Page 92 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

She fixed on a sunny smile. ‘You know, I think it’s great that you’re staying here. You have a home now, with your family. It’s great.’ She winced at the repetition. ‘Maybe I do need that coffee after all if I’m going to keep repeating myself. I’ll get a large one to go from the Boathouse Café. Hannah’s trialling some new Colombian beans and they taste amazing.’

She couldn’t stop talking, anxious to fill his shocked silence as he stared at her.

‘You can’t leave,’ he said, walking across the room and taking the gloves out of her hand and flinging them over her handbag.

‘Of course I can,’ she told him, giving him a winning smile. ‘The job is done. The meteor shower happened. Everybody’s happy.’

‘Not me.’

Okay, thought Beth. Time to be the bigger person. Time to fake it one last time.

‘You know that this thing between us had to come to an end at some point. It was just a bit of fun. You know that, right?’ she said.

‘I don’t know anything other than nothing has ever felt more right than being here with you,’ he told her.

She gulped at his words but forced herself to carry on. ‘We’ve had a great time, haven’t we?’ she asked him.

He nodded, although his eyes were still boring into hers.

‘Listen, I want to say thank you,’ she carried on. ‘Truly, from the bottom of my heart. I know I threw a bit of curveball at you with this fake dating thing and yes, it’s been nice that we’ve become friends too. But you’ve taught me so many valuable lessons about love and dating. Everything I used to be so bad at! It means that the next time I fall in love, I’ll protect my heart just a little bit more.’

He looked aghast. ‘The next time?’ he stammered, before looking at her more closely. ‘What’s wrong? Something’s going on with you.’

‘Nothing,’ she said quickly.

‘Tell me,’ he said softly. ‘You can tell me anything.’

Finally her fake smile dropped and she shook her head, unable to keep up the pretence for much longer. ‘Not everything.’

He took her face in his hands and forced her to look up at him. ‘What is it? Why are you leaving?’

She pressed her lips together but lying didn’t come naturally to her. She gave a little sob and the words bubbled up inside of her. ‘Because I love you!’ She shook her head out of his touch and walked away, wrapping her arms around herself. ‘I’m such a dummy. All these years I think I was just in love with the idea of love. All those failed relationships and dating disasters. They weren’t right for me. I think I was pretending, hoping to feel love. Then you came along and I wasn’t trying to fall in love and it happened anyway.’ She groaned to herself. ‘I need a total body change. Maybe even a lobotomy.’ Finally she looked at him. ‘It’s okay. I understand,’ she told him. ‘You see there’s only one reason for me to stay and you don’t want that, do you?’

He was silently staring back at her and she knew that she finally had the answer she had been expecting from him.

She went over to the coffee table and picked up her handbag. ‘If you find anything of mine around here, just keep it. I’ll be back in, ooh, three months, maybe not until summer. Anyway, take care. I’ll see you around.’

She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t bear to look into his eyes so she turned away and headed over to the front door.

‘Beth, wait.’

Finally he had spoken but she knew she didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Those words of pity about how he couldn’t feel the same way. All the things she already knew.

So instead she flung open the front door and was just about to step outside when he spoke.

‘What if I change the rules of our fake dating?’she heard him say.

She turned around. ‘Isn’t it a bit late for that?’ she asked with a forced laugh. ‘The horrible ex has gone. Good riddance, I say. So what’s left for us?’

It was tearing her apart to be so close to him and yet not be in his arms kissing him.

‘Us?’ There was a softness in his gaze as he walked towards her. ‘There’s everything left for us.’ He stopped in front of her.

She shook her head. ‘You don’t have to say any more. I know how painful this is for you.’

‘But it’s because of you that I can talk about it,’ he told her. ‘And I want you to understand how much I’ve changed. Because of you.’

‘Me? I’m just stupid enough to believe in happy ever afters and all the sunny, sunshine stuff. It’s ridiculous.’ She sighed. ‘You were right and I was totally wrong.’