Vicky would be cringing so hard she’d probably fall off the toadstool and pull me into the pond with her if she could see any of this.
‘Amber, please put it on,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re shivering.’
He draped the coat around my shoulders, it was warm from his body, and it felt nice. He was sitting palpably close to me. Even his vape-y breath smelt good, and there was a whiff of aftershave on the coat. I was distinctly aware of every small movement his body made. I looked sideways at him, wondering what to say next.
‘That’s better. Thank you.’
He shrugged.
‘Do you meditate, Amber?’ Jimi asked, changing the subject.
‘Not really, I mean I have a few meditation apps on my phone. I just can’t seem to sit still for long enough,’ I answered. ‘Why, do you think I need to?’
‘You have an amazing, calming aura,’ he said. ‘I can feel it when I’m around you.’
Seriously, Vicky would now be in full-scale hysteria.
‘I don’t feel very calm at the moment,’ I replied. ‘In general.’
It was quite a shock that I could feel myself blushing.
‘Mandy looks amazing this evening, that dress is a winner. You handle her so well. You are the first to lead the charge and the last in the retreat.’
I looked at the side of his face. Jimi could say things in such a way that it was hard to know whether it was the profound statement of a genius, or just an unbelievably cheesy line he’d heard in a film. I couldn’t work him out. But I erred towards the last option. It was confusing, because there was also something endearing about his cheesiness.
‘Mandy’s not the easiest client,’ I said, deflecting the conversation. ‘But I’m enjoying it most of the time.’ I felt cautious about telling tales about my boss, especially as Jimi was related to her.
‘The moon’s big tonight,’ I commented, seizing the opportunity to change the conversation again.
We both looked upwards.
‘You’re brave, but also kind.’ He was looking at the side of my face.
To the right of the moon there was a cluster of stars, one was particularly bright.
‘And funny.’
I felt embarrassed he was complimenting me. I thought about Rob then, feeling guilty that it wasn’t him saying these words.
‘Anyway, much as I would love to drink some gin in the distillery, I’ll probably get paralytic if I do,’ I announced,thinking I’d better get back before anyone noticed we were both missing. ‘Which probably isn’t the best idea.’
‘Paralytic?’ He looked at me quizzically. ‘Are you stiff from the Pilates this morning?’
I chuckled. ‘It’s okay, I can move. It means very drunk.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Jimi said, and we started walking back down the path, me feeling a little unsure about how it would look if we were seen coming out of this part of the garden together. I didn’t want to give anyone a reason to gossip.
Out of nowhere, I lost my footing on a raised tree root and fell to the ground. Quick as lightning, Jimi was there, putting his arm under mine and holding me up.What an idiot, Amber!
‘Are you okay?’ he asked gently, his expression concerned.
‘I’m fine.’ I shook my head. My palms had mud on them, so did my silver boots.
Jimi’s gaze dropped and I noticed the white puffa now had mud on it too. ‘I’m really sorry, I’ll get it drycleaned.’ I felt defeated.
‘Don’t worry about it – this is what happens in the British countryside. Anyway, I hate this jacket, I only wore it because it was a present from my brother. I didn’t want to offend him.’
‘You hate it?’ I let out a surprised laugh. ‘It is very … white.’
