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Chapter Twenty-Two
The party was allbut over. A few stragglers were picking at the remains of the cake. It made Alice think of a citadel that had been stormed and well and truly conquered. David Blake had taken Gran back to the residential home with a Tupperware container full of marzipan violets.
The last two guests finally said their farewells, Andrea fussing and getting their coats, and then it was just the five of them: Oliver, Leonie, Andrea, her—and Aaron, standing so close that all Alice would have to do was sway a little and they’d be touching.
Halfway through the party Aaron had asked her to stay on afterwards so they could “talk”; he’d kind of hovered behind the rim of one of Andrea’s best teacups, blue eyes unblinking and earnest and quite un-Aaron like. Other than that, they’d had little contact besides some seriously hot glances while Alice zoomed around with a plate of cheese and pineapple sticks and Aaron offered Gran’s hard-of-hearing friends mushroom vol-au-vents in a very loud voice.
The superhighway was now a speedway it would seem, if the clenching of her internal muscles, the buzz and humdown therewere anything to go by.
And Henry’s words kept ringing in her ears. “Throw him a line, Ell-iss, give him a chance to save himself.”
She’d throw out a whole net if she had to. Send out a lifeboat. Because she still loved Aaron desperately. She would never let him drown. It was that simple.
“Just look at the sparkle on that diamond!” Andrea was saying now as Leonie displayed her engagement ring, moving her wrist this way and that to catch the light.
“One and a half carats.” Leonie smiled beatifically.
Oliver was gazing at Leonie’s face with exactly the same look that Aaron had worn when he’d looked atherthese past few weeks.
The Blake look of devotion.
Oh don’t be silly.She was definitely getting ahead of herself here.
Finally, Aaron said, “Alice and I are going for a drink.”
Alice was certain a knowing smirk passed between him and Oliver.
“Oh yes,” Andrea enthused. “You’ve earnt it. Thank you both so much. I’m sure Gran went home happy. Aaron, you were clearly a hit.” Andrea’s breathy laughed tinkled with delight. “I swear Edith was on the verge of proposing.”
“Maybe I’m already taken,” Aaron said. And he looked at Alice. Straight at her. Oh god, she was at risk of melting into a great big puddle.
Farewells said, a hug from Oliver, an air kiss from Leonie—there was just something a bit Trojan-wife about Leonie, lovely though she was—another big hug from Andrea. “You two go and have some fun,” she said as she waved them away.
And then they were alone, taking the steps from the front door in the cool early evening air. On the pavement next to his car, Aaron said, “I don’t really need a drink. I’m pretty much marinated in Earl Grey tea. Can we walk along the river for a bit?”
“Okay.”
They walked, and he asked lots of questions about Henry, and she found herself happily telling him the details (leaving out her heart-to-heart about Aaron, of course).
She sensed Aaron stiffen when she said she was going to England sometime in the future.
“For how long?”
She waved a hand in the air. “I don’t know; that depends.”
She felt his eyes boring into her. “On what?”
“Oh, you know, how long I can leave the shop for…”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Do you mind if we sit?” he asked, suddenly.
Alice followed his gaze and noticed a seat nestled in a small hollow with a sweeping view across the river. They perched side by side. For a second she thought Aaron was going to take her hand, but then it was like he thought better of it, and sat forward, elbows on his knees, staring out at the boats returning to their moorings like nesting birds in the early evening glow.
Was this the lifeline Henry had talked about throwing him? Just being here, waiting, willing to hear him out?
“I—um.” Aaron frowned. Blinked, shucked back his hair with twitchy fingers.
“Go on,” Alice prompted gently.
