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A minute later, he ran down the stairs and I saw that he’d collected his wash bag from the bathroom and the book he’d left on the bedside table.
‘I’m leaving,’ he said shortly, not even looking at me. And then he was gone.
I was so shocked and bewildered by what had happened, I spent the night in tears, going over and over what I could have done differently.
My lovely romance was over.
And I was gutted because I’d really thought Nash was The One.
*****
Next day, I felt low and completely washed out, after little sleep. Yesterday, my world had been all the colours of the rainbow, full of exciting possibilities. Now, all that had gone. It was a drab, grey Thursday morning and I just wanted to stay in bed and forget the world.
I phoned work and told them I’d caught a stomach bug of some kind. It wasn’t far from the truth. I felt sick and shaky every time I recalled Nash’s eyes flashing angrily at me before he stormed out of the pub.
We were over. He’d made that perfectly clear last night. I would just have to forget him.
Mid-morning, my phone rang and it was Nash. He asked me if I was all right, and I was so surprised to hear his voice, sounding back to his normal self, I told him I was okay. I suppose I waswaiting for him to apologise and explain why he behaved the way he did the night before. Sounding hesitant, he asked me if I still wanted to go to his cousin’s wedding at the weekend, and I could tell he thought he’d blown it.
He started telling me a story about the last time he went to a wedding and although I was still feeling shell-shocked by everything, I found myself laughing because actually, it was really funny. That was the thing with Nash. He could always make me laugh...
He said he wanted to take me out for dinner to my favourite restaurant that night and after a bit of persuasion, I agreed. We’d have a chance to talk about last night. It had obviously been a blip in our blossoming relationship, but we could move on from it. Of course we could. The fact that we weren’t finished, after all, made me feel quite weak with relief. I was madly in love with Nash by this time and one little bump in the road wasn’t going to change that.
At dinner that night, he gave me my favourite flowers. Hellebores. And I was really touched that he’d remembered. The previous night was forgotten as we talked and laughed and drank some delicious wine. It had been a blip. That was all.
Looking back, I can see so horribly clearly what a fool I was to dismiss it as a one-off, telling myself it would never happen again...
CHAPTER FOUR
I’d been so positive and clear-headed earlier, when Jaz and Milo had helped me move into the flat. But now, with night creeping in, I was back to feeling vulnerable. Thinking about Nash always seemed to set me back emotionally.
I tried hard not to dwell on the past, but sometimes your mind just went its own way and there wasn’t a thing you could do about it. And as I unpacked boxes in the kitchen, I found myself jumping at every strange noise or creak of a floorboard, and reflecting ruefully that if ever a person invented a machine that could programme you to think only calm, happy thoughts, that person would be lauded as a modern-day saviour!
In the end, I decided I needed the sound of the TV to drown out all other unfamiliar noises. Getting engrossed in the soaps would hopefully calm me down because right now, I was as jumpy as a vibrator salesman at airport security.
But just as I was settling down on the sofa, mug of tea in one hand, remote in the other, the door buzzed twice into the silence.
Heart beating frantically, I held my breath, deciding to pretend there was no one in. As the buzzer sounded again, three more times, I closed my eyes in a panic. Whoever it was would surely give up and go away if I didn’t answer.
But what if it was Nash?
He wouldn’t give up that easily. What if he’d somehow managed to track me down to this flat?
The buzzer sounded again but I could hear voices outside now, calling up to me. Nipping into the darkened kitchen, I crossed to the window which overlooked the main door, pulled the side of the blind and tried to see who was there. And my heart gave a jolt of sheer relief.
It was the girls from the café. And Sylvia.
Ellie saw me peeking out and called, ‘It’s just us, Rori. We come bearing flat-warming gifts. But we can go away again if you’re busy unpacking?’
‘No! Come up!’ I pulled the blind and grinned down at them, then I dashed to the door to let them in. Holding the door open, I listened to their jolly chatter and laughter as they approached in single file, their footsteps echoing on the stone stairs.
‘What a lovely surprise,’ I called down.
Ellie arrived first, brandishing a boxed candle in each hand and presenting them to me with a flourish. ‘May you always have light through the darkest of times!’
Laughing, I ushered her in, just as Katja appeared behind her, bearing a luscious-looking Victoria sponge cake on a platter with Happy New Home in silvery icing on top. ‘May you always enjoy the sweetness of life!’ she announced with a grin. ‘Shall I pop this in the kitchen?’
‘Great. Yes. Thank you so much.’
