Nothing New for Sophie Drew: a heart-warming romantic comedy - Katey Lovell (best english novels for beginners .txt) 📗

almost apologetically, “just a chain pub that does cheap food, but the beer garden’s nice.”

The garden at the back was a large expanse of grass surrounded by a stone wall covered in pretty yellow roses. There was a bouncy castle, popular with the children who jumped enthusiastically as their parents enjoyed a drink and a chat in the sunshine, and a group of kids were kicking a ball around, using jumpers for goalposts.

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “It’s nice.”

We bought our drinks – I paid, it was the least I could do – and found a vacant bench outside. The beer garden was busy enough to have a buzz of life, but not busy enough to be loud, exactly what’s needed for escapist Sunday evening drinking.

“Let me give you some money for the drinks.” Max flipped open his wallet and offered me a note. “I’m the one who invited you out, remember.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can stretch to a round of drinks.”

I sipped at my wine. It was drier than I’d normally go for, but not unpleasant.

“That’s not the point. Coming to the pub was my suggestion, and I want to treat you.” He pressed the note into the palm of my hand. “Please?”

“Okay.” I folded it into my purse. “Thank you.”

“There was a time I wouldn’t have been able to have done that. I racked up some pretty crazy debts in my early twenties. All that freedom and no concept of money, and the bank extended my overdraft without question, gave me credit cards and loans when I had no way of paying them back other than a part-time job in a twenty-four-hour supermarket two nights a week.”

My head whirred at the familiarity of the situation and it took me a few seconds to realise I was holding my breath. “But you’ve paid them all off now?”

“I made the final payment in January,” he said, a smile of pride playing out on his lips. “I didn’t think the day would ever come, but when it did it was the best feeling. I’d never have been able to do it if I hadn’t moved back home though. It’s one good thing that’s come out of Dad being ill.”

“It goes to show things do work out for the best in the end.” I took another sip of my drink. “There was a time when I was living beyond my means too. I’ve changed though. I’m paying back what I owe.”

There was no judgement on his face, and at first I wondered if he’d heard me at all, but then he said, “How are you finding it?”

“Some days it’s fine, but other days I feel like it’s unfair. There are celebrities in magazines on exotic holidays saying they’ve earned a week in paradise because they work hard, but so do I. My wages aren’t great.” I smiled wryly. “I’m bottom of the food chain at my work.”

“You’ve taken the first step though, and that’s the hardest bit. It took me a long time to realise how out of control my spending was.”

“Tell me about it.” I inwardly cringed remembering how much importance I used to put on wearing designer labels, colouring my hair and changing the three “c”s in my living room seasonally to fit in with the current trends. Curtains, cushions and candles don’t sound like enormous expenses, but replacing them as frequently as I had been was unnecessary. “It’s surprising what a difference little changes make.”

“Have you started shopping at Aldi?”

“Yes!”

“Their chocolate changed my life,” he said seriously. “A quarter of the price of the brand I used to buy, but just as nice.”

“I used to be really snobby about where I shopped,” I confessed. “I don’t know why, because no one would have known where I’d bought things from.”

“I bet you’re one of those people who takes a Waitrose bag with you even when you’re shopping elsewhere,” he kidded.

I blushed. There were times I’d done exactly that.

“Very funny.”

I adjusted my new ring on my finger. “Thanks again for this.”

“I know it’s not worth much, but I saw the way you were looking at them. When the lady selling them asked what you liked and you said the ring there was no way I was going to let you walk away without it on your finger.”

“I’m grateful.”

I thought of the diamond choker Darius had given me, which the pawn shop gave me decent money for. They wouldn’t see the value in the handcrafted Scrabble ring, but it already meant more to me than the precious jewels, because it had been given with genuine affection.

“You can think of me every time you wear it,” he said.

I looked up at him through my lashes. “I’ll wear it all the time.”

The look we shared was as heavy as the summer evening air around us, loaded, and when his lips connected with mine it was as though the rest of the world fell away.

July

Chapter 28

Four weeks had passed.

Four weeks since the fete.

Four weeks since I gave Darius the money.

Four weeks of near-constant worry about Chantel and the babies.

In some ways it felt like no time at all. It could be measured in one box of tampons, one measly pay cheque, one cycle of the moon. In other ways it felt like forever.

Max and I had been spending more time together, and were officially a couple. There was no more game-playing, no more coyness from either side. We’d had a night out at the pictures and a day trip to Edinburgh where we’d climbed Arthur’s Seat, rewarding ourselves with a picnic when we reached the summit. We’d borrowed his brother Grant’s golden retriever and gone for a six-mile walk (she was far more obedient than Spot).

Max had even come to the house a couple of times (after I tidied up. I didn’t want to sabotage our relationship before we even got started). We weren’t rushing into anything, but when I was with him it felt so overwhelmingly right. That was