Chapter 31

Josie hoped that Sam might call in and see her before work – he quite often appeared when she was out in the barn in the mornings. There was no sign of him, though, and she wasn’t overly surprised. He hadn’t taken the news of the job well, and she expected he needed some time for it to sink in. She messaged him later, hoping they could meet up that evening, but he said he had to work late. It was hard not to think that he was avoiding her. He called her on Wednesday for a quick chat but complained he was working late again.

Josie couldn’t stop thinking about the job in London. It occupied her every waking thought and disturbed her sleep too. Her brain wouldn’t switch off long enough for her to sleep. What was really bothering her was that the more she thought about it, the more she was tempted by the job offer.

On Thursday afternoon she set off to visit Lizzie. Her sister would give her sensible advice. She’d tell her to stop being such a dreamer. Lizzie had never thought much about Josie’s acting dreams and a bit of level-headedness was exactly what Josie needed.

She blurted out the situation as soon as she was sitting with Lizzie and Max in their cosy living room. They exchanged a look but didn’t seem overly surprised. For a moment, she wondered whether someone had already told them, but she didn’t think so.

“Say something,” Josie said, as they both sat silently.

It was Max who finally spoke. “Lizzie said you’d last six months at Oakbrook. I went with three.”

“You had bets on how long I’d stay?”

“We just thought you’d get bored.” Max looked sympathetic. “Averton is pretty quiet.”

“I’m not bored,” Josie insisted. “I love Averton. I’m just confused because of the job offer. It could be a great opportunity.”

“When does the job start?” Lizzie asked. “We’d need to find someone to replace you.”

Josie spat out a laugh. “Is this some sort of reverse psychology? Tell me I should go to get me to stay?”

“No.” Lizzie gave her a puzzled look. “I know how much you wanted to work in TV. Of course you’d jump at it. We really never expected you to stay long with Annette. We just need to make sure we find someone to help with the kennels.”

“I haven’t decided for definite what I’m going to do,” Josie said. She’d been so sure Lizzie would tell her to stay put. She shifted in her seat. “There’s Sam to think about too.”

Max and Lizzie exchanged a knowing look and it irritated Josie. It was like they had their own secret language. “What?” she asked, desperate to be let in on the silent conversation.

“It just seems like you’re at different phases in your life,” Max said gently. “Sam’s ready to settle down, get married, have kids, all that stuff. And it seems like there are other things you want to do first.”

She suspected what he really wanted to say was that she still needed to grow up, but he was diplomatic as always.

“So you think I should take the job? Move to London?”

“If that’s what you want.” Lizzie shrugged. “What does Sam think?”

“He wasn’t very happy with the idea. I need to talk to him properly.”

Josie really hadn’t expected Lizzie to be so understanding, and when she left Hope Cove she was determined to discuss things properly with Sam. She was supposed to give Michaela an answer about the job the following day, and she had no idea what she would say.

It also felt strange that she hadn’t seen Sam for two days. She missed him. Thankfully he sounded a bit more upbeat when she called him. He invited her over to his place after work.

“Have you really been working late, or were you avoiding me?” she asked when she arrived.

“I was really working late.” He followed her into the living room and she glared at him, trying to gauge if it was the truth. His eyebrows dipped. “Maybe I was avoiding you a bit too.”

“Thanks a lot!” She dropped onto the couch and he perched close beside her.

“I was just trying to get my head around things. Get my thoughts in order.”

“And?”

He shrugged and reached for her hand. “And I don’t want you to leave, of course.”

“I have to decide by tomorrow,” she said wearily.

“So soon?” He leaned forward, resting on his knees. “Did you speak to Annette about it?”

“No.” The thought of discussing it with Annette made her feel like crying. How could she leave Annette? “I wanted to talk to you about it but you were avoiding me.”

“Surely you know I’m not going to encourage you to go? It seems like something you have to decide for yourself.”

“But I wanted to discuss what happens between us if I take the job. I know we’d be fine but—”

“Would we?” He glared at her in surprise. “How can we have a relationship if we live 200 miles apart? You know my thoughts on long-distance relationships.”

“But—”

“I don’t want a long-distance relationship,” he said firmly. “I don’t even want to try and figure out how that might work.” He shook his head. “It wouldn’t work.”

“Don’t say that.” She sat up straighter, leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you. It’s not like I like the idea of us living so far apart, but I need to be level-headed and think about my future.”

“Which apparently won’t include me if you move to London.”

“We’d make it work,” she said quietly.

“So you’ve already decided?”

“No,” she said miserably. “I still need to talk it through with Annette. I feel like I’m being torn in half. There are reasons to go and reasons to stay. I don’t know how to decide.”

When he didn’t say anything, she tugged gently on his arm. “You realise you haven’t kissed me in days.”

His features softened when he turned to her. The distance she’d been feeling between them seemed to disappear when he kissed her.

“Can I stay here tonight?” she asked when they broke apart.

He gave her that look where he pretended to mull something over, then he grinned and pushed her back on the couch.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She giggled as he positioned himself on top of her with a look of mischief.