‘Lovely to meet you, Ava.’ Owen smiled. ‘I’ll do an excellent job for you when the time is right.’
‘Nice to meet you, too,’ Ava replied, a faint smile on her lips.
Once Jack had closed the door behind him, her shoulders dropped. Had she been that tense around him?
And then she realised. He reminded her of Giles. Her ex had always wanted to know everything, be the man who spread gossip and the first to find things out.
‘What did you think of Owen?’ Jack asked once he was sitting next to her again.
‘He seems nice.’
It was Jack’s time to frown. ‘Nice?’
Ava shrugged a shoulder. ‘He was a bit intense, as if he was being over-friendly.’
‘Ah, he likes everyone to think he’s the person in the know. He’s told me about some ridiculous gossip in our time.’ He gazed at Ava. ‘Has he been badmouthing someone? Me, even?’
‘Oh, no. Nothing like that,’ she fibbed. ‘Maybe he was trying to make a good impression.’
‘He was really annoyed when I won the editor’s award for three years running. It was voted for by the readers, so there was nothing underhand going on. I doubt he’d say, but I reckon he was pleased when I left. He’s been head boy ever since.’ Jack reached across the table and chose a cupcake. ‘Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tucking into this before I leave. I have an appointment at midday and a few things to catch up on. Why not come over to my place after lunch, say two, and we can start again?’
‘Sure.’ Ava smiled, already excited about it.
Arriving at Jack’s home later that afternoon, Ava heard Graham bark as soon as she opened the gate. By the time she’d gone through, closed it, and walked along the short driveway, Jack had opened the front door.
He leaned on the frame with his arms folded, one ankle crossing the other. ‘Hey.’ He smiled. ‘I haven’t seen you in a while.’
‘Hey, yourself.’ Ava admired what he’d changed into. He really was a sight for sore eyes, with his floppy fringe, crisp white shirt underneath an aqua V-necked sweater, and jeans.
For the next couple of hours, they went over things for the website. Ava showed Jack some of the images she’d taken locally, explaining about mood, ambience, and colourings.
‘These are so good,’ he approved. ‘Have you ever thought of doing book cover images? Some of these photographs would make great backgrounds.’
‘I’ve supplied a few for Bateman PR that have been passed on to publishers’ design teams.’
‘Any you can show me?’
Ava pulled up Amazon, searched for some authors, and pointed to the covers she’d worked on. One set in particular she was extremely proud of. She’d created six images, and they’d all been used across a series.
‘You’re so lucky to be able to choose what you’d like,’ Ava said as they took a break, sitting outside on the decking. ‘Most publishers I know hardly let their authors near the cover designs. They prefer a certain type for each genre. I know there are reader expectations where they pick up a cover because they know what they’ll get inside, but honestly, lately, it all seems to be about cookie-cutter, one-fits-all designs, and I hate that.’
‘Me, too. I’m glad that I can take a chance. Perhaps we can start a new trend between us.’
Ava liked the sound of that very much.
‘Your home is so cosy,’ she said. ‘I can see the draw to live here. The view is incredible. I’d love to wake up to it each morning.’
As soon as the words were out, a blush spread over her cheeks. She heard Jack chuckle.
‘You’re welcome to stay over any time you like,’ he teased.
She dropped her eyes momentarily, and when she raised them, she found him staring at her. She held his gaze for a while and then looked away. He really had the most mesmerising eyes.
‘Do you have to go back to London this weekend?’ Jack asked suddenly. ‘Or could you stay until Saturday?
‘Why do you ask?’
‘Would you like to come with me to the lakeside event on Friday night? I’ll have my daughter and Dan’s kids with me, but they’ll be doing their own thing. There’ll be a band, lots of different drinks and foods to sample. It’s always fun.’ His smile faltered. ‘Unless you’re needed at home?’
