Page 94 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Right,’ he said, stepping back out of their embrace.

She instantly wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold all of a sudden.

‘I’m not sure I’ll take the position,’ she told him.

And she wasn’t. The conflict of emotions that she felt was overwhelming her, crowding her thoughts and confusing everything.

‘But it’s what you’ve dreamed of, isn’t it?’ he asked her.

He knew her dreams almost as well as she did, she realised.

She could almost hear the relief in her parents’ voices when she told them that she finally had her own interior design business. That she had made something of her career at last and made them proud.

But it would come at a cost, she knew. A heavy cost.

‘Well, you must do what is right for you,’ he told her. But his smile didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Right. I’d better start clearing up the dining room.’

He then spun around on his heel and walked away.

Lily went to call out to him, to try and explain how she was feeling, but what was the use? He knew her dreams and desires. He’d always known them.

She’d given herself and her heart to Maple Tree Lodge these past few months and it was destined for success. That would carry on without her.

Her career had always been there in the background on temporary hold. And now, after all the sacrifices, she might just be about to get her dream job.

So why did she want nothing more than to rush after Ben and throw herself back into his arms?

49

‘Is that everything?’

Lily looked at Hannah’s miserable expression and inwardly sighed, desperately trying not to show her own shaky emotion in return.

It had been three days since her meeting with Maisie. Three days of realising that her ultimate dream was coming true. Three days of packing up her own stuff and facing up to the fact that she was going to leave Maple Tree Lodge.

‘I think so,’ said Lily, handing the last bag to Dodgy Del, who was taking her into London.

She should be excited, she reminded herself. Her career was turning out just as she had always wanted. She would get the partnership she had always dreamed of, based in the capital where the majority of Maisie’s contacts were.

Lily would be staying with Maisie temporarily until she set up her own place. They were going to search for an office to base themselves in. The future was looking bright. So why wasn’t she feeling happy?

It was just nerves, she told herself.

She looked at Hannah and gave her a warm hug. ‘I’m going to come back at the weekends when I can,’ she promised her. ‘Although I’ll be busy for the first couple of weeks setting everything up…’

Hannah nodded, still looking upset.

‘It won’t be like it was before,’ Lily told her. ‘I promise.’

She had her best friends now and they were closer than ever. She wasn’t going to lose all that she had built up with them over the winter.

‘And I will come back to see you,’ she carried on. ‘All of you.’

Her voice broke a little on the last word as she glanced around once more but Ben was nowhere to be seen.

There had been no more kisses since she had told him about her trip to London. No more of the joy of being wrapped in his arms. Just stilted conversation about work and long silences. It had been wretched and she hadn’t slept well for the past three nights.

She couldn’t blame him. He needed to protect himself from hurt, something she knew all about. And yet she missed him so much already that she ached inside.