Chapter 3
The sun streamed obnoxiously into her hotel room the next morning, but Josie woke with a smile on her face nonetheless. From the window she could see straight out onto the beach and the exact spot where she’d kissed Sam the previous evening. Lizzie and Max’s wedding had turned out to be way more fun than she’d anticipated.
Her mood ebbed when her phone rang and she saw it was Jack. What did he want?
“How was the wedding?” he asked. Typical of Jack to carry on as though nothing had happened.
“Fine,” she mumbled.
“Sorry I missed it. When will you be home?”
“To collect my stuff?”
He sighed heavily. “Don’t be daft. It was just a stupid argument.”
“A stupid argument that ended with you saying ‘I’m not sure this is working out… maybe we’re not right for each other… It might be best if we just split up’. It seemed like more of a breakup than a stupid argument.”
“I was having a bad day.”
Anger coursed through her. “So you split up with me because you had a bad day?”
“I didn’t split up with you… I was just rambling.”
“Was this all to get out of coming to the wedding?”
“You know I hate weddings. And family events. I panicked, that’s all.”
“You’re pathetic, Jack.”
“Yeah but you love me, right?”
She shook her head and gazed out of the window. If they hadn’t actually broken up then she’d cheated on him by kissing Sam on the beach. Probably best not to mention that.
“I’ll be back tonight to pick up my stuff.”
“Not to pick up your stuff. Don’t be dramatic. I’ll see you later, babe.”
She sighed. “Bye, Jack.”
The conversation basically summed up their relationship. She did love him, even though she wasn’t always sure why. He was infuriating.
Once she’d showered, she pulled on a pair of cropped trousers and a T-shirt. Then, after a quick blast with the hairdryer, she scraped her shoulder-length brown hair into a ponytail. She’d been blessed with flawless olive skin and never bothered with make-up.
Down in the restaurant, the wedding party took over one side of the room, and she scanned the tables before heading for the breakfast buffet. Sam was already there, sitting with Annette and Max and Lizzie. Josie’s appetite disappeared when she saw him. What was wrong with her? It was only a kiss, for goodness’ sake. No need to go all jittery and pathetic. She helped herself to breakfast and was about to sit down with her parents when Annette called out to her.
“Come and sit with us…”
Pasting on a smile, she walked over and sat at the end of the table.
“Max was just telling me you’re unemployed,” Annette said with an inappropriate grin.
“Good morning to you too!”
Josie caught Sam’s eye and gave him a half-smile. He even looked good without a suit. She’d been convinced it was the suit and the champagne and the romantic atmosphere that had made him so attractive, but even in jeans and a T-shirt she couldn’t fault him. He was a good build and had one of those lovely friendly faces. His light brown hair was smooth and soft. She knew because she’d run her hands through it when she’d kissed him. The memory brought heat to her cheeks and she looked away quickly.
“I’ve got a job for you,” Annette said.
Max chuckled. “I don’t think Josie wants to come and live at the farm and be your carer.”
“Oh, be quiet.” She slapped his hand and then turned to Josie. “Ignore him. I need someone to come and manage the dog kennels for me.”
“I thought you’d closed down,” Josie said, remembering a previous conversation with her sister.
Lizzie raised her eyebrows. “She has.”
“Out of necessity,” Annette said. “Not choice. But I want to re-open. It’s too much work on my own, though.”
“I don’t know why you can’t just enjoy retirement,” Max said. “You should be taking it easy, not working yourself to the bone.”
She scowled at him. “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I should sit around doing nothing and waiting to die.”
There was an uncomfortable silence before Sam spoke. “No one said that. We just worry about you doing too much.”
“What you should worry about is me not doing enough. I hate being idle. I’m going crazy in that house on my own without Wendy and without the kennels. I don’t know what to do with myself.” There was another silence before she continued. “I’ve thought about it – I can employ someone to help me with the kennels. I can’t manage everything on my own, but with some help the kennels could be up and running again in no time.” She looked at Josie.
“I don’t know anything about dogs … or running a kennels.”
“I can teach you,” Annette said. “I know everything. And Lizzie said you’ve had all sorts of different jobs. You must be very adaptable.”
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it,” Josie said, amused.
“You’d pick it up in no time.”
Josie shook her head. Annette seemed to be serious about the job offer. “It wouldn’t work, though… you live in… wherever it is… the middle of nowhere. And I live in Oxford.” It occurred to her that she wasn’t exactly sure where she lived. With Jack or her parents? She really did have a lot to figure out. She lived in Oxford, though, whether it was with her parents or Jack, and Oxford definitely wasn’t commuting distance to Devon.
“Yes, Averton is a bit of a trek from Oxford. But it won’t matter. You can come and live with me. I’ve got plenty of room. There’ll be lots of perks: free accommodation and food – I’m a great cook – and no travel time to work. I can pay you a decent wage…”
Josie laughed. “It’s a lovely offer, Annette. But I can’t move to the countryside. I have a life. I can’t just up and leave.” Though if pressed, she’d have difficulty explaining what exactly she couldn’t leave. Her non-existent job or her boyfriend who may or may not be her ex? Her life was a bit pathetic. She’d expected Max and Lizzie to jump in and help her out with putting an end to the conversation, but they were staying suspiciously quiet.
“It’s good timing,” Lizzie said, finally voicing her opinion. “And it might be good for you. A fresh start and all that.”
Josie frowned, then noticed Annette looking at her expectantly. She really was serious. “You’ve caught me by surprise. I can’t imagine living in the countryside.”
“You don’t have a job,” Lizzie said. “This is perfect. What else would you do?”
Josie opened her mouth to speak. Because she did have a plan. She was going to take more acting classes and try to find an acting job. She’d worked on a TV show a couple of years before and loved it. She wanted to give her career in acting one last shot.
With everyone looking at her, her dreams of working in television suddenly felt silly. Lizzie had never hidden the fact that she thought it was a pipe dream and nothing would come of it. To be fair, she was probably right.
“I don’t know what I’ll do.” Josie stood and the chair scraped noisily on the wooden floor. “Thanks for the offer, Annette. I’ll have to think about it, obviously. I’m going to get a coffee.”
Picking up her plate, she went and sat with her parents to eat in peace.
“Any luck with the job-hunting?” her dad asked.
“Since the last time you asked? Yesterday? No, nothing yet, Dad.” Unless you counted the job offer she’d just had over breakfast. Which she wasn’t counting, of course, because it was crazy. There was no way she was about to move to the middle of nowhere and work at a dog kennels.
“Have you spoken to Jack yet?” her mum asked. “Do you think you’ll sort things out or should I make up the spare room?”
“Don’t worry about the spare room.” She picked up a piece of cold toast and took a noisy bite. “I’ll figure something out.”