Bonnie obediently sat back on her hind legs and stretched her paw out towards me.
‘Aw, that’s so adorable.’ I shook Bonnie’s paw. ‘Did you teach her that?’
‘Yes, but she only does if for people she instantly warms to so that’s a good sign. That means you’re welcome here any time.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Come through to the lounge and we’ll get you settled with some ice.’
Stevie pushed open a thick oak door and I gasped again as I stepped inside the lounge. What a treat. The floorboards were stripped back and a large burgundy patterned rug added warmth to the room. The wooden floors were complimented by beams across the ceiling. Proper original beams, not fake DIY ones. A wood-burner stood in a stone fireplace and the uneven walls contained various little nooks and crannies to hold books, candles, and photo frames. A pair of dark brown leather two-seaters and a high-backed red tartan-covered chair snuggled round a coffee table. It was incredibly inviting.
‘It’s a beautiful room,’ I said. ‘Did you decorate it yourself?’
He nodded. ‘An elderly couple had it before me for about fifty years so it needed some updating and TLC. It’s taken a while, but I’ve nearly got it how I want it. I’ve just got one more room upstairs to do. Can I make you a drink?’
‘A cup of tea would be lovely. Herbal if you have it.’
‘I might have some green tea.’ He pulled a face. ‘I bought it a while ago but hated it. I don’t think I chucked it, though.’
I smiled. ‘It’s an acquired taste.’
‘One tea and a bag of ice coming up,’ he said.
I gazed round the room, taking it all in. I loved it. I could hear Stevie clattering around in the kitchen and curiosity got the better of me. With a lounge that gorgeous, I couldn’t wait to see what the kitchen offered. I hopped into the hall and into the kitchen.
Stevie shut the door of a huge American fridge-freezer and turned round with a bag of frozen peas in his hand. ‘What are you doing on your feet?’
‘Being nosy. Nice kitchen too.’ In contrast to the traditional lounge, it was modern and surprisingly huge. The wooden units were a mix of pale sage and cream. A cream Aga with a stone surround dominated one side of the kitchen, with a Belfast sink and the fridge-freezer forming the perfect triangle layout. The other end of the kitchen housed a dining area before jutting out into a glass-ceilinged snug.
‘Not the original kitchen as you can tell.’ Stevie filled the kettle. ‘I got permission to extend about five years ago. The original kitchen was tiny, but when I viewed it, I noticed that the neighbours had an extension so I knew I’d get permission with it being a semi. It seemed like the perfect family home.’
‘It is. What made you pick it when you don’t have a family?’ Stevie’s face fell and I wondered if I’d just been really tactless.
‘Funny you should say that.’ He lifted a couple of mugs off the draining board. ‘It was meant to be a family home for Maddy and me.’
‘Maddy?’
‘My ex-wife.’
‘You’ve been married?’
He nodded. ‘I thought Sarah would have said. Let’s get your foot up and iced, make the tea, then I’ll tell you my tale of woe. Unless you’d rather talk about Gary…’
‘Gosh, no. I’ve done enough talking about that liar for now.’
Stevie helped me over to the dining table and pulled another chair round so I could put my foot up on it. He returned a few moments later with tea, biscuits, and a towel.
‘So, tell me about Maddy,’ I said, helping myself to a dark chocolate digestive.
‘I was twenty. We’d only been together for six months when she discovered she was pregnant. I was smitten so I asked her to marry me and couldn’t believe it when she said yes. Bramble Cottage was up for sale and we’d often talked about how cute it was and how it would make a great family home. I’d inherited some money so I secretly bought the cottage, planning to tell Maddy on our wedding night. We lost the baby at five months, a few weeks before the wedding.’
My stomach sank. ‘Oh no! I’m so sorry.’
‘It was a pretty tough time.’
‘I can imagine. What happened? Did you postpone the wedding?’
He dunked a custard cream in his tea and took a bite. ‘We should have. Deep down, I knew she didn’t want to go through with it, but I was too young and scared to have the conversation. I still loved her even though I suspected that she didn’t feel the same way about me. The wedding went ahead, but it felt more like a funeral than a wedding. As planned, I told her about the cottage, but she refused to move in. She said it was a family home and we didn’t have a family anymore. I tried to explore having another baby. Not immediately, of course. But she wouldn’t discuss it. She stayed with her parents and I moved in here.’
He dunked his biscuit again and took another bite while I waited for the happy ending that clearly wasn’t coming.
‘We had no marriage. We barely had a relationship. We made it to seven months before she told me what I’d known as soon as we lost the baby: that she’d never really wanted me, just a child. God knows why she chose me as the sperm donor or why she’d said yes to marriage. She filed for divorce and emigrated to Australia. I never heard from her again and her parents moved out of the village a year later.’
I shook my head. ‘That’s so awful. Why do people hurt others like that?’
‘Selfishness? Fear? Who knows? It took me years before I felt ready to date anyone else and, ever since, I’ve been really cautious. As soon as I think it might get serious, I back off. I don’t want to get hurt and I don’t want to hurt them either. I’m not saying that’s how it will always be, but so far I’ve never met anyone for whom I’d be prepared to take that risk. It’s been short-term relationships ever since.’
I shifted the bag of peas off my numb foot and dried it with the towel. ‘Do you think you’ll ever want to marry again? If you found that special person worth the risk, that is.’
Stevie shook his head. ‘I don’t know if I believe in marriage anymore after what happened with Maddy. If making promises in front of your friends and family and signing a legal document means so little to some people that they can walk away from it in less than a year, why go through it in the first place?’ He smiled. ‘I sound very cynical, don’t I?’
I winced as I reapplied the peas. ‘No. You just sound like someone who’s been badly hurt and, after what’s just happened to me, I can completely relate to that. Right now, I’m not sure how I feel about marriage either.’
We moved away from the tricky subject of relationships and chatted more about Stevie’s plans for his garden, the bedroom he hadn’t yet tackled, Sarah’s wedding, and my school play. Another cup of tea later, Bonnie padded into the kitchen and put her head on Stevie’s lap.
‘I need to take her out for a walk. You can stay here if you want or—’
‘It’s fine. I’ve got to go home and face him at some point.’ I handed Stevie the bag of defrosted peas. ‘I hope you weren’t planning on having these for your tea. Unless you fancy mushy peas.’