Wish You Were Here – Part 4. Cressida McLaughlin

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СКАЧАТЬ me. I don’t remember what he said; I don’t remember anything much after that, about that night, except arriving back at our flat and being unable to process that she wouldn’t be coming through the door, that if I waited for her, I’d be waiting for ever.’

      Robin dropped her head, pushing at her cheeks, angry with herself for crying.

      ‘I’m so sorry,’ Will said again. He pulled her gently towards him and Robin didn’t resist, letting the warmth of his body rush through her. She inhaled, licked her lips before telling the final part. She was nearly there.

      ‘They said that she’d been looking at her phone, that she’d stepped off the pavement, distracted, and that the woman behind the wheel didn’t have time to slow down. Neve was always so excitable and energetic, always doing so many things at once. This time, though …’ She shook her head, leaned in to Will and stared at the sea, trying to close off the memories again. ‘I told you that Neve helped me with the guesthouse, because she inspired so much of it. Starcross – the astrology – and Andalusia is based on what she had told me about her home country, though I never had the chance to go with her.’

      ‘It’s not just a boutique hotel, then,’ Will murmured. ‘It always seemed like it had more heart than that; the attention to detail, the warmth and kindness you put into running it. It’s an extension of Neve, of what you did together. I can see that.’

      Robin swallowed down a resurgence of tears. ‘You can?’

      ‘Now I know the story,’ Will said quietly. ‘I shouldn’t have asked you to go through it again. But after what Tim told me this morning …’ His hand drifted up, gently stroking her hair, tugging at the strands, twisting them round his fingers. He didn’t realise he was doing it, she thought, or understand the effect it was having on her. Fireworks were going off inside her, her breaths shortening. She wanted to stop talking about Tim, about her heartbreak at losing Neve. She didn’t want to do anything now but kiss him.

      ‘I’m not irrational, whatever he thinks,’ Robin said firmly, finding a reserve of strength, pulling herself back from the distraction. ‘I’ve been grieving, that much is true. It’s been a year and a half. I tried to carry on with Once in a Blue Moon Days afterwards, but I couldn’t do it by myself.’

      ‘It doesn’t sound like a one-person operation, even before you take Neve’s death into account.’

      ‘Part of me felt that I was running away, coming back here with my tail between my legs. But the guesthouse has been a fresh start. A chance to prove to myself that I can do this, still have ideas, still live. Neve will always be a part of who I am, but I had to do it for me, too.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But I’d forgotten so much about Campion Bay; it is very different from when I’d left it as a teenager. I hadn’t realised how strong the community is now. I’m sorry, Will – for not telling you about Tim’s plans, for getting so confused about things.’

      She looked up at him, and he dropped his hand, giving her hair a final, brief tug. He wasn’t smiling, but his gaze found hers and didn’t let go. ‘You’ve explained it all,’ he said softly. ‘I was shocked – hurt at first – but I know it was a misunderstanding.’

      Robin nodded slowly, relief mingling with confusion. ‘Then why …?’

      ‘Why have I kept a distance between us?’ Will sighed. ‘Because I wasn’t sure of your feelings. I thought I was, that Sunday, on the golf course. But then after reading Molly’s text, all I could think about was that you hadn’t told me about Tim, about what he wanted to do with Tabitha’s house. Then there were the flowers, his frequent visits to your guesthouse; it was obvious how he felt about you. And I didn’t know if you still cared about him. I felt like I was stepping into a complicated situation, and with everything that’s going on – moving down here, sorting through my aunt’s things, finding out the truth about her and my dad – it seemed safer, easier to stay away.’ His lips flickered in a half-smile. ‘Though it hasn’t turned out to be easier.’

      ‘It hasn’t?’ she asked.

      He shook his head, his smile growing, his fingers reaching up to brush her cheek, and then Darcy yelped, bounding out of the waves towards them, soaked and happy. She ran straight to Robin, putting damp paws on her knees and shaking herself, so that Robin squealed and Will shot off the rock, away from them.

      ‘Darcy,’ Robin laughed, trying to shield herself from the impromptu shower, even though it was too late. ‘Is that because you were mad with me too?’

      ‘It’s because she’s missed you,’ Will said. ‘And for that, I’m very glad. If she hadn’t been eager to see you, I might have got the full force of her greeting.’ He sat back down warily, keeping his eyes on Darcy, who seemed content to settle at their feet and dry in the sunshine.

      ‘I’ve missed you too,’ Robin murmured. She glanced at Will, at his golden-flecked hair, his long neck, his tanned arms. ‘I’m sorry for not telling you about Tim,’ she said. ‘But I only did that so you wouldn’t jump at the possibility of a quick sale when going through Tabitha’s things seemed like such a challenge. I wanted to get to know you before you disappeared again. It was selfish. I don’t want Tim developing Tabitha’s house into flats – I don’t think he’d even be allowed to, if that Jane Austen plaque was real – but not telling you to begin with was so I’d have more time with you before that became a possibility. Though, when you arrived, I wondered whether Tim or his boss, Malcolm, had prompted your visit to Campion Bay in the first place.’

      ‘No, I came because I’d broken up with Annie and needed to get away from Kent for a while. And the thought of Aunt Tabitha’s house, sitting here untouched and empty, had been niggling away at me. It was sheer coincidence that I turned up when Tim started to get interested.’

      ‘That makes sense,’ Robin murmured. ‘But you need to know that Tim and I – we’re so far in the past, now. And even if there were flickers of attraction between us when I saw him again, they’ve been obliterated by – by you. From the moment you stepped into Starcross, I didn’t want you to go. We’ve only known each other a short time, but already, you’ve changed my life, Will.’ There. She’d said it. She chewed her lip, forcing herself to stay quiet while he absorbed the words.

      He didn’t reply immediately, and she could see the tension in his broad shoulders. He was frowning, his eyes scanning her face. She wanted to reach up and touch his lips with her finger; wished he’d put his hand back in her hair.

      ‘Robin …’ he started.

      ‘You don’t have to say anything,’ she rushed, suddenly afraid of what was coming, of him rejecting her, finally and completely.

      He winced, pressing his lips together before he spoke. ‘Tim’s made an offer on the house.’

      Robin felt an unpleasant tingling in her toes, and the butterflies in her tummy started flapping frantically. ‘OK,’ she said slowly. ‘He’s given you a concrete figure?’

      Will nodded. ‘And it’s … ridiculous, the amount he’s willing to pay.’

      ‘So you’re going to take it?’ It came out as a whisper.

      Will closed his eyes, ran his hands over Darcy’s ears. ‘No. I mean, not yet. I haven’t finished sorting out Tabitha’s things, and I’ve told Tim that I won’t even consider it until that’s done. I’m not accepting his offer of help, either. It’s something I need to do alone, for my aunt’s sake. But he took me to his office and showed me the СКАЧАТЬ