We found ourselves in the village’s main square, where strings of lights had been hung between the buildings and a few couples were dancing to music from an accordion player sitting on the church steps. It was utterly romantic, the kind of scene Mum would have stopped to photograph from every angle. On the far corner, a flower seller sold roses of all colours. Should I run over and buy a bunch for Eliza?
I immediately rolled my eyes. That was way too corny. I had no idea what this was and what Eliza thought it was. One thing I did know: we were nowhere near corny.
“Dance with me.” Eliza held out a hand.
Perhaps I was wrong and we’d arrived at corny?
“Here? Now?”
“Your mum never let self-consciousness stop her, did she? She would have been the first one up dancing.”
Before I could protest, Eliza pulled me into the square, and her arms slid around my waist as the accordion player launched into something slow and beautiful. Other couples smiled at us as we swayed together under the fairy lights, and I found myself relaxing into Eliza’s embrace.
“Your mum loved you,” she whispered into my ear as we twirled. “I know you had your differences, but she would love what you’re doing, too. Just like I do.”
My whole body vibrated with her words. I’d never doubted my mum’s love. But Eliza was right: I needed validation from someone who got what I was doing. Margot wasn’t going to do it, and my dead relatives didn’t perform to order.
Getting it from someone who was alive and on my side was the next best thing.
Eliza paused, pulling back so I could see the vulnerability in her face.
“You’re amazing, Poppy. Who you are, what you’re doing. I always thought that when we were younger. I always loved being your friend. Our years apart are behind us, and now I want to be more than that. I want to be the one you rely on. I know I wasn’t part of your plan, but I hope I can become your whole plan. I want you to know, I’m falling for you.”
My brain seized up at her words. I never expected to dance in a village square with Eliza. I never expected her to say something like that.
“This can’t be happening,” I said, as if my ears had deceived me.
She held me closer, her eyes serious in the soft light. “It is happening. And you can panic about it, or you can get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere. I know this is complicated,but we can work it out. Iwantto work it out.” She gazed into my eyes. “And I think you do, too.”
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear Mum’s voice from years ago:Be careful who you trust, darling. People will say anything when they want something.But looking at Eliza in the fairy lights, dancing with me in this perfect village square like we were the only two people in the world, I pushed the words away.
This was genuine.
Shewas genuine.
“Of course I do,” I admitted. “That’s why I’m terrified.”
“Good.” She cupped my face. “Let’s feel the fear and do it anyway.”
The walk back was different.Charged. Every brush of her fingers against mine, every sideways glance, every moment when our shoulders touched as we navigated the narrow path felt deliberate. The careful distance we’d maintained had collapsed entirely.
In the hotel lift, we stood on opposite sides, but the air between us hummed with tension. Eliza’s eyes never left mine, and I could see my own want reflected back at me. When the doors opened, she held out her hand.
“Your room or mine?”
“Mine,” I said without hesitation, leading her down the corridor.
I managed to get the door open, and we tumbled inside, immediately reaching for each other. Her hands tangled in my hair, mine gripped her waist, and when she kissed me, it was hungry, desperate. Decidedly not weekday material.
I knew now that my crush on Eliza went way back. That I’d inexplicably taken my frustrations out on her for not being age-appropriate when I was 12 or 14, and carried that into my adult life.
Eliza had always been around, but we’d been in different phases of our lives. She’d been busy building a career and getting married. I’d been busy avoiding my family, Voss Watches, and her.
Not anymore.
Eliza had landed back in my life at the same time as Voss had, which was always going to be a potent cocktail to deal with. But Eliza had helped me over the past few months. She’d also made me see that I could do this. That my mum was proud of me. That running towards my problems was always better than burying them and running away. She’d helped me with work and my personal life, and now, I couldn’t see a future without her in it. Which scared the living hell out of me, but also, made me realise that I’d never had this with anyone else before.
There was a fine line between love and hate, and for me, it had always been Eliza. That thought had crystallised when she asked me to dance, and my body almost levitated. Dancing with a woman in a public square wasn’t something I’d normally entertain. But with Eliza? She made everything seem possible. She was the definition of what could be. Of what might be.
