Lila could cope with that. It was another positive step in her journey to rebuild her life. She owed it to herself and her friends to see it through.
Ethan stood outside Lila Edwards’s front door and took a deep breath. It was silly to be nervous, he knew that, but this was his first opportunity to give a quote on some work and it had come through so quickly. He hadn’t expected to be asked for a few days at least, but after delivering the leaflets last night, Lila had sent him a text almost immediately. Perhaps he had been right to decide to try this venture; perhaps it was a positive step that would reward his efforts.
He knocked on the door and waited, taking the time to look over the front of the pretty cottage. It was double fronted with latticed windows set back in thick stone walls and had a tall, thick chimney on the roof. Ivy climbed the front of the cottage and there were planters underneath the ground-floor windows where rose bushes sat, dark and bare, their beautiful fragrant potential being stored for warmer days. In the summer, the cottage would look chocolate-box perfect with climbing roses and likely smell just as good too.
The door opened and Ethan smiled at the pretty woman who stood before him. With her blonde bobbed hair, blue eyes and pale skin, she was breathtaking and his heart sped up.
‘Ethan?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘Hello again, Lila.’
‘Come in, please.’ She stepped back and he followed her into a cool, dark hallway that smelt of woodsmoke, vanilla and some citrus scent that could be lemons or limes, possibly bergamot. ‘We can go through to the lounge.’
Lila showed him into a cosy room with a low ceiling complete with dark wooden beams and two fat red sofas with patchwork blankets draped over their backs. There was a coffee table covered with what looked like knitting, a log burner and wooden mantelpiece, and a small TV set in the corner. It was a room that looked lived in. He scanned for photos but apart from one of Lila with two other women, one of whom he recognised as Roxie from the other day, there weren’t any others. It seemed unusual not to see family photos or romantic couple ones. But then, if Lila had been jilted on her wedding day, it was hardly surprising.
‘I know, it needs to be freshened up.’ Lila sat on one of the sofas so he took the other one.
‘I was just admiring the place. It’s lovely. Really cosy,’ he said truthfully.
‘It’s home, I guess.’ She shrugged. ‘Sorry I didn’t ask, would you like a cup of tea or coffee?’
‘No, thanks, I’m fine. I had breakfast before I came out.’ He pulled a small notepad from his pocket and slid a pencil from between the pages. ‘So, Lila, could you give me some idea of what you want done?’ He wanted to seem professional, to deliver a quality business approach that would have customers returning to him time and time again.
‘Certainly.’ She was perched on the edge of the sofa, her back straight, her hands folded in her lap. In a navy and white striped top and jeans, she was dressed casually, but the way she was sitting hinted at discomfort or formality. Was she nervous? Anxious? Did she regret texting him?
He shook himself. This was ridiculous. He had come here to assess a job, nothing more, nothing less. And that was what he was going to do.
Lila ran through what she wanted done then took Ethan around the cottage to show him. He made plenty of notes on his pad and asked Lila lots of questions to ensure that he would provide the service she was looking for. The only place he really felt at all awkward was in her bedroom, a spacious room with a view over the back garden and fields beyond, with a double bed with plump pillows and a cornflower blue chenille throw, and what seemed to be antique furniture. There didn’t seem to be any signs of a man anywhere, as if she had wiped all traces of her former fiancé from her home. Lila was lovely. She was pretty, softly spoken, friendly and she had an air of kindness about her that made him think that she would be a good friend to have.
Back downstairs, he tucked his notepad back in his pocket and followed Lila to the front door.
‘I can definitely do the work.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll put a quote together for you and email it over after the weekend if that’s okay? I need to price some things up like paint, wood, sealer and a few other things.’
‘Of course.’ Lila smiled and something inside Ethan fluttered, making him press a hand to his belly. She was beautiful and when she smiled, her eyes lit up.
‘Brilliant. Speak soon.’
Ethan opened the door and let himself out, wishing he didn’t have to leave but knowing that he needed to take a walk and get some fresh air in order to think about how he was feeling right now. It was strange, unfamiliar, and he didn’t know if it was excitement at the thought of his first job in charge of his own business or something else.
As he strolled away, enjoying the cool morning breeze on his skin he even mused that it could well be a combination of the two things.
6
Lila lay back on her yoga mat and closed her eyes. She let her breaths flow through her, their natural rhythm was her main focus, from the start of each inhale to the end of each exhale.
‘Psst! Lila.’
She opened her eyes and turned to her right. Joanne was on the next mat, facing Lila, her face scrunched up.
‘What?’ She resisted the urge to tell Joanne off; they were meant to be focused on their breathing.
‘I was thinking… you could go for a different colour for the hallway. Perhaps lavender or rose rather than white.’
Lila bit the inside of her cheek. Talking about paint during her Saturday morning yoga session at the village hall was the last thing she wanted to do. There were several sessions on a Saturday morning and she usually went to the earlier one as it was quieter but today she’d come to the later one with Joanne, something she was beginning to regret. She’d also seen a few familiar faces of people from the village who didn’t go to the earlier sessions, and one of those was Freda Morris. She couldn’t help wondering what Freda thought of Ethan’s new business and if she was glad to have him back in Wisteria Hollow. In fact, everything seemed to be interrupting her relaxation this morning, especially thoughts about Ethan and his handsome face, warm smile and broad shoulders.
‘Perhaps,’ she replied, trying to shake all such images from her mind, then turned her head back to centre and closed her eyes again. She inhaled, slow and deep and exhaled, feeling her chest deflate.
‘Or… duck-egg blue!’ Joanne snapped into her thoughts again.
‘Shhh!’ Someone behind them was becoming irritated and Lila winced. She loved Joanne to bits but her concentration during yoga wasn’t great and she tended to disturb those around her.
‘Let’s talk about it over coffee later,’ Lila whispered, hoping that would silence her friend.
‘Okay, cool.’
Lila straightened her spine, let her jaw and tongue relax and ran a body scan to check for any tension. As she focused on releasing the tension in her spine, a familiar smell brought her back to the room. She opened one eye, glanced sideways at Joanne and had to grit her teeth because Joanne was lying on her side peeling a banana.
‘You’re not supposed to eat during class,’ Lila hissed.
‘I’m starving. I slept in and didn’t have time for breakfast.’