In the kitchen, Rhianne was part way through slicing up a trayful of chocolate brownies. They smelled sinfully delicious, and the fudgy edge of each one oozed temptingly as they were loaded onto the tiered cake stand they’d occupy until lucky patrons purchased them.
‘Hey you,’ Rhianne said. ‘Volunteering for an extra shift? I’ve got some biscuits that need icing over there.’
‘No chance,’ Rosie said, managing to crack a smile. ‘I just wanted to say thanks for last night.’
‘For calling Al, you mean? Least I could do. And once I told him what was happening there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he wouldn’t come for you.’
Pleasure fluttered through Rosie’s chest, and she felt a lump rise in her throat. ‘Really?’
Rhianne looked up from the brownies. She raised a single, sceptical, perfectly pencilled eyebrow. ‘Obviously. God knows he hasn’t used his words to say this, but he’s mad about you – and if I’m not mistaken, you’re more than a bit fond, too. Surely the pair of you managedsomekind of tryst after last night’s romantic rescue?’
Rosie simply stared as Rhianne placed a final brownie at the top of her display. ‘Er – well …’
‘Good,’ Rhianne said, clearly taking Rosie’s vocal stumbling as confirmation. ‘It’s about time. All I ask is that you’re careful with him. I know he’s a grown man, but he’s crazy sensitive below the surface.’
‘I know,’ Rosie said, affection warming her tone. ‘That’s one of the reasons why I … like him.’
Rhianne laughed. ‘Well, rest assured helikesyou too. It’s a long time since I’ve seen him like this – I’m not sure I ever have, truth be told. When he first came to London he was all, I’ll check this building out, get it on the market and be on my way. Then it was, I’ll renovate it before I put it up for sale – spend some time here. Andthen—’
‘I’m sorry, what?’
Rosie felt like she’d been doused with iced water, or hit from behind with a blunt object. The fuzzy glow she’d felt at Rhianne’s earlier words evaporated. She was suddenly chilled to the bone.
Rhianne’s face turned ashen. ‘Oh, god. What have I said?’
‘Nothing. At least, nothing that he couldn’t have said himself,’ Rosie replied, her cold, calm tone belying the frantic hammering of her heart. ‘I have to go. I’ll see you later.’
Without looking back, she marched out of the kitchen and then through the deli’s front door into the frigid December air.
‘Rosie! Your coffee? It’s here for you!’ Becky called. But Rosie didn’t hear her.
Chapter 25
By the time Rosie got back to the flat, she was brimful with emotion. She felt naive.Foolish. Angry and confused.
She couldn’t bring herself to believe Aled had set out to deceive her, nor that whatever was unfolding between them wasn’t real. Yet the fact remained, he hadn’t been honest with her.
Fully aware of how badly James had betrayed her trust, Aled had let her believe that their living together would keep her in her home – that it would save the haven she’d built while everything else around her crashed and burned. Now it seemed his occupancy of the spare room had only ever offered a stay of execution: a temporary reprieve for this comforting corner of the city she’d carved out for herself.
She found him in the sitting room, ready for an onslaught of accusations. Rosie surmised that Rhianne must have messaged him some sort ofmea culpa– an apology for letting the cat out of the bag.
This merely incensed her further. She loved this place: she’d poured herself into it, brought it alive with more than colourful paint and thrifted furniture. Why should she be the last to know she was likely to lose it?
‘Is it true?’ she asked, immediately annoyed that her voice was tremulous and scratchy. She wanted to be strong and intimidating, but she was coming off as grief-stricken.
‘Not exactly,’ Aled said, shaking his head. ‘Rosie, I—’
‘Not exactly?’ she repeated scathingly. ‘I know we live in an era of alternative facts, but I’m old-fashioned about these things. Something’s either true or it’s not.’
‘It’s true that I intended to sell this place when I first came here,’ he said, sounding utterly miserable. ‘I was going to stay for a few days, meet with some estate agents and then be on my way. It’s also true that I started prevaricating pretty quickly – partly because the top flat was in such a state. I thought it’d help to fix it up before putting it on the market.’
‘And you didn’t think it might be fair to tell me what you were planning before moving into my spare room? Before befriending me? Before letting me—’
Her voice cracked, and she stamped her foot in frustration. Niamh had been right: she was fully gone for this man. With scant information, she’d opened her heart to him as well as her home, and now she was reaping the bitter reward.
‘I told myself Iwouldn’tbefriend you,’ Aled said. ‘That nothing would happen between us – but you made it impossible not to—’
‘So this ismyfault?’
