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She lifted her chin as she tried to cal nerves

It was a One minute he was cold and distant, the next, care and co seemed to meet in the middle She felt like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, torn between two people

If this was hoas going to be, how on earth would she survive the next four weeks?

Chapter Four

THREE DAYS THAT was how long she’d been here Phoebe alorked long hours on the job once she got started and this house was no different

With the avocado bathroo The plu and electrics had been checked and any problems fixed The ancient chimneys had been swept The whole house smelled of paint, and there was a perpetual thin layer of dust wherever she went

It wasn’t that the clean-up creeren’t doing their job They were It was just they were having to do their job over and over again as the endless stream of tradesmen came and went from the house

Today there was a joiner oiling and re-hanging soeous and they’d all been repainted a brilliant white The kitchen appliances had been delivered, but not connected The Belfast sinks were still to be fitted along with the new countertop Phoebe had a spreadsheet with all times, dates and phone numbers for everyone responsible

She walked up the curved stairs hu and towels in her arms Two of the bedrooms and half baths were ready for her inspection The drapes for the bedrooms wouldn’t be here for another week But there was no reason she couldn’t start to look at so touches

The porcelain sink and toilet glea with the tiles The clean-up crew had guaranteed they could restore the pieces to their forood as their word She smiled as she put the pale yelloels on the floor She’d bought some cute ottomans for the bathrooms She’d need to find them

She glanced out the ard Lake Mecox Snoas starting to fall heavily again She had hours of work still to do She didn’t want to start the journey back home because of the bad weather—even more so, she didn’t want any of the tradesmen to leave early

She’d ordered newup the bed in one set of bedclothes, then five minutes later in another The pale yellow had see blue was ht played in dressing a house One of the first things she considered hether a roo It could make all the difference

She looked at the pile of bedclothes she still had to go through There was no reason why she couldn’t start looking at the other roohts, new laht now Enthusiasm sparked inside her Nohere had she put those prints she’d bought the other day?

“You look like crap”