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He laughed. ‘Christ, sorry about that. Without your fast reaction, we’d probably have smashed through the fence and overturned in that field back there.’
‘Yes.’ I swallowed hard, thinking that was exactly what would have happened.
But I definitely wasn’t laughing.
He seemed calmer, though, so I tried once again. ‘Please tell me where we’re going, Lance.’
He turned with a smile. ‘Tumbling Dell Waterfall. Remember now?’
‘Oh. Yes, I do.’ My mind flashed back to the day after the fire... Janey suggesting I needed some fresh air and a new perspective on my relationship with Nash... walking with her and Lance up to the waterfall, which had seemed quite a therapeutic thing to do after the horrors of the night before...
I glanced out into the gloom of the evening. ‘But we can’t go there now. It’s getting dark and we won’t be able to see our feet in front of us by the time we get there.’
‘Rubbish,’ he chided me gently. ‘Honestly, Rori, you’re such a little worrier. It’s only ten minutes from here. We’ll be there in no time and then it’ll all be clear to you.’
Dread was turning my insides over and over. ‘Whatwill be clear to me?’
He turned to me with a calm, knowing smile. ‘That you and I were always meant to be together, of course.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I kept my smile neutral and when he turned away, I felt in my pocket for my phone. It was there, thank goodness. I had to stay calm.
Lance was obviously under the illusion that our friendship was something more. Clearly, it was – on his side. But if I was going to convince him that I had no romantic feelings for him whatsoever, I was going to have to tread very carefully indeed. I shuddered. It was ironic that Lance had claimed women were more sensitive and ‘hysterical’ than men, when he was clearly both over-sensitive and bordering on hysterical himself in his views about the opposite sex...
Finally, we arrived at the famous beauty spot. It was starting to get dark now and the little car park at the foot of Tumbling Dell Waterfall was deserted.
He switched off the engine and a dead silence descended. I stared straight ahead, my heart beating fast, wondering where to begin... how to frame my words so that I wouldn’t make him angry again. He sat back in his seat and the silence went on. I could feel him studying my profile.
Then he spoke. ‘This has been my happy place ever since we were here that time, you, me and Janey. It was the first time we really connected, you and I, on a deeper level, and I’ve known since then that this day would come.’ He shifted in his seat. ‘Come on. Let’s climb to the top.’
I turned to look at him. ‘Lance, could we talk first?’
‘Talk?’ He looked mildly surprised. ‘Yes, talking is good. What would you like to talk about?’
‘Actually, I’m not kitted out for hiking up to the waterfall. Especially when it’s getting dark like this. I’d be afraid we’d lose our footing.’
He shook his head, smiling. ‘You’re worrying again, Rori. And I keep telling you, things are going to be absolutely fine now.’
‘But why don’t we come back tomorrow? When it’s light? I’d reallyloveto do the climb with you then.’ I could feel panic rising in waves within as I tried my best to sound enthusiastic.
‘No,’ he said shortly. ‘We’re doing it now.’ He moved towards me and I flinched away.
‘What’s wrong?’ He looked hurt. ‘Did you think I was going to hurt you?’
‘No. Not at all.’
‘I was just reaching for my coat on the back seat.’
‘Right.’ I looked around and I caught sight of something familiar. ‘Hey, that’s my bag of stuff. The bag that Nash tried to bring me. He... said he’d left it with Janey.’
‘No. He came to the house but Janey wasn’t in, so I took it and I put it in the car to keep it safe.’
‘Right. So is that how you had my scarf? Did you take it out of the bag?’ This was getting creepier by the second.
‘I did, yes.’ He shrugged. ‘You can’t criticise a guy for wanting a keepsake, can you?’
‘No. I . . . suppose not.’
