I look at Soraya, who gestures for me to hurry outside.
Looking towards the boats in the marina, I try to listen to what Elias is saying.
‘I owe you an apology too. I ran out of there and didn’t listen to what you had to say. I should have called you sooner. You listened to me when you deserved an explanation, and I should have done the same. I’m sorry. I guess this relationship business is harder than I imagined. My boys drilled it into me not to trust anyone. That everyone will be after my money, and…’
I consider how Poppy and Jasmine think the exact same way. If only they knew the truth that he definitely doesn’t need my tiny flat when he has so much of his own. But I don’t want to tell them the truth yet, either. Announcing that you’re dating a lottery winner isn’t the easiest thing to say. There are going to be so many preconceptions. Now I understand why Elias keeps it quiet. They may think he is some guy who spends all his money on women, boozing and bidding on football clubs.
‘I’m scared, I suppose. I can feel myself getting closer to you. How fond I am of you, and I just think that I don’t want to get hurt. Do you know what I mean?’ says Elias.
‘I totally know what you mean. The thought of getting hurt again terrifies me. That’s why I wasn’t looking for another relationship. Who wants to get hurt? It’s the worst feeling in the world.’
‘That much is true, Lucy. Look, we need to sit down together. I know it’s difficult with the distance between us, but we can work something out.’
‘Yes, absolutely.’
‘I have an idea. This might sound a little too much too soon, but I have to get back to France in a couple of weeks. How do you fancy joining me?’
‘I don’t think I can. I’ve got a lot of work on the book that I want to do and, well…’ I don’t want him thinking I’m a freeloader. I know if I tell him I can’t afford it, he will offer to pay for me, and I don’t feel right about that.
‘Let’s see. Why don’t you come back down to Swansea instead? The girls are definitely back in uni and not coming home at the weekend. We can try again. Or I can come up to Manchester?’
‘I’d love to come back down,’ he says.
‘Great, this weekend?’
‘It’s a date.’
We end the call, and I have a big smile on my face, but as I sit back down with Soraya and finish my wine, something troubles me.
‘All sorted now?’ asks Soraya.
‘Yeah, he’s coming back down to see me again.’
‘That’s fab. It’s not your turn to go to Manchester, then?’
‘No, I did think that. He’s happy to come here, but if I mention anything in passing about going up to see him, he doesn’t really acknowledge it.’
‘Hmm, that’s weird. He’s not hiding anything, is he?’
‘I don’t know. That’s what’s beginning to worry me. He said his boys live with him, so that might be what’s wrong, but I’d happily stay in a hotel nearby. I don’t have to go to his house. I didn’t call him the Mysterious Mancunian of Manchester for nothing. He doesn’t give much away.’
‘Well, he seems quite deep from what I’ve noticed. He’s just one of those guys who doesn’t really show his feelings and keeps his cards close to his chest. I’m sure it’s nothing.’
‘I don’t know.’
However, as I finish my glass of wine, I can’t shake off the feeling that there’s another reason he didn’t want me to go up to Manchester.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When the weekend approaches, I decide that I am going to ask Elias more about his home life. He has visited me in my apartment, yet I don’t even know where he lives in Manchester. Is it Bolton? Is it Altrincham or Stockport? When I googled a map of Manchester, it looked huge. Soraya was right in saying that he keeps his cards close to his chest. This time, however, I am determined that he is going to tell me more.
The moment Elias arrives at Swansea train station for the second time, it is like a new start. I feel warm and fuzzy as I see his cute grin as he walks through the station. I’m immensely proud that it is me he is coming to see as a few women take a second glance at him. I feel like wearing a T-shirt with an arrow pointing towards him saying, ‘I know, he’s gorgeous, isn’t he!’
Elias embraces me at the station and there is no mistaking that he’s missed me. He doesn’t notice the admiring glances he is getting; his eyes are purely focused on me, as they always are.
Back at the flat, he apologises again for not being sure what to believe about Michael and me. I realise that we are both treading in unchartered territory and neither of us are quite sure how to navigate this blossoming and unexpected relationship. So, I start by tiptoeing very carefully.
‘How were Danny and James when you got back?’ I ask over the ice-cold Sauvignon I picked up for his arrival.
