Being driven around with the top down was really fun. The wind whipped around her, but not so much that it was uncomfortable, and not so much that her hair became ridiculous.
‘Tell me about your friends. What should I expect?’ she asked, thankful for this time for a briefing.
Nate’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.
‘Jess will gush, she loves people. She’ll ask you ten thousand questions. Paul will have eyes only for his girlfriend, Angeline. It’s the first time we’re meeting her.’ Nate glanced at her. ‘Owen is friendly, and, well, you know Alex.’
Was that a bit of distaste showing in the way Nate pinched his mouth?
‘And Lucia?’
‘Lucia is…’ he hesitated. ‘She’s Lucia. She’s the star of the show,’ he said wearily. ‘We’ll have a good time though.’
‘Yeah, it’s going to be so nice not being in Lower Houghton. You were right. I do need to get away once in a while.’ Laurel relaxed back against the headrest. ‘Thanks for bringing me with you.’
‘No worries,’ Nate said, shooting her a smile. ‘Just to warn you…’
Laurel groaned. How much more was he going to warn her about?
‘Benji, Jess and Owen’s boy, is a bundle of energy. Also, Jess and Owen are absolutely loaded.’
‘Loaded?’
‘Do you remember Owen from uni?’
She shook her head. She only remembered him, Alex and Lucia. The rest of them were just vague blobs.
‘Well, Owen was working as a junior in a financial advisor’s office. A new client came in with an idea, and Owen got in on the ground floor with it. Made millions.’
Laurel’s eyebrows shot up her forehead.
‘Millions?’ Good lord.
‘Well, two or three, but that’s still a plural. It was right place, right time,’ Nate said.
That was more than she would ever see in her life, probably more than her entire family would see in their entire lifetimes, all put together. ‘Jess did alright as well. She works as an executive producer on some kind of daytime TV program.’
‘Christ.’
Laurel was suddenly extremely aware of her very nice, but decidedly high street, dress she and Rebecca had painstakingly chosen last night. She fretted over her hair in the little mirror in the sun visor. The roads were getting smaller now. They were nearly there.
Nate glanced at her. ‘Don’t worry. They’re just normal people.’
Mmm hmm. Normal people who have millions of pounds.
‘I’ve got a bottle of wine in my handbag. It was only a tenner. Can you stop so I can get them something better?’
‘Laurel, no.’ Nate was firm. ‘Stop stressing.’
She looked at his profile as he drove and blew out a breath.
‘Okay fine, but remember, I’m just a farm girl.’
‘Laurel Fletcher, you are so much more than “just a farm girl”,’ he said, eyes fixed firmly on the road.
Laurel felt that blush creep across her chest, and she looked at her hand clasped tightly in her lap, unable to stop a little smile spreading over her lips. She looked at him.
Nate indicated left and turned into the driveway marked ‘Fairy Hollow Farm’. Laurel’s face crumpled with laughter.
