They stared at each other for a second and Pippa’s pulse raced. They had just had a significant moment, but their time had passed. He had his life, and she was just about to take control of hers.
‘I’m sorry if I made your university life a misery.’
‘You’re forgiven,’ he replied with a smile. ‘Truce?’
Pippa nodded.
‘And just for the record, I wasn’t at all confident at uni. I was just very good at pretending I had it together. Half the time I was afraid someone would notice I had no idea what I was doing or talking about.’
Pippa stared. ‘You seemed so put together.’
‘Only on the outside. Inside I was a ball of nerves and imposter syndrome with a very convincing aftershave, constantly hoping that no one would discover that my grandfather was one of Vale’s apprentices, as I was anxious that if anyone found out I’d be ridiculed because I couldn’t live up to his expertise and knowledge.’
She let out a laugh that was part relief, part disbelief. ‘God, we were a mess.’
‘We still are,’ he said, smiling now. ‘But at least we’re being honest about it.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t show you who I really was back then. I think I was too busy hiding her, even from myself.’
He gave her a warm smile. ‘Thank God for the competition to stay in this place, so at least we got to talk properly.’
‘My best friend Rose would say it was fate, but I know you’ve never believed in all that.’
‘I might be convinced…’ His eyes held hers and she looked away first. If only things had been different… But they weren’t, and there was no use dwelling on things you couldn’t change.
As much as she didn’t want to, she changed the subject back to Sebastian. ‘I still don’t understand Sebastian’s motives today.’
Theo shrugged. ‘Whatever it is, my guess is his outburst was only the beginning. It’s hit the news now and no doubt he’ll give an interview, and at least then we may discover what his game is.’
ChapterEleven
Thank God for the wellington boots Clemmie had insisted she borrow. Water was still running fast down the lanes, with shallow streams spilling over the pavements, and the rain didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.
Pippa walked at Theo’s side, her arm looped through his as they waded carefully down the slick pathway. Every few steps one of them skidded on algae-slick stone or lost their footing in a hidden dip, and the other squealed, which only made them both laugh harder. Rain fell steadily, soaking Theo’s hair flat and dark, and Pippa took a sideways glance, annoyed to find he still looked ridiculously handsome, like he’d stepped straight out of a romcom.
‘You’ve got rain dripping off your eyebrows,’ Pippa said. ‘And why have we come out without an umbrella?’
‘Because the wind is still strong and would have turned an umbrella inside out in no time at all.’
‘And your eyelashes.’
Theo fluttered his eyelashes in an over-exaggerated way.
‘Any girl would die for those lashes,’ she teased, just as her foot slid off the side of the kerb. She shrieked as he caught her around the waist and spun her in a tight circle. She laughed so hard she threw her head back, rain pelting her face, but she didn’t care in the slightest. When he set her down, she was breathless and flushed, her hands curled in the front of his coat though she couldn’t quite remember how they’d got there. Then she noticed the warmth of him. The steadiness. The way it felt so dangerously easy to stand there, soaked and laughing, like this was exactly where she belonged. She dropped her hands and took a step back. This was how things happened. This was how you forgot yourself. But she couldn’t let that happen.
‘We’d only just got dry and now we’re soaked again.’
They resumed walking and Pippa began to feel a twinge of guilt. She was thinking of that FaceTime with Rob and how she would feel if someone had run out on her, only for her to see them with someone else so soon. Before she did anything else, she needed to have that conversation with Rob.
She knew she’d made the right decision, though. Since being here, she’d felt different, lighter than she had in months.
As they reached the bottom of Lighthouse Lane, she pulled her arm from Theo’s. ‘I’m going to catch you up. I need to have that conversation with Rob.’
‘You do,’ agreed Theo. ‘Remember that sometimes things feel hard to do precisely because they are the right things to do. Just tell the truth about how you feel and why.’
Pippa nodded, though her stomach fluttered nervously.
‘You’re right, and thanks,’ she said.
