Charlotte chooses the moment of silence between us to chime in with, “Told you you should’ve mentioned it beforehand.”
Hailey directs her glare at her wife, and I’m more than happy for the reprieve. “But then he’d have stressed about it all the way here. And been on edge waiting to bump into him.”
“And a surprise meeting was better?” Charlotte fires back.
“I’m right here,” I say, but they both ignore me. I catch Joe’s eye—his gaze flicks between Char and Hailey as they bicker, then he grins at me.
“Is he an old boyfriend?” he asks over the top of them.
I don’t really want to describe the weekend I spent with Sean to my seventeen-year-old son, so I go with, “Sort of.” I may as well have said hook-up because he gets a disturbingly knowing look in his eyes and nods.
Finally, Hailey faces me again. “We’ve seen Sean a few times since we started coming up to take over the pub. More so over the last few weeks now that we’re here permanently. He’s a National Park Ranger and has been super helpful answering all our questions about the surrounding area. Well, mine, really. Char knows the area pretty well already.”
Charlotte scoffs. “Hardly. I haven’t lived here for over fifteen years.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me.” If I’m honest, I’m a little hurt that she kept this from me. Apart from being Joe’s mother, Hailey’s been one of my best friends since uni. Even through our divorce, we managed to keep that part of our relationship solid.
She pulls out the chair in front of Char’s desk and sinks into it with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t tell you about Sean because I thought it might put you off coming, and I really wanted the two of you to meet again.”
She’s avoiding eye contact, and realisation finally dawns. I laugh. I can’t help it. “Were you hoping we’d see each other and realise what we’d been missing all these years?”
“No, of course not.”
Lies. Colour rises on her cheeks and she still won’t look me in the eye.
“Hailey.” I drag out her name like I’m disappointed with her.
“Fine!” She raises her hands, then lets them fall into her lap. “You were so hot together when you were young.”
We both ignore Joe’s muttered, “Gross.”
“And you’re both single,” she carries on, finally meeting my eyes. “I thought maybe the spark was still there.”
The spark is very much still there for me, judging by the five minutes I’ve spent in his presence, but that’s beside the point. “A little warning might’ve been nice. That way I might not have made a fool of myself.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” She tries and fails to hide her smirk, and I roll my eyes.
“Oh, it was,” Joe offers with a mock shudder. “That’s why I fled to the hallway.”
“Thank you all for your words of support. I’m touched, really.” Half of me wants to go back out there and talk to him, try to give him a better impression of me than what I left him with. But the other half baulks at the idea, wanting nothing more than to avoid Sean Richmond for the entire time I’m here.
And it’s that part of me that eventually wins out.
“It’s been a long week,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “Would it be okay if I go settle in at the lodge and come back in the morning?”
“Yes, of course.” Hailey hesitates. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back out there and see?—”
“Yep, quite sure. Think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day.” I bet Sean hasn’t spared me a thought over the last seventeen years, and I’d rather not have that confirmed by going back out there and talking to him. I’ll stick with the fantasy version in my head.
“Vic—” She tries again but I hold my hand up.
“Really, I just want some food and a shower. Then maybe bed.”
She looks less than convinced, and when I glance at my watch, I see why. It’s only 8 p.m. But thankfully Char takes pity on me.
“You take over here,” she tells Hailey as she stands up. “I’ll take Vic to the lodge and get him settled in. He can follow me in my car.”
“Thank you.” I give Joe a hug, then Hailey, and promise to be back bright and early in the morning to get started on whatever needs doing.
