She’s been stood up for most of the day, the two of us adding the finishing touches to the two large guest rooms above the pub. They’re almost finished, and they look good. Not super posh like a hotel would be, but warm and welcoming. Somewhere I’d be more than happy to retire to after spending a day in the countryside.
“Why don’t you go sit down for a bit? It’s getting late and we can finish the rest tomorrow.” I half expect her to refuse, but instead, she lets out a weary sigh and nods.
“You seeing Sean tonight?” She waits for me at the top of the stairs as I turn off the lights and close the door behind us.
It’s Friday night already. I can’t believe how quickly that’s come around. “I’m not sure. He said his sister and her husband are driving up tonight instead of tomorrow morning. They’re staying with him before they go to their lodge in the morning, so probably not.” I rub the back of my neck. “He said they might pop in for a drink, depending on what time they get here.” I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Hailey looks up at me, and I know she’s about to ask me the same thing.
“I don’t know,” I say, beating her to it. “I’m not sure if or what he’s told them about me.”
“Did you ask?”
I scrunch my nose because of course I should do exactly that. But I haven’t. “No.”
“Why not?”
Answering her means acknowledging the truth. But she clearly isn’t moving until I do. “Because I don’t want to be disappointed if he hasn’t mentioned me. Or if he has and referred to me as an old friend.” Or something equally noncommittal.
I ease past her down the stairs when she doesn’t reply. “Come on, let’s get you off those feet.” Liz is running the pub this evening, so Hailey doesn’t protest and leads the way to her house next door.
She lets me off the hook, but only until we get through the front door. Making a beeline for the living room, she calls over her shoulder, “Do you want him to tell his family about the two of you?”
I follow her and take the chair as she stretches out on the sofa with a groan.
I sit forward, arms resting on my thighs. “I don’t know.”
She raises an eyebrow, and yeah, maybe that’s a load of bollocks.
“Fine. I want him to have at least mentioned me.”
“As...?”
“I—”
She shifts position to get comfier, grimacing.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I frown when she can’t seem to settle.
“I just feel really big today.”
My phone buzzes with a text, distracting me, and I smile seeing Sean’s name on the screen.
“Is that Sean?” Hailey asks, pointing at my phone. When I nod, she adds. “Is he coming here?”
I open the message to see.
Sean: I want Deb to meet you, so I’ve told them to drive to the pub for a drink instead of coming straight to mine. We should all be there in about fifteen minutes. Hope that’s okay. x
Vic: Yeah, of course. See you soon. x
I don’t expect a reply because I know he’s driving. My gaze lingers on thexat the end of our messages. They’re a new addition after Wednesday night. Sean put one on the end of his text to me when I got home, and not gonna lie, I really liked it.
So I sent one back.
Neither of us have mentioned it.
“Vic?” Hailey grumbles, and I realise I’ve been staring into space.
