The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

be dropped home later. Leaving her own front door, it took Eva only seconds to walk down the front path of her own house and up her neighbour’s.

      She remembered all the times she’d walk straight round to the back, knock on the door, and just walk in. Eva would immediately be enveloped by the warmth of the kitchen and Moira would have the kettle on before Eva had time to sit down at the massive oak table, which was always strewn with books and papers.

      Reaching the little porch Eva shook the rain from her hood, noticing the fine layer of dust on the little shelf where a potted plant used to sit. Through the opaque glass of the inner door she could see a light on in the hall. She knocked on the familiar door feeling a little bubble of excitement in her chest, thinking how lovely it would be to have neighbours again.

      After a few moments the door opened and whoever Eva might have imagined opening the door, she wasn’t prepared for the man who now did. Tall, wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, his dark hair was tousled, as if he’d just run a hand through it. But it was the intensity of the dark brown eyes looking at her questioningly that struck Eva and made her instantly feel self-conscious and awkward. His features were handsome but the deep frown etched into them made Eva feel uneasy.

      She cleared her throat and smiled brightly at him. ‘Hi. I’m Eva Harris. I live next door with my son and wanted to come and welcome you.’

      He regarded her for a moment before holding out his hand and introducing himself. ‘Ben Matthews. Nice to meet you.’

      They shook hands, his touch sending a small shockwave through Eva. Suddenly she wasn’t sure what to do. The scenario she had played out in her head of this meeting hadn’t included her standing like a speechless idiot. Granted, that was before she knew her new neighbour looked like … well, like this. But that was no reason to behave differently; she was simply here to welcome him and in keeping with the tradition set by Mrs MacKenzie, she held out a pot of her best broth.

      ‘I brought you some soup.’

      He glanced down at it, looking slightly baffled. And certainly not as grateful as Eva had hoped for.

      ‘That’s kind of you, but you didn’t have to do that.’

      She shook her head. ‘It’s no problem. I know moving day can be difficult and you might not have had time to think about food. It’s home-made, vegetable …’ Her voice trailed off and she swallowed nervously.

      ‘Thank you.’ He took the pot from her hands and placed it awkwardly on a pile of boxes behind him.

      ‘I know lots of people are vegetarian these days so I thought that would be the safest option.’ Eva heard herself babble on, wishing she could stop but sure that if she did there would be a horrible silence. Deciding she had exhausted the soup topic, she changed tack. ‘So, have you come far today?’

      ‘London.’

      She nodded. ‘St Andrews is going to be quite a change for you then.’

      ‘That’s the general idea,’ he said dryly.

      Eva couldn’t understand why he was making this so difficult and thought desperately of what to say next. She never had a problem talking to new people; she did it all the time with her guests. She had been thinking along the lines of a cosy get-to-know-you chat, possibly over a cup of tea, while she imparted her local knowledge and offered to help with anything. Well she could at least still do that.

      ‘So, um, is there anything I can help you with?’

      ‘Unless you’re a heating engineer I doubt it,’ he replied, not even bothering to hide his irritability. Now that she thought about it, there had been no surge of warmth when he had opened the door. In fact she could sense a definite chill coming from the house.

      ‘You don’t have heating?’ No wonder he was scowling. These were big houses to heat and to arrive after a long journey to find no heating would test anyone.

      ‘Have you checked the pressure gauge?’

      His brows shot up. ‘Sorry?’

      ‘Well no, I’m not a heating engineer but I’d guess the water pressure to the boiler might have dropped because it hasn’t been used for a while. You need to refill your system by opening the bypass valve.’

      Not waiting for an invitation, she walked in past him just happy she was able to help. A wall of cold air hit Eva as she entered the house and she shivered. She recalled all the times she had been here to see the MacKenzies, the house always so warm and inviting. But it was more than the cold. There was something missing but Eva couldn’t put her finger on it. A few boxes here and there but otherwise it all seemed too orderly, not enough chaos for someone who had just moved in.

      She could see he had got as far as opening the door to the small hall cupboard where the boiler was located. Using her phone torch Eva squeezed into the cupboard and knelt down. Below the boiler she found the bypass valve and opened it for a few seconds before hearing the satisfying sound of the boiler ignite.

      ‘That’s it. You should start to feel a difference soon.’ Straightening up she found herself face to face with him. Or face to chest actually – he really was tall. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his nearness making her conscious she hadn’t given her appearance a moment’s thought before she came round. She raised her gaze to meet his and thought she detected the tiniest flicker of amusement in his eyes.

      ‘So is fixing boilers a hobby of yours?’ he asked.

      ‘I run a guest house next door. I’ve had to learn to deal with leaky taps, blocked sinks –’

      ‘Guest house?’ The frown made another appearance. As a businesswoman, Eva knew it was vital to be on good terms with her neighbours and was keen to reassure him.

      ‘Please don’t be alarmed. I only open May to September. All my guests are highly respectable, usually out all day, and tucked up nice and early so you’ll hardly know they’re here. They won’t disturb you.’

      Appearing reassured with this information he gave a small, forced smile. ‘Well, thank you. It was beginning to feel pretty miserable in here.’

      ‘These properties don’t take care of themselves. I can give you the name of a local heating engineer if you like – probably best to give the system an overhaul.’

      ‘Um, sure,’ he muttered.

      ‘So what brings you to St Andrews?’ Eva asked following him back through the hall towards the front door.

      ‘I’m starting work at the university.’

      Eva nodded, not surprised. Lots of people coming to St Andrews had some connection to the university. In the summer much of her business came from families attending graduations and Eva was happy to play a small part in these special occasions

      ‘It’s a good university and has a great reputation. My friend’s son has just started studying engineering there,’ she spoke chattily. ‘So, um, what will you be doing there?’

      He ran a hand over his shadowed jaw, hesitated for a moment as if reluctant to divulge any information. ‘Teaching physics,’ he replied simply.

      Eva had no idea what the average physicist looked like these days but was surprised. Certainly there was a serious, almost brooding quality about him but for some reason teaching physics seemed at odds with his appearance. But perhaps it explained his reticence. Maybe he was one of those genius types who found it difficult to communicate with people unless they had some super high IQ.

      Eva closed her mouth, which she realized was hanging open, and gave herself a shake. ‘Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy living in St Andrews. It’s a friendly community and being at the university you’ll soon meet lots of people.’ Although Eva got the impression Ben Matthews wasn’t going to be actively seeking new friends.

      Meeting visitors from all over the world, Eva reckoned she had become a pretty good judge of character. Some wanted to chat; others preferred keeping to themselves.