“These eggs are great, but what happened to the coffee?”
She winces. “Is it terrible?”
“It’s not good.” Which is an understatement.
“Sorry. I don’t drink coffee.” She lifts her mug of tea as evidence. “Poisonous stuff. I guess I’ve never learned the knack of making it.”
Which makes sense of the two almost untouched mugs of coffee left behind when Sean and Fiona came over while I was recuperating. And now that I think about it, I realise I’ve never seen her drink coffee. Tea, hot chocolate, herbal concoctions. Never coffee.
“Well, it’s good to know you’re not perfect. Remind me to make my own next time.” The words are out before I even realise what I’ve said. Her expression lets me know she didn’t miss the slip.
I push back my chair and take my plate and cup to the kitchen. “I’m sorry. Look, I’d better go before I say something we’ll both regret.”
“It’s okay, Josh. I get it.” Greer shoos me out of the kitchen and I head back to the bedroom to collect my shoes and socks.
“Will you be at Mum and Dad’s for dinner tomorrow night?” She opens the front door for me to make my awkward and somewhat cowardly exit. My face must show my conflict because she sighs.
“Look, don’t let this make things weird. For either of us. You’ve made your position very clear. But it’s pointless if you pull away from the rest of the family because of me, isn’t it? They’re expecting you, and they’ll be disappointed if you don’t turn up.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I might need a day or two to work through it, that’s all. And I do have a lot of work on. Also, I promised Ty I’d take him to lunch tomorrow. How about I see how I go today? If I get enough done, I’ll be there.”
Her face lights up. “You’ve spoken to Ty? How is he?”
“As obnoxious as ever. The school has him locked down so tight that he hasn’t been able to get up to any more mischief. Thank God.”
“I’m glad you’re keeping in touch. Tell him hi from me. You know you can always bring him to dinner if you’d like.”
“Might be a bit too soon, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Okay, well, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I should leave well enough alone, but I can’t stand the look of sadness she’s trying hard to hide.
“Greer, there’s something I want to say before we forget all this ever happened. You’re an incredible woman. And last night—and this morning, for that matter—was amazing. I’m not sorry it happened. Not even a little bit.”
I brush her lips quickly with mine before turning for the stairs.
“Me either,” I hear her whisper before she closes the door behind me.
By lunchtime, I’m desperate to get out of the office and work out my frustrations on Will’s boat. The ideas I need are not coming to me, and every time I move, I smell Greer. On my hair. On my skin. Serves me right for using her soap and shampoo, I guess. And the memories those smells evoke erase all other thoughts from my brain until the whole morning is an exercise in futility.
“You look like you had a good morning,” Will helpfully interprets my scowl as I arrive at the club.
“Could we cut the chatter and get this boat in the water?”
“Sure.” Will holds his hands up in surrender.
We’re almost finished setting up when Nick, a friend Will and I went to school with, arrives. I haven’t seen him since I got back, so it’s nice to catch up. Will’s brother Ben is crewing for Nick and is very much the worse for wear—as usual—despite it being well past noon. There’s a healthy-ish competition between Nick and Will because they both work at the same law firm.
“Looks like you won’t be beating us today,” Will says with a smirk as Ben heads off for some hangover food before the race.
“Don’t bet on that. Actually—you should bet. Loser buys dinner?” Nick looks confident. Even hungover, Ben is a good sailor. But the bet gives us a bit of extra incentive to win.
We race well, but not quite well enough to beat Nick. I’m disappointed, though not as bummed as Will. And at least now I smell of salt water and sunblock and not Greer.
Being on the harbour has improved my mood and reminded me how much I love sailing. Somehow, sculling down the Thames doesn’t give you the same rush as the wind in the sails.
Will checks in with me again as we strip down the boat.
