Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,18

knew you would. I said to Dave, you two are a team,’ Sally gushed in between mouthfuls of burger. ‘I wish my husband would take a leaf out of Jake’s book and make a bit more of an effort. His face was like a wet weekend when I told him we were coming to the fair, miserable old—’ She stopped, her eyes growing wide as her gaze shot past Jake. ‘I see Tash is on form,’ she hissed, nodding in the direction of whoever had caught her attention.

Jake followed her gaze to see one of his patients, Natasha Jameson, waving at them.

‘God, what is she wearing?’ Looking the woman over, Sally scowled disapprovingly. ‘The village fair is hardly the place for full sex-siren gear, is it?’

Intrigued, Jake glanced again at Natasha and noted the high leather boots over tight jeans. Her T-shirt was low-cut, he noticed that too, but he would hardly call it ‘sex siren’.

‘She’s obviously on a manhunt,’ Sally went on judgementally, and Jake couldn’t help but feel sorry for Natasha. Relatively new to the village, she’d moved here after marrying Michael Jameson, who ran Apple Tree Farm. The tongues had started wagging the minute she’d arrived, the fact that she was fifteen years younger than Michael and didn’t tend to dress in clothes suitable for hop-picking fuelling the gossip. Speculation was rife that she was only after his money. Jake guessed she would be on the receiving end of the tittle-tattle whatever she wore. A pretty woman with a good figure was a prime target for jealousy, he supposed.

‘Question is, which man?’ Sally pondered, her eyes roving derisorily over Natasha again. ‘I’d gird your loins if I were you, Jake.’ She looked amusedly back at him. ‘She’s definitely making fluttery eyes in your direction. She obviously knows a good thing when she sees it.’

Glancing away, Jake shook his head. When he looked back at Emily, her eyes were shooting venom-loaded daggers at him and Natasha both. ‘Obviously,’ she said, her voice strained as she scooped her bag up from under the table.

‘Emily, hold on.’ Bemused, Jake reached for her arm as she turned to walk past him, eye contact now nil.

‘I’m busy.’ Emily pulled away from him. ‘I’m sure you have important things to attend to as well, don’t you? Like impressing fluttery-eyed women with your rubber-duck-saving skills?’

‘Oh dear. I’ve obviously put my foot in it,’ Sally said worriedly, standing alongside Jake as he watched Emily walk away. ‘You haven’t, have you? Been trying to impress fluttery-eyed women?’ She looked pointedly from him to Natasha and back.

‘Not funny, Sally.’ Jake sighed tiredly.

Six

Emily

She was being absurd. Risking a full-on argument with Jake over an email that had probably been sent by some nasty individual who was quite clearly jealous of what she and Jake had together. The past was the past. Ancient history. They were a family now and they were a team. Sally had been right. They worked together, laughed together. Or at least they had until recently. They’d always been there for each other. She was being completely irrational. If she carried on like this, it would be a sure way of driving a wedge between them, which was obviously the aim of the email sender.

She would talk to him. She would have to. If she didn’t, her suspicion would eat away at her and she would end up driving him away again. Her heart skipped a beat as she imagined it. And then another when Jake’s foot slipped as he waded about in the water, causing him to stumble. He wasn’t concentrating, busy watching her watching him, no doubt wondering why she was being so horrible to him.

She breathed a sigh of relief as, planting a hand behind him, he saved himself, the crowd cheering him on as he hauled himself up and reeled in a meandering duck to steer it back into line. She couldn’t fail to notice Natasha, whose breasts were in danger of spilling over her top as she leaned over the bridge just ahead of Jake.

Jake glanced up at her when the woman cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled, ‘Go the good doctor!’, making sure to attract his attention. He looked away quickly enough, though, Emily noted, another surge of relief washing through her, concentrating instead on the slippery terrain underfoot.

He’s not interested. She tried to resist finishing her thought with you trollop. It was plain that the woman was interested in him. It was also clear that Natasha