Page 91 of The Secret Holiday Kiss

‘Five minutes, Avery.’ She kept the pleading tone out of her voice, because she wanted to have a proper conversation about this, not crumble in front of him.

He sighed and took his hat off, glanced at Omari who put his hands up and walked away.

‘You can’t listen to Lars,’ she said, the moment they were alone. ‘I don’t know why he said those things.’

‘Unless they were true. Unless you said them, and now you’re wishing you hadn’t.’

Daisy shook her head. ‘I mean, maybe, when I had just got back to Norfolk. Before I’d spent any time with you, before I got to know Mistingham again. But I was so conflicted.’

‘You said you hated Mistingham?’

She shrugged. ‘I’ve been in London for over twenty years. I’d spent my whole adult life believing this place made me miserable. It took me a while to love it again, but you were a big part of that.’

Avery folded his arms. ‘And what about his café? He’s going to open one here, when we already have the bakery, the hotel?’

‘I don’t want him to open a café here. I told him to focus on Norwich. I didn’t expect him to come here today.’

‘He said that you and he were the same. That you see somewhere, and you want to make it better.’

‘That’s my job,’ Daisy said. ‘It’s yours, too. But I—’

‘Is that what you did with this place?’ He flung an arm behind him, towards the house. ‘Is that what you did with me?’

‘No, Avery. Of course not—’

‘Was this all a game to you, a diversion while you were here?’ She winced, because Harry had used that word to describe their relationship. ‘Cosy Mistingham with its bumbling establishments and backward locals, the house build in need of your expert hand, your international experience. The tradie you could have a bit of fun with before you go back to your real life and all the things that genuinely deserve your attention.’

‘Avery!’ She put her hand on his arm, and was relieved when he didn’t shrug it off. ‘None of that is true. Why do you think it is?’

‘Was your dinner with Lars really just about business? He said you were the same personally, as well as professionally.’

‘Nothing happened,’ Daisy told him. ‘Nothing happened. He propositioned me, but I—’

Avery turned away, but she squeezed his arm, keeping him in place.

‘I turned him down. Then I came back here, and we went up into the loft. I showed you the view. I just wanted to get back to you.’

He looked down at her, and she was shocked by the pain in his eyes. ‘Because you felt sorry for me.’

‘Of course not. I—’

‘I’m not like you, Daisy. I’m not that ambitious. I ended up running this build because it suited me to stay away from Norwich, because that arsehole was intimidating my neighbours and I didn’t know what to do about it. I didn’t know about the anti-fraud team, I had no clue how to get out of it.’ He laughed, looking away from her. ‘You must think I’m pathetic.’

‘Pathetic is the last word I would use to describe you. Is that what this is about? Me finding you in Norwich, and—’

‘It’s like you said,’ he cut in, ‘you live in London. This was only ever going to be temporary. When your flat is ready, you’ll go back to your high-profile clients and your worthwhile projects, and stop giving us your attention. You don’t owe us anything.’

‘Why are you being like this?’ She clenched her fists, anger edging into her despair. ‘Why aren’t you listening to me?’

Avery shook his head.

‘I get that the last few days have been awful for you,’ she said carefully, ‘that you’re dealing with a lot. I understand that Lars turning up wasn’t great, that he said some horrible, cruel things, but you have to believe that I didn’t want him here. I didn’t ask him to come, and I was appalled by what he said.’

‘He put a lot of words into your mouth.’

‘And you think I’m not furious about that? I care about you, Avery.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘So, so much. I did the treasure hunt yesterday, and there’s the crocodile …’ she gestured behind her, ‘… with its shoes. The phosphorescent paint. I wondered if …’ She left a gap, because voicing her hopes, the idea that he might have created those things for her, made her feel more vulnerable than she’d felt in a long time. She needed him to acknowledge it. ‘Avery?’

His muscle relaxed under her hand. ‘I did them for you,’ he admitted, and her heart skipped a beat. ‘Because it’s Christmas, and because we’ve had fun together.’