Chapter 14

I’ve been with Ivan all weekend, although not always in the cottage. We went to his house too. I stayed there on Saturday night, and we went running together on Sunday morning. He’s a little out of shape, but not much.

“I’ll have you whipped into shape in no time,” I say as we run up a steep hill to the lighthouse.

“Hey, fuck you. I’m fit enough. You’re just over-the-top fit.” He flips me his middle finger, and I laugh so much I have to stop. I double over, holding my middle.

“You’ve fucked me plenty, don’t you think?”

Ivan’s eyes go dark as he stalks towards me. “I thought you said you’d never have enough of my dick.” His tone is low, husky, and full of promise.

I shrug. “I can take it or leave it.” I set off again, knowing it will annoy him. I get a dozen steps away from him before he wraps his around my waist and tackles me to the ground, the muddy ground.

“Take that back.” He hovers over me, his mouth close to mine, his hips pressing into mine.

“Okay, okay. I love your dick and always want it.”

His smile is wicked, but he pulls me up and cups my face in his palms. “That’s more like it.” And kisses the fuck out of me.

Now we’re chilling out. He’s watching TikTok videos while I work. The loud ringing of my phone interrupts my concentration. It’s no surprise Merrick’s name lights up my phone. We haven’t spoken since seeing them in the cafe. “Hi, Merrick, what’s up?”

“I thought we’d see you over the weekend, but never mind. Have you got time to meet up today? We’ve got a proposition for you.”

“Yeah, I have time. When and where?” What’s he up to? Whatever it is, he’s meddling. He and Josh used to do it all the time. Always looking for someone for me to date, and I have a feeling he’s doing the same now. And that person will be either Stacey or, if Merrick is really going too far, Merlin.

A week ago, I may have been interested. Merlin is a good-looking man, funny, and great company. But now all I can see is Ivan. This weekend I lost myself in him, and he’s all I see, all I want. For our friends, we’ll have to pretend to take it slow, but in private, we can be who we are.

“Come to us whenever you can. We’ll be in all afternoon.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” I drop my phone next to me on the sofa and get back to working out a new exercise routine for Thursday’s beginner HIIT class.

My phone rings again. This time it’s the estate agent in London. “Mr McClean, it’s Alex Richards about your house. I have good news. I have a couple of clients eager to make an offer.”

Even though both he and the other agent said that my house is a desirable property, I hadn’t expected to hear back this quickly. “That’s good news. Let me have them.”

I’ve been thinking about what to do with the money the house will release, including the possibility of opening my gym. Munro will no doubt help me set it up if I need it.

“The first is two nine. I’ve told him it’s probably too low, but I believe he’ll go higher. It’s typical to start low, but in my opinion, he’s way off the mark.”

I inhale sharply. That’s a low offer and not one I’m going to accept. I’m sure I can get closer to the asking price. “What’s the second?”

“The second is three million. Again, a low price. Mr McClean, if you’re open to my opinion, I would reject both. Your property is worth more than that.”

“I agree. I’m not going to take either of them. Are they aware of each other’s offers?” Will this turn into a bidding war between them? Which I’m happy to see where it’ll end, even though it will take more time. The chance of having my lifelong dream come true is worth the wait.

“Yes, I have informed them, but not on what the other has offered. I’ll get back to them straight away, and I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, Mr Richards. Have a good day.”

“And you.”

A flutter of excitement runs through me. I grin at Ivan, who’s watching me with interest.

“Good news?” he asks.

“Kind of. I’ve got my house in London up for sale, and that was the estate agent. He’s had a couple of offers. They’re good, but he thinks I can do better, and I agree with him. He’s going to see what they come back with.”

It’s more money than I could ever have imagined having. It’s ridiculous for bricks and mortar to be worth so much. Maybe I shouldn’t be greedy and accept the second offer. If I can clear my head, I’ll feel so much more relaxed. Alex may not come back to me today, so the best thing to do is forget about it and focus on what I have going on here. Not just Ivan but also the classes and my friends. The pace is slower than I’m used to, but that’s a good thing. I have time to socialise and make new friends.

