process all the facts. ‘So, you actually live here now – in Norfolk?’
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘I mean, temporarily. Natalie’s always had this … fantasy of a second home by the sea. We came up here for a long weekend last summer, and she ended up having an unexpected love affair with the place. Anyway, after we got back she started looking for houses, found one she liked and put in an offer – all without telling me.’ He shook his head. ‘And she’s spent the past year trying to convince me it would be a fantastic idea to move here for a few months while we do it up, so … here we are. She’s taken some time off work to project-manage.’
Jess struggled to imagine a job so high-powered that sabbaticals for property development were factored into the remuneration package. ‘What does she do?’
‘Management consultant,’ he said in a way that made Jess think he’d been forced to listen to one too many anecdotes about efficiency bottlenecks and profit margins. ‘So … anyway. That’s why I’m here. I thought maybe enough time had passed for me to be able to risk coming back to Norfolk for a few months, what with my false name and everything.’ He met her eye, then looked down.
She swallowed. ‘So … Natalie doesn’t know your real name?’
‘No,’ he said, speaking carefully as if he appreciated it might sound odd. ‘She knows me as Will. Will Greene.’
Jess nodded. ‘You changed it officially?’
He nodded back. ‘Before I met her. I needed to start again.’
‘I know the feeling.’ And she did – she knew it better than anyone. There had been many times over the past seventeen years when she’d been tempted to wipe clean her own identity and start afresh. ‘So would you rather I called you Will?’ She didn’t want to, of course: the man sitting next to her was Matthew Landley, and she couldn’t really imagine thinking of him as anyone else.
‘Well, why don’t you try it?’ His eyes were fixed on hers.
Jess hesitated for just a moment. ‘Hi, Will. Pleased to meet you.’
‘There you go,’ he said softly. ‘How does it feel?’
‘A bit strange. I liked Matthew.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ he said. His eyes had crinkled up at the corners but his smile was one of deep sadness.
‘Well, I’ll give it a go,’ she said.
‘I appreciate it.’
‘And you shaved your head,’ she said, motioning to where his hair had once been.
He touched it like he’d forgotten. ‘Oh, yeah. What do you think?’
‘I mean, you look different. But it really suits you.’ She smiled. ‘Though isn’t it normally the other way around? You grow a beard …’
‘Yeah, but that’s so obvious, isn’t it? Like wearing a false nose.’
‘Or sunglasses,’ she said, nodding at the pair he’d set down on her coffee table.
He laughed. ‘Never without them.’
‘Well, they’re nice ones. Clearly you didn’t find them in the false nose shop.’
‘No, although I do spend a lot of time in false nose shops. I’ve found them to offer an unrivalled browsing experience.’
By now their knees were touching, but neither of them made a move to draw away.
‘So, anyway – how have you been?’ he asked her. ‘Before yesterday, I mean.’
She exhaled. Where should she start? ‘Well, I run my own catering business.’ She caught his eye. ‘No restaurant yet, but …’
His eyes glistened with apparent admiration. ‘Wow. I’m so pleased for you, Jess.’
To anyone else, her career choice might have sounded pedestrian, but she knew that to Matthew – Will – it meant everything.
‘Is it going well?’
Jess nodded, trying not to think about the raft of bills that had landed on her doorstep only this morning. She’d been wondering more and more recently if self-employment was invariably the road to financial ruin – but, as yet, her love of the work had managed to make up for all the worry. ‘I mean, there’s a lot of competition, and I have overheads, but … yes. I really
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘I mean, temporarily. Natalie’s always had this … fantasy of a second home by the sea. We came up here for a long weekend last summer, and she ended up having an unexpected love affair with the place. Anyway, after we got back she started looking for houses, found one she liked and put in an offer – all without telling me.’ He shook his head. ‘And she’s spent the past year trying to convince me it would be a fantastic idea to move here for a few months while we do it up, so … here we are. She’s taken some time off work to project-manage.’
Jess struggled to imagine a job so high-powered that sabbaticals for property development were factored into the remuneration package. ‘What does she do?’
‘Management consultant,’ he said in a way that made Jess think he’d been forced to listen to one too many anecdotes about efficiency bottlenecks and profit margins. ‘So … anyway. That’s why I’m here. I thought maybe enough time had passed for me to be able to risk coming back to Norfolk for a few months, what with my false name and everything.’ He met her eye, then looked down.
She swallowed. ‘So … Natalie doesn’t know your real name?’
‘No,’ he said, speaking carefully as if he appreciated it might sound odd. ‘She knows me as Will. Will Greene.’
Jess nodded. ‘You changed it officially?’
He nodded back. ‘Before I met her. I needed to start again.’
‘I know the feeling.’ And she did – she knew it better than anyone. There had been many times over the past seventeen years when she’d been tempted to wipe clean her own identity and start afresh. ‘So would you rather I called you Will?’ She didn’t want to, of course: the man sitting next to her was Matthew Landley, and she couldn’t really imagine thinking of him as anyone else.
‘Well, why don’t you try it?’ His eyes were fixed on hers.
Jess hesitated for just a moment. ‘Hi, Will. Pleased to meet you.’
‘There you go,’ he said softly. ‘How does it feel?’
‘A bit strange. I liked Matthew.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ he said. His eyes had crinkled up at the corners but his smile was one of deep sadness.
‘Well, I’ll give it a go,’ she said.
‘I appreciate it.’
‘And you shaved your head,’ she said, motioning to where his hair had once been.
He touched it like he’d forgotten. ‘Oh, yeah. What do you think?’
‘I mean, you look different. But it really suits you.’ She smiled. ‘Though isn’t it normally the other way around? You grow a beard …’
‘Yeah, but that’s so obvious, isn’t it? Like wearing a false nose.’
‘Or sunglasses,’ she said, nodding at the pair he’d set down on her coffee table.
He laughed. ‘Never without them.’
‘Well, they’re nice ones. Clearly you didn’t find them in the false nose shop.’
‘No, although I do spend a lot of time in false nose shops. I’ve found them to offer an unrivalled browsing experience.’
By now their knees were touching, but neither of them made a move to draw away.
‘So, anyway – how have you been?’ he asked her. ‘Before yesterday, I mean.’
She exhaled. Where should she start? ‘Well, I run my own catering business.’ She caught his eye. ‘No restaurant yet, but …’
His eyes glistened with apparent admiration. ‘Wow. I’m so pleased for you, Jess.’
To anyone else, her career choice might have sounded pedestrian, but she knew that to Matthew – Will – it meant everything.
‘Is it going well?’
Jess nodded, trying not to think about the raft of bills that had landed on her doorstep only this morning. She’d been wondering more and more recently if self-employment was invariably the road to financial ruin – but, as yet, her love of the work had managed to make up for all the worry. ‘I mean, there’s a lot of competition, and I have overheads, but … yes. I really
Similar Books
