"Haze!" A girl with an unruly mop of bouncing blonde curls comes storming out the house, an impressively large black dog jumping alongside her like an overgrown puppy. The dog barks once and then makes a beeline for Haze, sniffing his hand before he proceeds to lick it.

The girl is wearing blue jeans and an oversized black t-shirt with a bright yellow sunflower print on it. She throws her arms up in the air as she lets out an excited squeal. She can't be much older than ten or eleven.

"Hey, lioness, what's up?" Haze pulls away his hand from the dog's overeager tongue and opens his arms to receive the girl.

"Finally, you're here!" The girl throws herself at him, embracing him around his middle. "Dad said you'd be here earlier. What took you so long?"

The dog has now discovered me standing behind the car and comes straight at me, tail wagging and tongue hanging from his mouth. Apparently he's glad to have found another prospective pair of hands to lick. I have no idea what breed of dog it is, but he looks massive with a smooth black coat, an almost square head, and ears that stick up like near-perfect pitch-black triangles.

"I brought a guest." Haze inclines his head towards me and then the girl looks past him at me.

I wave awkwardly at the girl while the dog sniffs my other hand. "Hi, I'm Penny."

The girl scans me briefly and then she looks up to Haze again. "Is she your new girlfriend?"

"No, she isn't. We're—we're just friends."

My cheeks heat and I'm glad he doesn't mention our frivolous deal, but I can't really pay attention because the dog is now drooling all over my hand.

"Triad, come here!" the girl calls. "Bad dog! I told you no licking the guests."

"It's all right. I don't mind dogs." I wipe my hand on my hoodie and to prove my point I scratch him under his chin, which he seems to enjoy, because he instantly closes his eyes.

"That's good," Haze says, walking over to me with the girl in tow, "because Triad can be a bit obnoxious when she thinks she's the boss."

"Oh, so it's a she." Triad seems to be satisfied with having greeted us and saunters off to lie in front of the house, directing her attention to a bone the size of my arm. I have to resist the urge to fold my arms around me, making sure they are still attached to my body.

"Yeah, and she's super smart. She can do all sorts of tricks," the girl pipes up. "The only thing you can't do, is to allow her to put her face on any part of your body or you'll get totally super soaked with dog drool." She wrinkles her nose to emphasise her disgust.

"That's right." I can see a smile creeping up on Haze's face even though he's hiding it behind his hand.

"I'm Nemea and my dad's the groundkeeper." The girl steps in front of me and holds out her hand. "And if Triad and Haze like you, then you can be my friend too."

"Nice to meet you, Nemea." I shake her hand that might have both earth and dog drool on it. "I very much would like to be your friend."

Haze hands me my pair of wellies, picks up the bags and starts walking towards the house. "Let's get our stuff inside first. The orchards and greenhouses are behind the house. If you want we can wander around tomorrow. I'll show you your room now, so you can get all settled in and then we'll have some dinner if you're hungry."

"Sounds great." I nod and walk behind him. My stomach grumbles like on cue, reminding me that I've only had breakfast today.

"Oh, and you must visit the cave. It's totally awesome." Nemea hops alongside me, kicking the pebbles with her foot and sending them spraying everywhere. I notice that her own boots are sporting multiple layers of dirt. At least I don't have to be embarrassed about not having cleaned off mine.

"Yeah, Haze told me about it already. Must be a really nice cave with such a beautiful name."

"Oh, it is! But I'm not supposed to spoil the secrets." She grabs my arm and signals with her hand for me to bring my ear closer to her mouth. "It's totally magical, but also reeeeally creepy at the same time."

"Nemea, don't scare Penny with your made-up stories," Haze calls over his shoulder.

She jumps towards Haze and furrows her eyebrows. "They're not made-up. It's the truth."

Inside, the house is as beautiful and charming as on the outside. It's all old wooden floors, whitewashed walls, furniture that is a mix of possible heirlooms and the odd IKEA pillow and shelf thrown in between.

The last sunlight of the day floods the living room through large French windows, which open towards the gardens. In the distance, I can spot the neat rows of trees and several glasshouses. The kitchen is a lot roomier than what I have at home with a massive table in the middle and when Haze shows me my room at the end of the hallway right across his own, I'm definitely sure that I'm going to love this place.

It's cosy. It's lovely. It's full of warm colours.

There are large potted plants placed all around the room and several smaller flowerpots with primroses in front of the window. It even has one of those neat window seats with fluffy cushions to enjoy the view towards a small pond and a weeping willow. A massive bed of oakwood sits in one corner and a matching closet stands against the opposite wall. The rest of the space is taken up by an elegant bureau with a delicate chair as well as a plushy armchair and several irregular wooden shelves packed with books.

"I'm sorry if it's a bit crammed and not as spacious, but it's the only one we keep in regular use as guest-room."

"It's perfect." I'm not even trying to hide my excitement as I drop my purse on the armchair.

Haze parks my bag in the middle of the room and looks at me. "I'm glad you like it. There's also a private bathroom attached to it." He points at a narrow wooden door between two of the shelves.

"Thanks." I nod while soaking in the view.

"I imagine you want to unpack your things and maybe refresh yourself a bit? I'll call you when dinner is ready. How does that sound?"

Nemea peeks from the doorframe into the room. "We're having moussaka tonight, so you better be hungry because it's delicious. My dad cooks the best one there is." She narrows her eyes briefly and then goes on, "You aren't one of those vegan girls, right? You do eat meat and eggs and all that stuff?"

"Nemea." Haze throws the girl a reprimanding glance.

"Yeah, I do eat eggs and meat and all that stuff. The only things I despise are seafood and pineapple on pizza."

"Ok, great!" A smile lights up Nemea's face. She claps her hands and speeds off into the hallway.

"So, what's this thing with no pineapple on pizza?" Haze gives me a wicked grin that turns my knees to jelly.

"Fruits are not supposed to go on pizza." I fold my arms in front of my chest.

He arches an elegant eyebrow and tilts his head sideways. "You know that wars have been started over lesser things, right?"

Before I can say anything else in return, he's slipped from the room like a master of stealth.

I grin and haul my bag onto the bed to begin unpacking it.

Right. We'll see who wins this war.