Page 98 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Oh.’

He drew her back into a hug and she leant against him. He was so good. So reliable. She willed herself to find the strength to tell him what was going on.

He stepped back to look down at her. ‘You can always trust me,’ he told her.

She nodded. ‘I know.’

‘I love you.’

She stared up at him in wonder. It had been the words she had been longing to hear for so very long. And she felt bolted to the floor in stiff agony. She couldn’t think about any of it, about love, about any kind of future with Alex. Not until she had dealt with the issue of Sean.

Suddenly aware of the long silence, she realised that she had to say something.

‘Thank you,’ she finally blurted out.

It was all she could think of to say and he raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. ‘OK,’ he said slowly.

At that moment, the door opened and they both stepped backwards.

She looked at Alex in despair. She could feel him beginning to pull away from her emotionally. After all, he had his own heart to protect.

Wanting to talk to him more, she glanced over to see who had come into the café and whether she could turn them away.

To her shock, Sean was standing in the doorway.

‘Hey, babe, I thought you would be in here,’ he said, in a pleasant tone.

His eyes flickered over Alex as he stepped away from Hannah, looking at her with hurt in his eyes.

Hannah stared in amazement at Sean. It had been ten years since she had last seen him but her stomach suddenly knotted in tension just like it had done whenever she was around him all that time ago.

She didn’t know what to do, but in the end, she blurted out, ‘Sean, this is my, er, friend, Alex.’

‘Hi,’ said Sean, all smiles and charm as he came over to shake Alex’s hand.

Alex scowled down at him and took Sean’s hand in his, giving it such a firm grip that she saw Sean wince.

‘Well, this is quite a place,’ said Sean. ‘Are you going to give me the tour as I’ve heard so much about it?’

Despite registering how easy it was for him to lie, Hannah still couldn’t quite believe that Sean was here after all these years. She drew a deep breath, making a swift decision. She didn’t want Sean to know about Alex. She didn’t want him anywhere near Alex. He was too good for Sean. It was too precious a relationship for Sean to ruin with his toxicity.

Above all, she wanted to protect Alex, so she said, ‘I’ll see you later. OK?’ to him, in a dismissive tone. Then she turned to Sean and added, ‘Come and see the view outside.’

But as she walked out of the boathouse, she couldn’t stop herself from checking on Alex over her shoulder. His face registered the shock that she was walking away from him. His eyes were full of hurt and she almost ran to him to reassure him that it would all be OK. That she still cared deeply for him.

But she had to deal with Sean first. She just hoped she didn’t lose Alex in the meantime.

53

Alex stood on his own in the Boathouse Café and felt as if he was in shock. He couldn’t believe it. Had Hannah been cheating on him all this time with Sean? Did he mean nothing to her? Perhaps not. Perhaps she had never felt the same way as he did.

But her kisses had been real, hadn’t they? He was so confused and hurt. And if she didn’t love him after all, then that was it. He would have to leave. He loved both her and Maple Tree Lodge but they were so entwined and it was her home that he had to be the one to go.

Not that anywhere would feel like home again. No woman would ever make him feel the way she did.

He was so deep in both thought and misery that he didn’t hear Ben and Jake come into the café until they were almost upon him.

Anxious to leave, he went to side-step his friends. He didn’t even want to talk to them at that moment. But Ben stood in his way and didn’t budge.