She turned over onto her back, adjusted the pillow under her head, and lay staring at the ceiling as she reviewed the clues.
Their growing closeness over the last month. The sunny day in the meadow. The Wishing Well with his hand holding the lens over the well, wanting answers; a clear hint that he might be having second thoughts. Was it enough? Would he really make up his mind so fast? And if he did, could she trust him not to unmake it later?
What if he felt guilty about the way he ended things with Nicole and part of him, no matter how small, blamed her?
“I told, I told, I told myself again,”Selena’s voice sang in her ears. “I'm never running back on what I said.”
She pushed the covers off and got up, then quickly rubbed the goose pimples on her arms. A spaghetti strap pyjama top was too optimistic for an early spring night. The sun might have been warm during the day but now the night was distinctly chilly.
It was a sexy top; that was the real reason she’d worn it tonight. Subconsciously, she had wanted to feel beautiful. She stood in front of the mirror.
Was she a temptation? Did her closeness to Gabriel cloud his judgement? Flattering thoughts aside, was he thinking clearly?
Whichever way Gabriel made his decision, she wanted him to make it alone.
What had Lord M said? He didn’t think their relationship could survive the test of time. It sat on a knife-edge. But if that were true, then he should he break up because he could not make a life with Nicole, and not just because Pierre had tempted him away.
Round and round, her mind whirled like a washing machine.
Tea. She needed a calming herbal tea to order her mind.
Ten minutes later, wrapped in a soft blanket, a cup of Luisa tea in hand, she settled in the window seat and looked out. The sky was clear, the stars, millions of pinpricks of coloured light twinkled in the sky. She sipped from her cup, the taste was pure and clear, just like the sky, but she was no closer to a clear conclusion.
Except for one.
Except for this.
She had no way of knowing which of the three scenarios he wanted to talk about. And no matter how much she longed for it to be the third option, it might not be. In which case she would have to stand there and listen as he either rejected her outright or offered her ten days of pain.
Her fear kept her in her room until mid-morning, then she escaped out to the garden. Millie was there talking to two men, so Pierre, who needed a distraction, went to join them.
The men were going to set up a catering tent in the grounds outside the church. Millie’s café, or at least her recipes, would be used to create an afternoon tea for two thousand people. Everyone who attended would get tea, lavender scones, herb and cucumber sandwiches and some gorgeous cakes. Nicole had arranged for an external catering company to handle this, but Millie wanted to make sure of the recipe choices.
Pierre was struggling to keep her mind on this conversation, but when Millie said she was going to take the water taxi to the café at Blue Sage Bay to make sure they had enough of something or other, Pierre put a hand on Millie’s arm.
“Can I come with you?”
Blue Sage Bay was a long way away from the house, a long way away from Gabriel.
“Of course.” Millie beamed. “It’ll be fun. We can have lunch there if you don’t mind wild berry cupcakes.”
“Perfect.” Pierre waved at the water taxi which was just approaching the pier.
Not fast enough.
“Can I steal Pierre for a few minutes?”
She whirled around; Gabriel was walking purposefully towards them. He must have seen them from a window and caught up with them just before they boarded.
“That’s fine; I don’t really need her.” Millie stepped onto the boat.
Pierre didn’t argue; what reason would she give? So, she stayed on the jetty and watched the water taxi motor away on the bright blue sea.
Gabriel was silent until the boat was out of view then he turned to her. “Shall we walk and talk or sit here?”
Walk? Where? The marina was reasonably visible to anyone who happened to look out of a window on the upper floors of Du Montfort Hall. If they walked away, they’d soon disappear from view and no one would see if he took her in his arms and kissed her.
“Let’s stay here.” The words felt like glue that didn’t want to leave her mouth.
