Page 38 of Match Point in Crumbleton
‘You know what else they’ve all been telling me?’ said Caroline with a decidedly naughty smile.
‘What?’ said Cath.
‘That they haven’t seen our Andy look this happy in years.’
‘Oh,’ said Cath.
‘Exactly.’
‘Erm… I’m not saying I am going to do anything about it,’ said Cath, ‘but… if I was… is there, I mean… has there been… I mean…’
‘You want to know about his current relationship status?’ said Caroline.
‘I… maybe?’ said Cath.
Caroline rolled her eyes. ‘He’s single.’
‘I guessed that bit,’ said Cath, doing her best not to let her frustration show in her voice. ‘The real question is… why?’
‘That’s easy,’ said Caroline. ‘You’re not going to find any skeletons in that closet. The man is exactly as he appears. Sweet, friendly, lovely, straightforward.’
‘So… he’s just… single?’ said Cath. ‘How?’
‘Because his bitch of an ex-girlfriend was a screwed-up mess,’ huffed Caroline. ‘I’m sure Tara was a perfectly nice person… deep down. But she seemed to crave drama. It was like she was always spoiling for a fight. She picked at everything—anything Andy did was wrong. His job was wrong. His clothes were wrong. His smile was wrong.’
‘That sounds horrible,’ said Cath with a frown.
‘She wanted to change him,’ said Caroline.
‘Why would anyone want Andy to change?’ said Cath, almost to herself. The man was practically perfect.
Caroline was smirking again, and Cath wondered for a moment if that last thought had managed to escape out of her mouth.
‘What happened with them?’ said Cath quickly. ‘In the end, I mean.’
‘She issued an ultimatum,’ said Caroline. ‘She wanted to move away from Crumbleton—up to London—and if Andy wanted to save the relationship, he’d have to move too.’
‘And he didn’t,’ said Cath.
‘Nope, he didn’t,’ said Caroline. ‘That man’s first and true love will always be Crumbleton. Hell, he single-handedly keeps the old place from crumbling, if you’ll excuse the pun. I don’t think he’ll ever leave, and any potential love interests will just have to resign themselves to the fact that they’re going to be entering into an Andy-Crumbleton threesome situation.’
Cath let out a surprised laugh, almost spraying Caroline with wine.
‘Sorry!’ she gasped.
‘I don’t know what you’re laughing about, young lady!’ said Caroline, raising an eyebrow. ‘It’s you who’s going to have to deal with this particular menage!’
‘Only if I’m in a relationship with him,’ said Cath, shifting uncomfortably. ‘Which I’m not.’
‘Yet,’ added Caroline. ‘But let’s just say it went that way… hypothetically… how would you feel about the whole Crumbleton thing?’
‘Well, I’ve not been here long,’ said Cath slowly, ‘but let’s just say I can see where he’s coming from. I’m already starting to feel the same about the place. Give me a couple more weeks and I can imagine I’ll never want to leave.’
Caroline grinned at her. ‘Then we’d better make sure tomorrow’s fundraiser goes with a bang.’
‘I can’t believe the big day’s here already!’ said Andy, as the pair of them headed down the high street towards Harold and Annie’s townhouse.
Andy was carrying a stack of sturdy, shallow cardboard boxes Stuart from Bendall’s had given them. They were perfect for picking the strawberries and ferrying them safely down to the Dolphin and Anchor.
