She put the dog’s head that she was crocheting down on the coffee table and stood up. There was definitely a funny noise coming from the hallway but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
Lila crept towards the doorway, peered into the hallway and gasped.
‘William Shakespaw! You naughty boy.’
The cat peered up at her, his nose and whiskers covered in something white that she assumed was either butter or cheese.
‘What have you done, Willy?’
He blinked, stuck his head back in the bag that Ethan had left there, pulled out a sandwich then turned and ran through the hallway and into the lounge.
Lila hurried over to the bag to survey the damage. Bloody Willy had opened the bag, chewed through the cling film covering the sandwiches and had a good old munch. Lila wasn’t sure how many sandwiches Ethan had brought but now he only had half of one left and that had teeth marks in it. Lila fed her cats well, so Willy hadn’t done it out of hunger, but out of greed and mischief. And he did love cheese, which Lila didn’t indulge him with, so he’d clearly sniffed it out and taken advantage of the unguarded sandwiches.
She picked up the bag, wondering how to tell Ethan that his lunch was gone. Obviously, she could offer to make him some food by way of an apology. In fact, she had a few things in the fridge that she could throw together, and Ethan had been working hard all morning, so it was the least she could do.
Lila turned and went through to the kitchen, dropped the plastic bag in the bin then washed her hands. The cat flap in the back door was swinging, so she knew Willy had heard her coming and dashed outside to stop her confiscating his prize.
As she opened the fridge, a smile played on her lips then a giggle burst from her. ‘Bloody naughty cat!’
And he was naughty, but he had also given her the perfect excuse to make Ethan some lunch and, hopefully, to get to know him better. So she wasn’t mad at all. In fact, she was secretly rather pleased. Probably without even meaning to, Willy had brought her a gift, and that was some company for lunch.
‘Oh!’
From the kitchen, Lila heard Ethan’s exclamation in the hallway, so she quickly dried her hands then went through to find him.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
He was rubbing his head and his T-shirt had risen slightly, exposing an inch of flat stomach with a dusting of dark hair. She dragged her gaze up to his face, fighting the urge to look at his tight abs again. Ben hadn’t had tight abs. In fact, he’d been quite soft in spite of the football he played, but then he also liked beer and crisps and enjoyed those in front of the many football matches he watched on TV.
‘I could have sworn I put my bag down there. The one with my sandwiches in it.’
‘You did, Ethan, and… I have an apology to make.’
Lila smiled, hoping he’d be okay with this.
‘See… I have two cats and the one, called Willy, short for William Shakespaw, is a bit… of a rogue.’
‘A rogue, eh?’ Ethan raised his eyebrows, amusement in his dark eyes.
‘Yes. I came out here and found him enjoying your sandwiches. He has a thing about cheese.’
Ethan was nodding and smiling. ‘So I guess I don’t have any lunch left then?’
‘Not the lunch that you brought with you, no, but I would like to offer you an alternative.’
‘You don’t need to do that.’ He shook his head. ‘I can pop back to Mum’s and grab something.’
‘Please. I’d like to. I mean… as long as you’re happy to eat here. With me.’
God, I sound desperate…
‘Are you sure?’ he asked.
‘Yes!’ She bit her lip. ‘I mean… yes. Please. I have plenty of food here.’
‘Well, okay then. That would be lovely.’
‘Great.’ Lila almost clapped her hands. ‘Come through to the kitchen.’
‘I’m a bit messy though.’ Ethan looked down at his paint splattered jeans and T-shirt. ‘I guess I need to get some overalls, like a boiler suit or something.’
‘It would save your normal clothes,’ Lila agreed.
‘I’ll get some at the weekend.’
Lila walked through to the kitchen and Ethan followed her. For some strange reason her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling. It was ridiculous that offering someone lunch should make her feel so nervous. It wasn’t as if she’d done anything wrong, just that she didn’t know what was acceptable in this situation. But Ethan was working on her cottage and she worked from home, so surely having lunch together was innocent enough?
In the kitchen she gestured at the table.
‘Take a seat.’
‘I’d hate to get paint on your chair.’
‘Here.’ She handed him an old towel.
‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’
He spread the towel over one of the chairs and sat down.
‘This looks and smells amazing, Lila.’ He gazed at the spread on the table and Lila’s heart fluttered. Not only was he polite, friendly, and sweet but he was also appreciative. She went to brush off the compliment but then remembered that she didn’t need to do that. This wasn’t Ben, this was a completely different man. Compliments were allowed to be given and received.
‘I’m glad you think so.’ She carried the big bowl of salad she’d prepared to the table and set it down next to the plate of cold turkey, the slices of cheese and onion pie and the blue cheese potato skins. ‘Help yourself, please. You’ve had a busy morning.’
‘Thank you. I will.’
They filled their plates then tucked in, and as they talked and laughed, Lila found that her shakes faded away and she soon felt very comfortable indeed.
Ethan climbed the stairs to Lila’s bedroom, his belly full and his face aching from smiling. Having his sandwiches stolen by a cat had worked out very well indeed. He’d spent the last hour eating the delicious lunch that Lila had put together, drinking cups of Earl Grey tea and laughing.
Lila was not just pretty and sweet, she had a great sense of humour and liked a lot of the same things Ethan did, like reading, binge watching box sets on TV (from crime and thriller to comedy), taking long walks in the countryside and learning about other countries so she could plan to travel to them one day. Ethan was only four years older than Lila, so they had watched similar TV shows as children, seen a lot of the same movies at the cinema and knew random facts about lots of celebrities from their generation. Ethan suspected that had they known each other growing up, they’d have been good friends.
In her bedroom, he looked around and nodded his approval at how the paint had dried on the ceiling and the walls. He’d give them another coat then let them dry overnight before deciding if he needed to do one more. If not, he could gloss the skirting boards then move on to the next job in Lila’s cottage.
As he got to work, using a roller for the larger sections, he thought about Tilly and wondered if she’d have liked Lila. He suspected that she would have done. Tilly was friendly and kind and she’d have liked Lila’s easy sense of humour and self-deprecating manner.
Thinking of his wife made his heart race but this time it wasn’t grief or pain, it was guilt, because he was here, living his life and Tilly was gone, never coming back. It felt wrong that he was getting on with his life while his wife’s had been cut so short. The grief counsellor had told him that he’d experience this, that it was perfectly natural and that he would process it and it would pass, but even so, it was still difficult to encounter. Ethan had told the counsellor that he would have given his life in exchange for Tilly’s if it had been possible. He loved his wife and he’d have done anything to save her, even sacrificed himself if he could have done. So he had to try to make peace with himself. He had loved Tilly and she had loved him. But he was still here with a life to live.