Page 40 of Mirrors of the Past

Chapter Fifteen

Present

The conversation Tegan and Ryan had just had about the after-work drinks on that awful day had made Tegan a little uncomfortable.

Of course she remembered the night in the bar — that horrible drunk man trying it on with her was just the icing on a very shitty day.

And of course she had seen Ryan in the bar. How could anyone have missed him, all dressed in black, hunched up glowering at the world like a very grumpy storm cloud? She knew that he was coming over to her, and to be honest he looked totally scary.

She was actually a little terrified that she would run over to him and try to hide behind him, and then he’d think she wasn’t as confident or as feisty as she liked people to think. When her friends had walked in, that had proved the perfect excuse to exit the scene stage right and get out of there.

And of course she’d been too embarrassed to say anything to him the next day. Or the next. Or the day after that. And then it didn’t seem appropriate to say anything at all, because he left and it seemed like a good time to draw a line under it all and forget it had ever happened.

She was pleased she’d left the gallery though — despite the boss being annoying, she knew it was time to move on. She loved new experiences and had learned to channel that philosophy into work and had loved most of her jobs, to be fair.

And then, during one of these great experiences, she had met Angelo. There was no doubt she’d been attracted to him when she’d first met him, as he had been to her. And suddenly, she was happy and felt content. Sicily was amazing, Angelo was amazing and it was good.

Well, she almost felt content, at any rate…

There was, though, just something missing in her amazing life, and she couldn’t put her finger in it.

Before she could second-guess herself, she picked up her phone and texted him again.

Hey, just thinking — why don’t you come over for a visit? I miss you already and would love to see you! How about Christmas? Could you come for Christmas? Xxx

She looked at the phone, half expecting an immediate YES! to come back, but of course it didn’t. People weren’t surgically attached to their phones. Stupid to think otherwise.

Ryan’s voice, however, jolted her right back to that September day in Cornwall. ‘Okay, I’ll be off then,’ he said, standing up and bringing her back to the present. She turned the phone over quickly, hiding the screen, hoping that Ryan hadn’t seen the message. It wouldn’t do to be texting her boyfriend in the middle of a business meeting.

Even though he’d caught her at it earlier, she acknowledged . . . but it was senseless to give him even more ammunition, wasn’t it?

But she feared it was too late, as he was definitely looking at the pink phone and his voice was suddenly businesslike and professional. ‘Sybill will be wanting to head back down to Wheal Mount soon and I think we’ve got enough here between us to keep us going.’

‘I agree.’ Embarrassed, she stood up as well. It made her feel she was more on an even footing with him. Then she sat down again. He would be heading back to the house and she didn’t really want to walk with him. She’d got as close to Ryan as she wanted to, today. ‘I guess this is where we say we’ll be in touch with each other and we email or something when we have more information.’

‘I guess.’ Ryan hitched his bag more securely over his shoulder. ‘Do you need copies of any of these documents?’

‘I think we’ll need them for the exhibitions, yes. Do you think we convinced them about the Halloween thing?’

Ryan almost smiled. ‘Not sure. There’s a link somewhere to the events. I just can’t put my finger on it.’

‘Me neither.’

‘I’m going to have a look at that ballroom when I go back to the house,’ Ryan said. ‘See if it’s suitable for frosted wonderlands and suchlike.’

‘Enjoy,’ she said. ‘I’ll . . . be in touch.’

‘Yes. Me too.’ He hovered a moment longer, as if he wanted to say something else.

Then, it was as if that New York voice was impressing upon her the urgency of saying something to him, of saying that thing.

You might as well tell him, the voice said. I guess you ain’t too proud to thank him? Or are you? There was a hint of amusement there and Tegan could swear she was nudged, not so gently, from behind.

She spun around, just in time to see the bottom of a pink dress disappearing behind a rose bush.

Ugh!

But . . . ‘Ryan!’ she suddenly said as he walked off. ‘Just to say . . .’