Fi code was?’

‘It’s all on the welcome sheet,’ I said, briskly efficient. ‘One was left on your bedside table.’

‘Was it? I hadn’t noticed.’ He looked around vaguely.

You mean you didn’t try looking. Give me strength, why do I bother?

I went to fetch it. ‘Here we are. The Wi-Fi code is there under the section headed Wi-Fi code. See?’

His mouth twisted a little. ‘So it is.’ He went to close the door and then hesitated. ‘Thank you.’

Good grief!

Helena came downstairs.

‘Everything OK?’

‘Perfect,’ I said, arranging the cheese on a slate platter with some grapes and celery sticks.

Helena started wiping down the worktops. ‘Nancy says she’s got into such a muddle with her WIP, she’s almost tempted to start again. How’s the soup coming along?’

‘It will need seasoning I expect. I haven’t been able to concentrate on it. There’s still no sign of Nick Fitzgerald. I hope he won’t be long. It’s twelve-thirty.’

Helena started opening the cupboards looking for side plates while I ran two French sticks under the cold tap before putting them into the oven to crisp up. There was a fresh block of butter in the dish; we were just about ready. I went rummaging through all the cupboards and drawers to find glasses and cutlery so I could set the table. It’s always difficult the first few hours in a strange house because no one knows where anything is and it’s a steep learning curve.

Suddenly Oliver’s door opened again. By the expression on his face he was not happy. ‘Do you have to make such a bloody racket?’ he said. ‘Shouting at each other! Opening and closing doors! Crashing around. I’m trying to work and it sounds like there’s an elephant on the loose out here.’

Flaming cheek! I know I might have put on a couple of pounds recently but there had been an offer on Wagon Wheels and I’d forgotten how much I liked them.

‘So sorry,’ I said, ‘but of course that’s the disadvantage of a ground-floor room. You could always go into the big sitting room. It’s right at the front of the house, very quiet and there’s a lovely wood burner in there. Very cosy.’

The oven timer beeped and I went to get the bread out of the oven.

‘I don’t want to be cosy; I just want some peace and bloody quiet,’ he said.

There was a knock on the back door and Oliver rolled his eyes in exasperation before disappearing back into his room.

Helena went to open it. It was a young man, rather attractive in a tousled, geeky, sports jacket sort of way.

‘Hello,’ Helena said, rather breathlessly, ‘you must be Nick Fitzgerald?’

He stepped into the room, bringing a swirl of rain with him. ‘I am.’ He shook her hand.

It was obvious he liked what he saw. A lot. I swear you could feel the electricity between them crackling across the room.

‘Filthy day it’s turned into. And it started out so well. Still, it’s looking up now I’ve got here.’

He gave Helena a wide grin and shrugged off his coat. Helena fussed and twittered around him and after a few introductions took him away to show him his room. She came back a few minutes later still rather dazed and silly. Most unlike her usual Miss Sensible demeanour.

Great, just what we didn’t need: Helena flirting with a guest. She’d never done anything like that before, although thinking about it we didn’t get many men as guests. And we’d never had someone with an unruly mop of tawny curls, smiling brown eyes, and the hint of a rather muscular frame under his tweed exterior.

There was soup to be served and bread to be sliced up and arranged attractively in the wicker baskets we had found. I fixed her with a steely look and willed her to calm down.

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