bedroom. My last tenant went to Spain to work and she’s left some of her stuff here for me to send on when she gets settled. I can clear the boxes out if you want that room, but the main bedroom’s through here.’ Jenna led him the full length of the hallway and opened the door.
He strode inside and looked around. ‘Big room.’ He sat down on the bed. ‘Decent mattress. That’s a real bonus.’
‘I think you’ll find that’s my line. As I’m here, I’ll also point out that there’s plenty of cupboard space.’
‘Which would be my cue to look inside.’
‘Absolutely. Let me know if you find any skeletons. I don’t think Janice left any behind, but you never can be sure.’
Adam opened the doors wide, inspecting the interior of the wardrobe. The smile that was playing around his lips broadened when Jenna jumped as he flinched back suddenly. ‘Nope. She must have taken them all with her.’
‘Well, that’s a relief.’ Jenna brushed a few crumbs from the front of her shirt. ‘What do you think, then?’
His eyes travelled around the bedroom. ‘May I see the other room, please? The one that’s locked.’
‘Of course.’ Jenna led the way down the hallway. ‘This room’s a little smaller and there isn’t so much cupboard space. I like it better, though, there are doors out on to the patio and you get the early morning sun.’ Most tenants preferred the extra cupboard space.
The soft leather of his jacket brushed against her arm as he walked past her into the room. ‘I like it too. Would it be okay if I swapped the boxes over to the main bedroom and brought the bed through here?’
Jenna shrugged. ‘I’ll do that some time next week for you.’
He shook his head. ‘No. I’ll do it.’ He didn’t wait for her answer and turned to walk over to the French doors, staring out into the garden. ‘Big garden. What’s the area at the end there that’s attracting the butterflies?’
Her beloved butterfly garden. Jenna was both pleased and slightly embarrassed that he’d noticed it. ‘That’s part of the garden too. My grandfather and I planted it when I was little. There are herbs and shrubs to attract the butterflies, but it’s getting a bit out of control now.’
‘So this was your family home?’
‘Yes. It was my grandparents’ house. I split it into two flats after they died. I was a student then and the income came in handy.’ He nodded as if he understood, but there was no way that he could have done. Jenna herself didn’t fully understand what had happened with her parents.
‘You lived with your grandparents?’
‘Yes, I’ve lived here since I was ten.’
He said nothing. Jenna began to wish that either she’d not said so much or that he would question her more. Anything but this half-story, which he seemed to accept so unquestioningly. Or maybe it wasn’t acceptance. Maybe he simply didn’t care.
Adam turned away from the window and followed her through to the sitting room. ‘So, do we get to haggle over the rent now?’
She’d rather he didn’t. That way he had of quirking his eyebrow gave him an unfair advantage. ‘It’s seven hundred for the month. I’ll stock the fridge up for you.’
‘You will not. Seven hundred pounds is daylight robbery, this place is worth twice that. I may have been away for a while, but I haven’t lost touch with London property prices.’
‘I keep the rent low so I can pick and choose who I have here. Anyway, you can’t haggle upwards.’
‘Why not?’ He lifted one eyebrow.
‘You just can’t. I won’t have it.’
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘Okay. Done.’ Adam reached into his jacket and brought out his wallet. ‘Would you like a deposit?’
‘Not particularly. The place is empty anyway.’
‘Fair enough.’ He picked his mug of tea up from the coffee table and took a final swig. ‘I’d better get back on the road, then, and leave you to get on with your supper.’
Jenna flushed. He’d noticed that she was already on her third chocolate biscuit and was regarding the packet pointedly. So what? She was on her feet all day in a busy A and E department, not sitting in a leather chair behind a swanky desk, and she worked up an appetite. And she might not have curves, but at least her figure owed nothing to silicone. ‘Thanks. I’ll see you in a week’s time, then.’
CHAPTER TWO
SUNDAY morning. Ten-thirty. Jenna should have been drinking tea and reading the paper, but instead she was studying the street outside. A car drew up and she twitched the muslin curtains back into place, stepping away from the big bay windows.
The bell sounded when she was halfway down the stairs. As soon as she opened the door, a four-year-old bundle of energy launched itself at her.
‘Hello, Ellie. Did you have a nice holiday?’ She nodded at Rob and crooked her finger at him. ‘Come in. You’ve got some explaining to do.’
Nothing was going to dent Rob’s good humour this morning or dim the violent hue of his Cornwall Surfers T-shirt. He followed Jenna up the stairs, replying indulgently to Ellie’s chatter, and flung himself into an armchair while Jenna fetched some juice, a pad of paper and a box of assorted pencils and crayons for Ellie.
‘Don’t give her that pad, Jen. She’ll only make a mess of it.’ Rob was looking at the thick, white cartridge paper that Jenna had put in front of Ellie.
Jenna nodded at Ellie, who was smoothing her hand across the pad. ‘You’re never too young to be able to appreciate the texture of nice paper.’ She bent and tore one of the thick sheets from the pad, clipping it on to a board for Ellie, and selected a soft pencil from the box. ‘Here you are, sweetie, try using this.’
Rob rolled his eyes. ‘Well, if she turns out to be the next Picasso, then I suppose we’ll have you to thank. Look, sorry about the mix-up last week.’
‘We managed.’ Jenna walked through to the kitchen to make some tea and Rob followed her. ‘You might have told me, though.’
‘Well, it’s a bit tricksy, you know how these things are.’
‘No, not really, not until you tell me.’
‘Okay, well, Adam’s a decent bloke. One of the best people I’ve ever known, in fact, but he’s not had it easy these last eighteen months. I’ve been trying to find him somewhere to stay where he can have some peace and quiet, get back on his feet.’ Rob shrugged. ‘Tactfully, you know?’
Rob was no good at tact, he usually left that kind of thing to Cassie. ‘Which explains all that cloak-and-dagger stuff in your email.’
‘Yeah.’ Rob brightened. ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ It wasn’t it at all. There was a whole list of other questions that sprang to mind.
‘So
