‘Sometimes, all Henry and I talked about was his family’s business,’ I mused, thinking that should have been a warning sign for us both that we didn’t have much in common apart from that.
‘God, I was guilty of that too,’ Blake muttered, staring at his plate.
‘Don’t blame yourself, mate,’ Dylan said.
‘It wasn’t your fault what happened,’ Willow added softly.
Curiosity got the better of me then. ‘What happened?’ I blurted out before I could stop myself.
‘My girlfriend didn’t wait for quite the worst moment to break my heart like you did to your fiancé, but it was almost just as bad,’ Blake said darkly, lifting his eyes to meet mine. There was that open hostility again.
My blood boiled at his assumption I was just like his girlfriend even though I didn’t know their story, but he was clearly angry and broken-hearted. I didn’t understand why he had to take that out on me, though. If he treated his girlfriend like this too, I was on her side. ‘You don’t know anything about me,’ I told him coldly. ‘Thank goodness, I might add.’
‘Um, now, how about dessert?’ Willow said loudly.
‘No, it’s okay, thanks; I’m full,’ Blake said, standing abruptly, causing his chair to scrape against the kitchen tiles. ‘It was a long journey here; I should get an early night.’
I leaned back in my chair with relief that he was going. I knew I hadn’t handled things well today but the last thing I needed was a stranger making me feel even more like crap.
‘Let me walk over with you,’ Dylan said hastily, getting up too. They left and Willow went to get dessert so I looked over at my uncle, the two of us left at the table.
‘Things always look better in the morning,’ Adam said with a reassuring smile.
I sighed. ‘I hope so, I really do.’
‘So, Dad, tell Daisy all about your girlfriend…’ Willow said with a teasing smile when she came back. She was clearly trying to shift the mood in the room.
‘Willow, don’t call her that, at our age… Taylor and me… we’re just good friends,’ he said, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
‘Well, whatever you like to call her, Dad and Birchbrook’s mayor have been spending more and more time together,’ Willow told me.
‘That’s great, Uncle Adam,’ I said sincerely. I knew he’d never get over losing his wife but it was nice to think he wasn’t alone any more. ‘You deserve to be happy.’
‘You do,’ Willow agreed.
‘Oh, stop it, you two,’ he said, waving his hand as he ducked his head, his eyes definitely turning misty.
‘What about you and Dylan?’ I asked Willow, enjoying speaking about their love lives instead of my disastrous one. We had messaged and called each other sporadically since we last saw each other but there was nothing like being together face to face. I watched as she talked about her boyfriend and I could tell she was head over heels in love.
Willow had lost like I had, but her heart was open.
I wished mine was too.
5
Alone in bed later, I felt restless. My room was dark and the farmhouse was quiet. Willow, Dylan, her dad and Maple were all fast asleep after the long day. But maybe my nap earlier was keeping me awake, or maybe it was just my jumbled thoughts. Either way, sleep seemed very far away.
I rolled over and looked for my phone. Then I remembered, I’d hidden it in Willow’s car earlier. I dreaded what notifications were waiting for me but was also compelled to go and have a look. My mind was running over and over what I’d said to Henry and what he had said to me. What was he thinking now? I had spent most of the past five years lying next to him in bed. It felt strange to be without him tonight even though I’d made the decision to walk away.
Deciding that there was no point tossing and turning any more, I jumped out of the bed in Willow’s spare room. I quickly pulled back on shorts and a T-shirt, tying my hair up into a ponytail before slipping on my trainers and creeping downstairs past the kitchen, hoping Maple wouldn’t bark. She stayed quiet thankfully as I slipped out of the front door and headed for Willow’s car. She said she never bothered locking it out here so I knew I’d be able to get into the glove compartment.
A light caught my eye from the cottages. Clearly, Blake was also unable to sleep tonight. I hoped he was berating himself for how he’d spoken to me, but I doubted it. He probably was only thinking about himself.
I was unused to such quiet at night. There was no city noise here on the farm, and it was completely dark so I had to rely on the light from the silvery moon to find her car.
As I walked outside, I tripped a bit in the semi-darkness, letting out a loud, ‘Ow!’, which echoed around the silent farm. ‘For God’s sake,’ I added as I gingerly went the rest of the way to Willow’s car, wincing a bit. I opened it up and leaned in to reach for the glove compartment.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ a sharp voice cried out from behind me as my fingers found my phone.
