Author's Note:

And this is another double update. This is chapter 1 out of 2. Don't judge me XD And I did work on my certification assignment first, I swear! ;)

Love,

K. xx

***

Apparently, flirting and writing didn't go together. Tina sighed, bent in half, and rested her forehead on the edge of her desk, careful not to touch the bruise. She'd written and rewritten two pages - and it was all rubbish. No suspense, no pace. Tina groaned, pressed Command + A, and hit 'delete.'

It took her ten minutes of fighting with herself to accept her failures as a human being and give in. She plodded out of her study and stuck her head into the kitchen. Oh, what a heavenly aroma!

"Lunch's ready, édesem," Holyoake announced, without turning, of course.

Has he got some sort of a spidey sense for her presence behind him?

"Sorry, what?" she muttered, hardly listening.

Are those mini pork pies?! All golden and inviting, and a salade verte on the side, and some sort of an aromatic chutney?!

"Go wash your hands, kicsim," he said, and she could see his shoulders shake in laughter.

There had been definitely something besides English in those phrases - but who cared? Tina was starving! After a quick run to the washroom, she was at the table, a fork in her hand.

"There's no way you'd just baked them though," she said biting into her first pie. Oh, a quail egg in the middle! Yum!

He chuckled. "No, I didn't."

Tina stopped enthusiastically noshing and gave him a questioning look. Did she dribble on her shirt or something? Why is he looking at her like that?

"What's up?" she asked.

He continued giving her the attentive, slightly squinted look.

"I might have fibbed a tad," he drew out.

"Yes?" Tina asked, suddenly alarmed.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours, kicsikém," he murmured.

Bollocks. Tina might be thick - but not that thick.

"That's Hungarian, isn't it?" she muttered, cringing.

"Yes, it is," he said.

"Yeah..." Tina gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. But I needed to say something!"

C'mon, he can't be actually that angry with her, since she can see a smile hiding in the corners of his lips!

"And it's sort of none of your business what I do," she added, picked up a slice of cucumber, and popped it in her mouth.

That told him. Well done, Tina. Could've skipped the 'sort of' part, but at least you sort of stood your ground. Sort of.

"Yeah, but it still doesn't feel that good to be lied to," he said, lifting one eyebrow.

"Sorry," Tina repeated and crunched with the cucumber. "Your turn."

"I can't bake, and the pies and the cinnamon rolls were from the frozen section of the grocery shop. I just baked them," he said.

"Oi, you! I admired your skill!" she hollered and threw a small branch of parsley at him.

He guffawed and shielded himself with his napkin.

"You said you were a translator!" he shouted, and Tina crumpled her napkin and lobbed it the same way as the garnish.

He batted it away. Damn his cat reflexes!

"What does it matter?" Tina exclaimed. "It's not like it was supposed to impress you! I just didn't want to give you more reasons for paranoia!"

"Ah, so you are working on another novel in that study of yours," he drew out.

Tina shut her mouth and gave him a glare. Damn his sexy smirks too. And the stupid twinkle in his stupid eyes!

"Again, none of your bloody business," she grumbled and snatched another pie from the platter.

He shook his head in amusement and picked up his fork.

"And the rolls weren't supposed to 'impress' you. It was a peace offering," he said, and then laughed under her sarcastic look. "Alright, maybe it was a bit of an attempt to impress you."

"Good," Tina deadpanned.

Holyoake barked a throaty laugh. "Did it work?"

"Not at all," she said firmly.

"You're a liar," he purred.

Oh Lord.

"You can't bake," she quipped back.

Oh, stop smiling at the bloke and gazing in his eyes! It's John bloody Holyoake! Did you forget what he's actually like?! What kind of a daft cow does one need to be to get seduced by his smiles, his flirting in Hungarian... and his cinnamon rolls?! Don't you remember what happens if you let your guard down? In the best case scenario, he'll chew you up, toss you aside, and you'll be another of his non-committed conquests! But more likely, he'll suss out - just like August - that you 'can't meet his needs' quote unquote, and he'll go 'find someone more stimulating,' also quote unquote.

Holyoake opened his mouth, and she knew another sexy remark was coming - and then the doorbell rang.

Oh thank goodness.

Tina jumped to her feet, and he followed her example. Ah, that explains it. It's his stupid toff upbringing! That's why he never sat down in her presence without an invitation. Posh prick.

