Pippa nodded. “Yeah. And don’t get me wrong, it was a much-appreciated gesture, but not enough for me to change my mind.”
Wolfie swallowed. “Right. I see. So, tell me, when you were ‘setting Alex straight’ did you see fit to tell him about me? About us?”
Pippa gulped. “No.” Her heart lurched with horror as Wolfie shook his head and reached for the door handle. “I tried to, I was literally about to, really I was but then he—”
“I’m sorry.” Wolfie opened the door, his voice cracking. “But I can’t do this.” And with that, he left.
ChapterTwenty-Two
The day of the fair was as perfect a day as Pippa could have hoped for: an azure sky with just a few clouds and the freshest, sweetest breeze flowing in off the moors. Mae, always the early bird, sent a 5am selfie of herself on her yoga mat in her garden, face bright with excitement. Yet Pippa couldn’t share her friend’s jubilation. She’d lain awake most of the night, despite working herself into the ground after Wolfie’s departure to finish the set-up. She had hoped the labour would exhaust the agony that made her body physically hurt. Yet even after all the exertion, sleep had eluded her and she spent the night staring at the ceiling, replaying Wolfie’s anguished words over and over in her mind. She raged at Alex for taking such liberty and cursed bad luck that he chose to do it just as Wolfie pulled up in his car. But most of all, she was angry at herself. Angry for not seeing how vulnerable Wolfie truly was and what a gift he was giving her when he’d entrusted her with his heart. Angry she’d not been able to reassure him that Alex now knew with total certainty that she was never taking him back.
At some point in the early hours, Pippa had abandoned all pretence of sleeping and dragged herself downstairs, filling herself up with as much coffee as was humanly possible. As soon as her eyes felt capable of reading, she pored over the fair plans, checking the timings and logistics one last time until she was confident there were no gaps. Around 6am Mae texted a confirmation that all the roads in Hurst Bridge would be closed for the afternoon, with traffic routed in a loop around the town. Local police would be on hand to guide any emergency or essential traffic through closed roads and Pippa texted Erin to make sure she’d checked all the race monitors were aware of this. She then heaved herself into the shower, blasting herself with icy water to try and lift the fog.
Unfortunately, the combination of coffee and cold water didn’t work the necessary miracles. Pippa stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was drawn, her eyes sunken. “I look like shit,” she hissed at herself. Which, considering she had a high profile as one of the fair organisers, was not great. She dug out her cosmetics bag and rifled through it, wishing she was the type of person who cared about quality makeup and knew what to do with it. She did the best she could to cover the eye bags and add some colour to her cheeks, but there was no makeup in the world able to disguise the misery in her eyes or the heartbroken downturn to her mouth. In an attempt to cheer herself up, she put on her favourite dress Wolfie had admired. It didn’t work. As she checked her reflection, it was all she could do not to tear the outfit off and crawl back into bed. However, the constant flurry of texts from Mae and Erin reminded her of her duties, and so Pippa tossed her hair back and stood straight. They needed her. The town needed her. She just had to get through today and then she could mope to a professional standard for as long as she wanted.
Pippa drove herself down to the green, where Mae and Erin were mingling with the vendors setting up their stalls and trucks. Erin was deep in conversation with the very handsome owner of the Vietnamese salad truck, so Pippa went over to Mae, whose eyes bugged at the sight of her.
“Wow!” Mae hugged Pippa tight. “You look incredible. Should I change?” She looked as effortlessly chic as ever in a patterned tea dress and a headscarf. Pippa felt reasonably sure she’d look like a dowdy housewife from the 1950s if she wore such a thing, but Mae’s cropped hair and tattoos just made it look damn cool.
“Shut up, you look amazing,” Pippa mumbled.
“Did you hear from Frankie yet?” Mae pulled back from Pippa with a grin. “He and Theo will be swinging by later.” She cast a glance behind Pippa. “Lover Boy not coming?” It was all Pippa could do not to burst into tears and Mae’s delight descended into horror. “What?”
“Wolfie’s gone,” Pippa said. “He saw Alex making a pass at me and assumed we were back together. He freaked out and took off.”
“You are kidding me!” Mae guided Pippa over to a hay bale and made her sit. “Did you explain?”
“I tried.” Pippa wrung her hands. “He just wouldn’t hear it.” Pippa considered quoting Wolfie’s exact words, but she knew getting them out would be impossible. “And now, because of Alex’s hideous timing, he’s scared. He’s gone.”
“You told him, though, right?” Mae demanded. “You told Wolfie that Alex was ancient history?”
“Repeatedly.” Pippa nodded. “It wasn’t enough to make him believe me. He struggles to trust anyone and what Alex did shattered whatever faith he had in me. In us.” She stopped short of divulging anything about Wolfie’s past and the reasons behind his trust issues. It felt disrespectful.
“You really like him.” Mae tucked an errant curl of hair behind Pippa’s ear. It wasn’t a question.
“I do.” Pippa’s entire being ached. She lifted her eyes to Mae’s. “I think … I mean, Iknow… Mae, I’m in love with him.”
“Oh, babe.” Mae stroked her arm.
“But he went to Cumbria overnight to see his niece. Won’t answer my calls or my texts.” Pippa buried her head in her hands. “I wish I knew how to make him hear me!”
Mae sighed. “Is he coming back?”
Pippa lifted her anguished head. “He said he might come back today around three to ensure the documents for the house sale get picked up.”
Mae stood, her face deadly serious. “Then you must be at Squires when he gets there. Make him see sense.”
Pippa gestured around them. “How can I with all this going on?”
Mae waved a hand. “Bah. We’ve organised the shit out of this fair. You and Wolfie are more important. Erin and I can take care of everything.”
“But what if he doesn’t show up?” Pippa felt sick as it occurred to her she might never see Wolfie again. “What if he actually sends Grantham?”
“Or, what if Wolfiedoesshow up?” Mae said. “You have to take that chance.”
A lump lodged itself firmly in Pippa’s throat. “I’m not sure he’ll listen.”
Mae snorted. “I’ve been in the same room as the pair of you. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. The man is obviously crazy about you and has been for some time. I’d put money on himwantingto listen, except he’s scared to try. You’re the master negotiator, Pip.Makehim try.” She leaned down and stared Pippa squarely in the eye. “Don’t let that man leave your life without understanding what he’s throwing away.” The unspoken comparison to Alex stirred something in Pippa’s gut. Grantham’s warning about persistence swam through her mind and she knew Mae was right.
