“Thanks for last night. I actually slept well.” Daffy balanced her share of the supplies in her arms as they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. “Now I’m ready to update and refresh.” Today was a new day. A good day. The first day of her rebooted life. “Do you like the gray paint we chose?”
“It’ll look smashing with a white trim. Let’s do my place next.”
Arriving on Daffy’s floor, the sisters started down the hall and around the corner. Mum texted about then and Ella paused to answer.
“Dad and Mum are on their way,” she said, adjusting the weight of her bags. “Mum had to get a special flour for the puffs.”
But Daffy was focused on the lump of man outside her door.
“Gus?”
He sat forward, eyes opened. “Oh, hello.” He pushed to his feet. “I knew you had to come home or go out sometime.”
“What…why…what are you doing?”
“Waiting for you.” He waved to Ella. “Hello.”
“Your Royal Highness.”
The Lasslos from across the hall peered out. “He was out here all night, Daffy.” Tessa wore a slinky robe that revealed too much of her store-bought assets. “I offered to let him sleep in our guest room, but he refused. Wanted to wait for you.”
“Can we continue this discussion inside your apartment?” Gus lowered his voice and nodded to her door. “Thank you again, Tessa and Will, for the sandwich and milk. I do appreciate it.”
Daffy fumbled to unlock the door. Ella reached to help. “I don’t know why you’d sit up all night. What if I’d gone off to London or Florida?”
“Then Tessa would feed me more sandwiches and milk. I might have to start paying a squatter’s fee to your co-op.”
Daffy unloaded her things in the middle of the floor. Ella excused herself for the bedroom. “I’ll start setting up.”
“What’s going on?” Gus said. “Can I help?” This was not at all how he imagined things would go. But Daffy seemed to be processing.
“We’re painting my room.”
“I love to paint. I’m great with a brush.”
“Gus, what are you doing here?” Her eyes teared up when she briefly looked his way. “Do you want some tea?”
“That’d be lovely.” He took a seat at the island while Daffy filled the kettle.
Ella came out and announced she was going down to meet their parents. “Text when the coast is clear.”
“There’s no coast,” Daffy said.
“Thank you, Ella. Say a prayer for me.” Gus seemed rather full of himself.
When the door closed behind her, the silence between them echoed. Daffy retrieved one of the bags from the lounge and took out a box of scones. Back in the kitchen, she arranged them on a plate, trying to plump up the one that was smashed.
“I know why you’re here. At least I think I do. It can’t work, Gus.Wecan’t work.” Might as well lead off. Address the elephant in the room. “I won’t come between you and your parents. Not that I could. I won’t be a point of contention in House of Blue.”
“This isn’t about my family or the House of Blue.” Gus walked around the island toward her. “It’s about you and me. Do you love me?”
“You know I do.” She stared at her feet as a tear dropped to the tile.
“Then come to Hadsby. To the ball. Let’s face it together.”
“Gus, I don’t belong. I will never belong. You’re pretending because you don’t want another broken heart. Though I’m sure our brief relationship caused nothing more than a scratch.” She stepped back and raised an invisible barrier between them. “Every time your mother sees me, she’ll think, ‘There’s the girl who exposed my secret.’ Have you talked to her? Did she tell you what happened with that chap, Trent?”
“I was supposed to meet with her, but I drove down here instead. John texted a summary. Pretty typical story. Fell in love, conceived a child, but the relationship couldn’t work.” Gus pinned her between his arms, her back against the counter. “But I care more about you and me in this moment. Daffy, after Coral left, everyone said, ‘Go after her,’ but I refused. If she didn’t want me, I wasn’t going to chase her, make a fool of myself as I begged her to take me back. I didn’t want to hear her reasons for running. Hear how I failed her. Hear how I came up short. My heart was too broken. When you told us about Leslie Ann and the likelihood of the whole world knowing, for a second, I—I was that man again. The one standing alone at the altar. I knew exactly what Mum would face. I knew exactly how she felt. Humiliated. Mixed up. Ashamed. I thought, ‘We must surround her. Be there for her. Protect her.’ Everything I needed two years ago but refused to accept. My pride…”
