I'm Not in Love (Once Upon a Winter Book 2) Read Online Free

one.’
    ‘I’m not very photogenic…’
    ‘Everyone is photogenic by the time Rainbow gets hold of them.’
    ‘Rainbow?’
    ‘Our photographer. She’s absolutely brilliant.’
    ‘I’m sure she is but…’
    ‘You’d be great…’ Ross stood in the doorway holding a metal tool box, and with a huge grin on his face. He turned to his mum. ‘I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes without you trying to recruit.’
    ‘When you bring a lovely young lady over what else am I going to do?’
    ‘I wouldn’t exactly say young…’ Hannah gave a self-conscious laugh. She really wanted this conversation to be over.
    ‘Come on, Hannah…’ Ross angled his head at the back door. ‘Let me rescue you.’
    ‘Back to the glamorous world of broken-down cars – yes please,’ Hannah smiled.
    Briony looked rather put out and made Hannah solemnly promise to at least consider the calendar and to make sure she called for tea at the farmhouse again whenever she had time. She grumbled good-naturedly that Ross’s dad was always out and she was forever alone, and that Ross was becoming almost as much of a workaholic as his father, and then Hannah finally managed to say goodbye before following Ross out to his Land Rover.
    ‘They’re not nudie calendars,’ Ross laughed as he opened the door for her. ‘More likely you’ll be suffocating under pumpkins and apples, so we’d hardly see that much of you at all.’
    ‘Oh… well, it’s very nice of your mum to offer but I don’t think it’s really me.’
    ‘That’s a shame actually. I think you’d look pretty good buried under an artfully arranged mound of marrows.’
    Hannah giggled. ‘I bet my sister would be up for it, and she’d look a hundred times better.’
    Ross was silent. Hannah glanced across and saw he had a faraway look, as if he was visualising just how good Gina might look under a mound of marrows. He was probably wishing that it
was
a nudie calendar. Then he seemed to shake himself, and his usual boyish grin was back. He started the engine. ‘I’ll do my best to persuade you while we drive back to George’s. Mum would never forgive me if I don’t. Perhaps your sister could join in too… might make you feel a bit less self-conscious?’
    ‘Maybe…’ Hannah replied. The truth was she did feel obliged to say yes, if only to repay the kindness Ross had shown her. But the thought of it made her feel sick, and it was going to take a hell of a lot of persuading, no matter how many cars Ross fixed for her.
    *
    After much discussion, Ross persuaded Hannah to let him drop her off at home while he went back to get her car going. Hannah wasn’t crazy about the idea, especially as she felt like such a burden on his time; but the little jobs she had neglected at home over the previous week were beginning to nag at her, and the thought of getting back and starting on them was too tempting. If the truth be told, she was also a little tired and cold, and home seemed like a nice place to be right now.
    ‘If I manage to get it going I’ll bring it back, and if I don’t then I can tow it over with Sally,’ he said as he dropped her at her gate. His cheeky grin was back as he added, ‘But I’ve never met an engine I couldn’t get purring again.’
    Unable to prevent the giggle that erupted from her, Hannah bade him goodbye and let herself in, alone again in her cottage for what felt like the first time in years.
    The silence enveloped her as Hannah slipped off her coat and hung it up. It was chilly, but the central heating would kick in soon and if she cracked on with the tidying up she wouldn’t get cold. She needed to keep busy, because she missed Gina and Jess already. It was almost enough to make her wish she’d enjoyed Briony’s hospitality a little longer after all.
    It was hard to believe that three women could make so much mess but Hannah was glad of the distraction. Her phone sat on the mantelpiece as she worked. Even though she’d set the volume