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‘Exactly!’Shebeamed at him.
‘Ican’t believe you didn’t put me and the flower order together.’
‘AndIcan’t believe you never mentionedIwas the florist your father had his order with.’
Rickgrinned. ‘Tobe honest,I’vehad so much on my plateI’veonly just put the two things together.’Hefrowned, knitting his brows delightfully. ‘Iknew there was something familiar about the name of your business when you gave me your card.’Hethrust a hand through his hair. ‘It’sbeen a hell of a whirlwind of a few months andIjust haven’t been thinking straight about some things.’
‘Well, we never discussed anything like that,’ she pointed out reasonably.
‘Wedidn’t.Wealways had other things to talk about.’Hegaveher a warm smile which made her toes curl up in herCrocs.
‘And, of course,Ithought you lived inLondon.’
‘London,’Ricksaid, startled. ‘Why?’
‘YousupportSpurs.’
‘Oh,Isee.Sortof.Youknow you don’t have to be local to support your chosen football team?’
‘Haven’ta clue.’Sheshrugged. ‘Iremember telling youIdon’t know anything about football.’
‘Weneed to put that right.Howdo you fancy the next home game atWhiteHartLane?’
‘Ihave no idea where that is.’
Ricklaughed.
‘Oh, and another thing,’Daisyexclaimed, remembering. ‘Thereport in the paper saidMrsHamilton, your mum, had left a widower and a daughter.Therewas no mention of any other children.’
Rickgrimaced. ‘God, don’t ever tell my sisters, they’ll be livid.’Hefinished his squash. ‘Notthe first time a newspaper got something wrong but to miss three children off entirely is a little remiss.’
‘So, if you don’t live inLondon, where do you live?’
‘Herenow, mostly, butIused to live inBirmingham.’
‘Ah,’Daisyexclaimed on a long breath. ‘Thatexplains the mailbox letter heading.Youcan see why all of it added up but didn’t obviously point to you.’
‘Ican.’Ricksmiled a little. ‘ThatwasMinty’s.Shehad some headed notepaper hanging around in her flat.She’saPAto a marketing company based in there.’
‘Oh.Minty.’Daisy’sheart plummeted.Itwas all very well deciding she was just fine and dandy on her own but to be reminded why she couldn’t ever haveRickstill hurt.
Rickreached over and tookDaisy’shand. ‘AndMinty,’ he said on a heavy sigh, ‘is whoI’vedesperately been trying to get you alone to discuss.’
Chapter Thirty
‘T
hereis noMintyand me.Wesplit up.’Ricksat back and eased his shoulders. ‘Infact, we split just before the evening inTheStationHouse.Whenwe bumped into you and your… boyfriend?’
Daisygasped, trying to take in what he was saying. ‘Nota boyfriend.Pete’sanother friend,’ she explained hastily.Itwas important he knew that.
Rick’sshoulders sank.Heclosed his eyes for a second. ‘Thankgoodness for that.Mintywas staying here,’ he went on more briskly, ‘and we went out to thrash some things through.Iwas in between flats and had stayed at hers inBrumfor a couple of months.Wehad to sort out whatIowed for bills, when to pick up my gear.Allthat tedious stuff.Theatmosphere here had got heavy so we went out to get something to eat somewhere more neutral.’
Daisyremained silent, her heart soaring at the thought ofRickbeing single and fancy free.
‘We’dgone out, off and on, for a few years but we’d definitely been drifting apart.Wewanted different things, different lives,’ he continued. ‘She’shappy to stay in the city andIwanted out.Itwas the source of all those arguments we had, the onesIhad to buyflowers for afterwards.’Hesmiled softly. ‘AlthoughIdon’t begrudge the last peace offering bouquetIbought as it brought me to you.Themore timeIspent inLullburyBay, the more certainIwas thatIwanted to make my life here.’Hepaused andDaisycould see him thinking. ‘Itactually ended up being as amicable as these things can be.Wehad a good talk, probably talked more, and more honestly than we’d done in months.Sheknows she could never be happy with a restaurateur in a small town inDorsetandIwas tired of the clubs and cocktails life inBrum.’
‘I’msorry,’Daisysaid, not meaning a word and feeling horribly guilty.