"I'll go open it," she muttered. "We don't need any more gossip," she added under her breath.

He probably heard, judging by the chuckles behind her. Whatever.

***

"Hiya," said the world famous travel blogger Georgette Millais-Scott and gave Tina a small elegant wave from her spot on the pavement. Lord, the woman looks better than Leona Lewis in her One More Sleep video. Just look at that coat, the little faux fur hat, and the cute white mittens!

"Hello," Tina said bleakly.

"I brought the skates," the blonde said and pointed at a bag on Tina's threshold.

"Pardon?"

"John's skates," the blonde said, as if it was supposed to explain something. She gave Tina an attentive look. "Didn't Di text you?"

"Um, maybe," Tina said in an uncertain tone. "I don't have my mobile on me. I actually don't know where it is," she said in a lost tone.

The blogger gave out a silver laugh. "I hope John learns something from you. The man's glued to his Android." She brushed a perfect curl off her cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, thank you. How are you?"

She then remembered about Holyoake's nephews. She assumed the blogger was staying with the family. Speak of him not committing. Although maybe the blogger had gotten stuck in self-isolation in the house, and him lodging with Tina was his way of avoiding his girlfriend. Actually, it still meant he'd brought her to his sister's house for holidays. What does that tell us? Exactly.

"How are the boys?" Tina asked. "I remember, Mrs. Hooper mentioning they had to be tested."

"Philip's recovering, thank goodness." The blonde's voice grew tender. "And Killian tested negative, so all is well."

"Oh good," Tina said.

"Are you alright, Tina?" the blonde asked, giving Tina a look over. "You seem... low."

Tina thought that 'Ah, well, you see, Ms. Millais-Scott, I've just noticed I've been flirting with your boyfriend and seem to be uncharacteristically randy around him, but since I have a properly low self-esteem, and he's a one-off sort of a bloke, I know that ripping his clothes off would be the worst idea, and the consequences of giving in to my suddenly emerging libido would probably crash my already fragile ego' probably wasn't the best answer in this situation.

"I'm just a tad tired, I think," Tina mumbled.

"Is he keeping you up?" the blonde said and made an irritated noise. "I apologise. It's such a bother to live with an insomniac."

'To live' with an insomniac?! Maybe it was much more serious between them two than it initially appeared. Again, none of your business, Tina. It's not like you're stealing the blonde's boyfriend anytime soon. Ha ha. As if it were at all plausible. Boyfriends tended to run away from her, not towards.

"It's quite alright," Tina gave an unenthusiastic answer.

"Well, you only have ten days left to endure," the blogger said. "Let us know if you need anything, would you? You have Di's number, right?"

Tina nodded. She's definitely staying with the family. See, Tina, it's his business of course, but we all know you aren't going to do anything knowing he has a girlfriend three blocks away. You just aren't progressive enough.

They said their goodbyes, and Tina dragged the bag inside.

"Your skates are in the hall," she shouted to him and went to her study in search of her mobile.

Here was indeed a text from his sister.

Morning, Tina. John asked me to send his skates over to your place. I'll ask George to drop them off. Di xx

Tina vaguely remembered that Di indeed had separated from the father of her children, and there was a George in the picture. Nothing was known about Mrs. Hooper's new partner. One of the old darlings in the village had mentioned to Tina that Di was hiding her affair since she wasn't officially divorced. Knowing the Lower Woulds' inhabitants' proclivity to gossip Tina understood. Some said he was in banking, someone said he was a doctor.

Tina sat down in her chair and pushed off the floor with one foot to swivel slowly around. So, his girlfriend decided to bring his skates over, instead of his sister's new boyfriend. The bag was properly heavy by the way. It probably had been quite a barney for the petite blonde to haul it all the way here. Keeping an eye on the git so he doesn't wander off? Tina scoffed. No man was worth such efforts - and such humiliation, she thought. And especially Holyoake, to think of it. Fit or not, the fact remained, he was ruthless, calculative, and cared only about his business, and not about people working in his publishing houses - and in his bed, apparently.

Tina exhaled sharply, rolled to the desk, and stuffed headphones in her ears. She'd just sit here, work, and forget about the man in her kitchen. He could do the washing up himself, and based on the previous days, he wouldn't bother her till dinner. By then the randy fog in her brain would clear out and she'd remember who she was and how he didn't belong in her life. Not one bit.