Jill Mansell - Chapter 1

‘When we wake up in the morning we’ll look out of our bedroom window and see all that.’

Roger Willis proudly tapped the photograph of rolling green hills dotted with sheep.

Sally drank it in. Sheep. How many people could look out of their window in London and see sheep?

All Creatures Great and Small. That had been one of her favourite TV programmes. And she’d always had a secret weakness for Postman Pat. There were hills and sheep galore in Greendale.

Was this all simply a coincidence or could it be a sign that she was meant to live somewhere hilly and popular with sheep? Where men were men and true love still existed? Where people called you lass and made you welcome?

Heartbeat. Was that set in Yorkshire? Yes it was.

Where the Heart Is? Tick, ditto.

The Royal. Ha, yes, so was that. And there was a reason why so many feel-good cosy Sunday evening dramas were set in Yorkshire. It was because Yorkshire was a cosy feel-good place to live.

And there was a Harvey Nichols in Leeds .. .

‘Hello? Sally?’ Roger was holding the dish of fish pie, waving the ladle to attract her attention.

Having caught it, he said jovially, ‘What are you thinking? You’re miles away!’

‘I’m not.’ Sally moved her fork to one side, allowing him to spoon another helping of delicious fish pie onto her plate. ‘But you never know. I could be.’

’I’ve got some good news for you,’ said Sally.

‘Oh?’ Gabe halted in the doorway, clearly surprised to see her still up at one o’clock in the morning.

‘Great news. Happy news.You’re going to be thrilled. It might even make you crack a smile.’

Sally was drinking Pernod and water, which was unbelievably disgusting but she’d been in need of Dutch courage and there hadn’t been anything else alcoholic in the flat. Talking things through with Lola would have helped but Lola was away for the night, being wined and dined at a publisher’s dinner being held in a hotel in Berkshire.

She had to do this on her own. Well, with the aid of Pernod.

‘Go on then,’ said Gabe. ‘Thrill me.’

Having psyched herself up to tell him, Sally abruptly lost her temper.

‘See? See? You’re still doing it!’ Her eyes narrowed and her voice rose as Gabe chucked his jacket over the back of the chair. ‘Even now! I’m trying to tell you something that you’ll want to hear and you’re being all distant and sarcastic.’

‘I’m sorry. Right, I’m listening. See?’ Gabe made his face, deliberately blank. ‘Not being sarcastic at all.’

And now he was treating her like a child. Her stomach in knots, Sally blurted out, ‘Well, don’t worry, soon you can be as sarky as you like because I won’t be here to see it. I’m moving out.’

A muscle was going in Gabe’s jaw For a couple of seconds he just stood there looking at her.

Then he turned away. ‘Right. Good for you.’

‘Is that it?’ Adrenaline was sloshing through her body. ‘Is that all you’re going to say?’

‘What else do you want me to say? OK, I’ve got something. Have you told Lola yet?’

‘What?’ Sally took a step back. ‘No, because she’s not here. I’ll tell her tomorrow when she gets back.’

Gabe raised an eyebrow. ‘And how do you think she’ll react?’

‘Oh, come on, it’s not that big a deal!’

‘Sure about that?’

‘We’re all adults!’

‘But you haven’t mentioned it before now, have you?’

‘Because I only decided tonight! My God, why are you being like this? I’m leaving.’ Pernod flew out of Sally’s glass as she flung her arms wide. ‘Isn’t that enough? I thought you’d be delighted to have me out of here. And what’s this about?’ Agitatedly jabbing a finger at his discarded jacket, she cried, ‘You spend your life nagging me but it’s OK for you to act like a slob. Would it kill you to hang that up?’

Slowly and deliberately, Gabe picked up the jacket. As he made his way past her he murmured,

‘Poor sod, does he know what he’s letting himself in for?’

Will you shut up? I’ve worked for him for the last two years, haven’t I? So I can’t be that unbearable!’

Gabe stopped dead. ‘Worked for who?’

‘Dr Willis!’

He gazed at her in utter disbelief. ‘You’re having an affair with Dr Willis?’

‘What?’ Sally let out a shriek. ‘For crying out loud, what are you on? How could you think I’m having an affair with Dr Willis?’

‘But ... but ..

‘He’s old.’ Sally wailed. ‘And he’s married.’

‘So who are you moving in with?’

‘Dr Willis. And his wife. But I won’t be living with them, not in the same house. It’s a self-contained annexe.’ Sally mimed self-containment with her hands. ‘When I wake up in the morning I’ll see sheep.’

Gabe was gazing at the almost empty glass of Pernod. ‘How many of those have you had?’

‘One. It’s vile. And can we please stop arguing now, because I’m not moving out tonight. I’m going to be here for another four weeks yet.’

He shook his head in confusion. ‘I don’t understand the bit about the sheep. At all.’

‘There’s loads of them, all over the hills.’

Gabe said evenly, ‘Where are these sheep? Where is this house?’

‘Near Skipton. In Yorkshire. That’s where I’m going to be living.’ As she said the words, Sally wondered if she really wanted to go. ‘Living and working. It’s a fresh start.’

‘Why?’

‘Why? Because I’m hoping it’s going to be nicer than living in London. My boss is moving to Yorkshire and he offered me a job in his new practice.You don’t want me here in this flat, you’ve made that perfectly obvious. Of course I’ll miss Lola, but it’s not going to stop me ...

Skipton’s a really friendly place, I’ll meet loads of new people, the views are—’

‘So what happened?You and Nick broke up? Or is he moving up there too?’

For a split second she couldn’t work out who he meant. ‘Nick who?’

Gabe gave her a look. ‘Come on. I know.’

Sally didn’t know what he knew, but she- felt herself flushing anyway. Great waves of heat and shame swept over her. If Gabe knew, that meant Nick must have told him. Except ... oh God ... it was far more likely that Nick would have told Lola who in turn had told Gabe, so basically they’d all been laughing at her behind her back.

‘OK, I get it.’ As her flush deepened Gabe said dismissively, ‘You’re moving up there together.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Sally stared at him; how could he even think this? ‘I’m not having an affair with Lola’s dad!’

‘You mean it’s over?’

‘I mean it never happened!’

‘No? Take a look in the mirror.’ Gabe’s tone was triumphant. ‘If it’s not true, tell me why you’ve gone redder than a traffic light.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, are we in court?’ That was it; Sally lost the last vestige of control. ‘Are you the lawyer for the prosecution? Not that it’s any business of yours, but just to shut you up and get you off my back, the reason I’ve gone red is because, OK, I did have a bit of a crush on Lola’s dad a while back and I did make a complete idiot of myself one afternoon telling him I liked him. But he was very nice about it and turned me down really gently, and I don’t know what makes you think it ever went any further than that, but it definitely didn’t. And if you don’t mind, I’d really prefer it if Lola never found out.’ Unable to meet his gaze, she said, ‘Can we stop talking about this now? It’s humiliating.’

No reply. Sally carried on staring at the floor. Finally she heard Gabe say, ‘There’s nothing going on between you?’

Her hands clenched in frustration. ‘For God’s sake! Isn’t that what I just said?’