After another blow job in the shower, Ivan and I say goodbye, arranging to see each other later. He goes home while I drive to Merrick’s. Drew answers the door with his usual friendly smile. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him pissed off. This makes me so happy. Merrick deserves to be with someone so good and kind.

“Come in. Willow wanted to make cakes today, but I don’t think it’s going to be her talent in life. She did have clean hands, and they are safe to eat, but the decorations take them to another level.”

“I promise to be nothing but enthusiastic.” I follow him into the kitchen.

“Bodie,” Willow shrieks, and we all wince at the decibels. “My make cakes!”

“I can see. Did you do all the icing?”

“I don’t think Mary Berry needs to worry just yet,” Merrick whispers to me. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” We take our coffees into the living room, and Willow wanders off to her toy box, leaving us alone. “So spill. What’s so secret I have to come here?”

“It’s not a secret,” Drew says. “I’ve finally given in, and I’ll be moving in after Christmas.”

Merrick is grinning from ear to ear. “He’s so stubborn.”

“That’s great. You’re here most of the time anyway.” What has this to do with me? Why had I to be here?

They share a glance and a soft smile. “We thought you might be interested in renting my house.”

Oh! I wasn’t expecting that. I’ve only been to it once. It’s a nice house, not too big but has much more space than the cottage. What will he do with all his furniture? I’ll have plenty of my own back once my house is sold.

“I’d love that. How much is the rent? And what about furniture? I’ve started to get offers on my house, so as soon as I sell, I’ll have my own.”

“You’ve had an offer? That’s great. But you’ve turned it down?” Merrick asks.

“There were two, neither of them good enough, though. The agent says to hold on because he expects they will come back with higher offers.”

“You could end up with a bidding war.” Merrick chuckles. “It’s like me and you, Drew.”

“I don’t think I’m going to fall in love with the buyer. Can we go and see it?”

Drew nods. “Let’s go.”

“I’m going to stay here with Willow. It’s too cold to take her out.” Merrick looks over at his daughter, who’s happily building with bright blocks.

“See you later, mate.”

We get into Drew’s truck, and he drives away. He expertly manoeuvres down the long drive toward the town. “You can keep my furniture until you get yours. I’ll decide what to do with it when I need to. As for rent, I don’t want to charge you too much. We can do mates rates, and say six hundred a month. How does that sound?”

That’s way below what he could get, but I don’t want to have him out of pocket. “That seems a bit too low.”

“Nope, that’s enough for around here, especially at this time of year. When you work out where you want to live, I’ll redo it and rent it out as another holiday house. You’re doing me a favour by keeping it occupied.”

“I’m glad you finally got your head out of your arse and agreed to live with Merrick. He’s a good guy and deserves a happy life. No one knows what’s around the corner. He knows that more than others. He wants to live life to the full—with you, Drew.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t want the whole town gossiping about me getting to live in the house I’ve always wanted. I know you and Ivan both thought the same. I wanted to stop the nosy busybodies from questioning Merrick.”

“It wasn’t because I thought you were a bad person, but Merrick was very fragile for a long, long time. Being hurt could’ve broken him.”

When we drive past the road Ivan lives on, I can’t help but look at his house.

“So, you and Ivan?” His lips quirk at the edges.

“He’s nice. I like him. We have a fun time together. I don’t want to hear anything negative. Not because I don’t want to believe it, but because he’s already told me.”

“He told you about Kate?”

I inhale sharply.

When he glances at me, he must see the confusion on my face. “Fuck!”

We reach his house, and my head is now full of questions. Ones I’m not going to ask Drew. It’s not his story to tell.

“I’m sorry, Brodie. I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t think I’m trying to interfere.”

Who the fuck is Kate?