only been sailing for a year or so. You might want to go easy.’
Nathan grins. ‘Nah, he’s getting pretty good. You should have seen him at the trials.’
I smile. ‘Worrying about the competition?’
He sits on the bed and grabs me around the waist. ‘Never!’
I laugh, my mind temporarily taken from my worries as he kisses me.
‘Anyway, stop distracting me, Fi. I need to get going.’ His hand slides beneath the covers.
‘Me? You’re the one getting all handsy.’
He laughs and gets to his feet. ‘I’ll have to save the “handsy” stuff for later.’
I lean back into the pillows and close my eyes. If only we could be like this all the time, without the stresses of work and… well, all the other stuff.
‘See you later, Fi.’
‘Have a good day.’
‘Love you.’ He blows me a kiss and leaves the bedroom. His feet clatter down the wooden staircase and his keys jangle as he picks them up off the hall shelf. The door slams. I close my eyes and listen to the crunch of his footsteps on the gravel drive. The sound of his car engine starting up. The hiss of tyres. And finally the sound of him driving away.
Exhaling, my heart rate slows. I have a day’s reprieve. A day to work out what I’m going to do. What I’m going to say.
A quick glance at my phone tells me it’s not quite 7 a.m. The tax inspectors said they’d be back this morning at nine. Apparently their investigation could take weeks. Weeks! I’ll never be able to keep it quiet. Nathan is bound to find out. Scratch that – everyone will find out. I’ll be the subject of speculation and gossip, and that could seriously hurt my business. I feel a stress headache coming on at the thought of it. Why is this happening to me?
I push the covers back and get out of bed, heading to the bathroom. Okay, I need to think about this. I need to find a way to speed up their investigation and get them out. Maybe I should just be breezy and helpful. Make them see I’ve nothing to hide. It’ll be fine. I can charm them. Win them over. Become their friend. But as I picture Cathleen’s blank face, the word friendly doesn’t exactly spring to mind. I suppose I could concentrate my efforts on John, but what if those two are an item? I can’t see it, but knowing my luck, Cathleen probably has a crush on him. If that’s the case, then if I started flirting with him, she’ll have it in for me. No, I need to keep this professional. I’ll be open and friendly. Breezy it is.
I shower, dress and go downstairs. Our open-plan kitchen-diner leads onto a wooden deck overlooking the lake. It’s a stunning view by anyone’s standards. A view that should make me happy to be alive. Everything outside is green and blue and sparkling. There are already people out on the water, rowing, swimming, sailing, canoeing – enjoying life. White sails billowing and distant dots of colour clipping along. How can I live in such a beautiful and idyllic place and yet feel so much anxiety?
I open the fridge and pull out a few vegetables to toss into the blender, adding a third of a banana for sweetness and energy. I don’t fancy it at all – I’d kill for some Nutella on toast, but I’m watching my weight, plus I need to keep my strength up and stay focused today. Aside from the fact that Nathan doesn’t like us keeping junk food in the house – far too tempting. So I pour the disgusting snot-green smoothie into a glass and force it down before leaving for work.
I’ll leave the car at home today. The walk will do me good and hopefully clear my head. I should still get to the showroom an hour or so before the tax officers, which will give me time to have a nose around and see what they were doing yesterday. Maybe it will give me some clues as to what they’re looking for. Yet again, I wonder what prompted the investigation. Did they find something suspicious in my tax returns, or was it a random spot check? Or were my earlier thoughts correct? Did someone report me? If they did, who might it have been? I suppose the most obvious culprit would be a professional rival. Someone who wants my business to fail. I’m good at what I do,