Page 66 of Happiness Under a Summer Skye

He removed his jacket and placed it on the back of one of the chairs. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘I think so. But… Something fell out of your wallet tonight at the church, when Ferris passed it to me.’

He rolled his eyes and rubbed his hands roughly over his face. ‘Oh God, was it the receipt for the campervan? Because I can⁠—’

She shook her head. ‘No, not that. But why would that be an issue?’

He cringed. ‘Because it’s a stupid amount of money to spend on something I won’t be owning at the end of it. And I know you, you’ll want to give me something towards it but the answer’s absolutely no, Angel. And in my defence, it’s been worth every single penny, even if I haven’t slept in it every night. It’s been worth it because…’ He shook his head. ‘It’s just been worth it.’

‘Can I ask you something, and will you promise to tell me the truth?’

He gave a nervous laugh. ‘Erm… I suppose that depends…’

‘Why are you in no rush to go back to the orchestra?’

He pulled out a chair and sat down, his expression filled with regret. ‘I don’t want to tell you because A, you’ll think I’m insane, and B, you’ll be angry with me.’

‘Try me.’

He stared into the mug of coffee in front of him and fell silent for a while. ‘I… erm… I quit.’

Angelia wasn’t expecting that. ‘What? Why? What happened? Was it because of your split from Ava?’

He lifted his chin and fixed a sorrow-filled gaze on her. ‘No. Nothing like that. She and I weren’t long-term. Well, not as far as I was concerned anyway. But no… she wasn’t the reason.’

‘Then what was?’

He closed his eyes and inhaled a long, deep breath before opening them again. ‘Because I was worried about you.’

Angelia shook her head, filled with incredulity. ‘Why would you do that?’

‘Because you’re my best friend in the world, Angelia. And you were going through something huge. And I was racked with guilt that I’d been such a shitty friend over the last few years. I needed to be here for you with no distractions and nothing to force me to leave. To make sure you had someone if you needed it. Fiona has her life in Edinburgh and her and Marcus are solid. I knew she couldn’t be here even though she wanted to. Not long-term anyway. So, I quit.’ He shrugged as if it was the most common-sense thing he’d ever said and done.

She sighed and lowered her head. ‘You didn’t need to do that, Ed. I’m not ill and I don’t need⁠—’

‘Wrapping in bubble wrap, yes, I know that. I’ve always known how strong you are, Angelia, that’s never been the issue. This was about me. I… I needed to be where you are. That’s all.’

‘You know that night after I had performed my first-ever gig with the band, and you said you had something to tell me? What was it?’

He sighed and stood, walked over to the countertop and leaned on it but wouldn’t make eye contact. ‘I can’t remember, that was years ago.’

She stood and walked over to him. ‘Come on, think. It was definitely something important.’

He turned to look at her now, his eyes glassy. He chewed the inside of his cheek. ‘There’s no point,’ he whispered.

‘Shall I tell you what fell out of your wallet tonight?’

He frowned. ‘Okay.’

‘It was a heart-shaped photograph… of me.’

He shrugged. ‘Okay, and? You already knew about that. I meant to get rid of it after we talked on our trip but… Sorry, I’ll throw it away now.’

He moved to get past her, but she put her hand on his chest. ‘What did you think I meant on that night we talked?’

He fixed his green gaze on her now, anger evident in his narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. ‘Why are you doing this to me? I didn’t think you were cruel, Angelia, but this is pretty cruel.’ He scoffed. ‘Do you want me to spell it all out for you? Huh? Is that what you want?’

She nodded. ‘Please, yes.’