I take a big breath. ‘Noah and I are back together.’
Dad looks like he’s been frozen in time. His sea-grey eyes have darkened, and his mouth is open.
‘Say something, Dad,’ I croak.
The atmosphere has changed. His eyes narrow and anger flashes across his face. ‘You know how I feel about Noah Coombes. He will not be welcome inside this house.’
‘Dad, I never stopped loving Noah.’
He shakes his head with disapproval, and my anger rises. ‘You’ve never given Noah a chance, Dad.’
Dad slams his hand on the table making me flinch. ‘I don’t want anything to do with Noah Coombes or his family.’ The air between us has become thick and charged.
‘Will you tell me why you and Dave Coombes fell out all those years ago?’
Dad rises from the table and pours his tea away. ‘I don’t want to dredge all that up again.’
‘Well, I want to know.’
‘Alice, please leave,’ says Dad. ‘I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You’ve upset me enough by telling me you are getting together with that man.’ He turns to face the window with his back to me.
I get up from the table as all the things that Pete told me flood my mind. ‘When were you going to tell me about you and Pete colluding and throwing away my letters to Noah?’
Dad turns around with a look of shock. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Pete told me. He said you’d congratulated him when he admitted to you what he’d done with the first couple of letters.’
‘Alice, I was worried about you.’
Tears are filling up my eyes. ‘Dad, I was mortified that Noah never replied. That decision you and Pete made has impacted my life.’ My voice crackles with emotion. ‘Do you know how upsetting it is to hear your father was happy that your so-called friend was chucking away your letters to the love of your life.’
Dad is staring at the floor. ‘I was protecting you, Alice.’
‘From whom? You never took the time to get to know Noah. I can’t remember when you and he were in the same room together.’
He looks up and stares at me. ‘I knew his family, Alice. That was enough.’
I baulk at his comment. ‘Dad, you fell out with Noah’s father, not his family.’
‘I had good reason to protect you from the Coombes family.’
A tear rolls down my cheek. I wipe it away. ‘Tell me the reason.’
He shakes his head. ‘Alice, please leave.’
I’m tear-stained and snotty when I fall into Noah’s arms as we meet outside the ice-cream parlour. He helps me find my keys and we go upstairs to the flat. On the sofa he holds me close as I tell him everything that was said between Dad and me.
Noah wipes my tears away with his thumbs. Once I have finished, he whispers, ‘It will all work out, Alice, I promise.’ He kisses my forehead. ‘I know your dad is holding on to a lot of stuff from the past but he won’t want to lose you.’
‘Do you think so?’
Noah nods. ‘We are going to get through this together. Maybe we should give your dad some space and put all our efforts into getting the café ready for the judge’s visit.’
‘Maybe,’ I murmur, as I turn to face him. His mouth finds mine. His kiss is long and lingering. Lifting me into his arms he carries me to my bedroom. Laying me down gently on the bed he smiles. ‘Do you want me to go sleep on the sofa?’
I pull him down and his warm soft lips find mine. ‘You have that wild look on your face again,’ he murmurs.
‘I’ve waited twenty years for this.’
