She looked shocked he’d come right out with it.
‘I need to know why,’ he said.
‘I was a mess, Leo.’
‘We all were.’
‘You know what it was like for me growing up, never feeling good enough.’
He had known that, the problems she had with her parents who didn’t deserve that title in his opinion. ‘You were always good enough for me.’
He’d thought she knew, but her expression said even that had been something she doubted. ‘I was lost, Leo. I felt like I didn’t deserve happiness, and no, I didn’t think I was good enough for you no matter how many times you told me I was.’
‘You know that’s crazy, right?’ He wanted to put an arm across her shoulders, to pull her close, a contrast to how much he’d wanted to push her away when she first showed up again. ‘We were so young. Everything that happened … it was a lot.’
‘You mean the party on the boat, Rhianne?’
‘And us,’ he said, but had to clarify. ‘We were so in love and that wasn’t a bad thing. But we were serious so quickly and neither of us had had a chance to learn much about ourselves, had we? Perhaps we needed that. Maybe we needed things to end.’
‘I’m sorry I did that to you, Leo. I’m sorry I left without a word.’ She paused. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me go if I gave you warning.’
He opened his mouth to tell her he’d have given her all the time she needed, but he knew that wouldn’t have been the case. ‘I just wanted you to let me in, let me comfort you and take away the pain.’
She shook her head. ‘It was impossible. My mind was so full of everything from what happened with my parents and all the pain they’ve caused over the years, to the party and Rhianne’s death. It was like I had someone screaming so loud in my head I couldn’t hear anything properly. I couldn’t deal with it on my own let alone let anyone else in.’
When Jonah came to warn Leo that there were only three chicken wings left, Leo knew that it was time to let Nina get back to hosting the party. He’d started the conversation he’d needed to have for years and when she smiled at him as she stood up and he gestured for her to go inside first, he hoped the look they shared meant she might have needed this talk too.
And hopefully it was just the beginning.
Chapter Twelve
Maeve
Maeve took in the delivery of pots and pans for the kitchen at the flat. She’d made do with the few the owner had left them, but she’d soon realised if she wanted to cook anything in bulk, she’d need something bigger. She’d gone for decent ones too, something that would last and they’d take to the next house when they eventually bought their own place.
She parked up on the main road again and with the light dimming it wasn’t so easy to see her way down the track towards the boathouse, although she smiled at the sound of voices coming from the cabin drifting up towards her as she got closer.
She could hear the sea too and on a whim headed down past the boatshed. Jonah would be more than happy at the party, she wasn’t bothered about pizza or chicken wings right now, she wanted to go onto the sand and get a bit of headspace. For so many years, living in Canada had detached her from her life here and now she was back she wanted to be a part of it again, she had to be, for Jonah’s sake.
Maeve had only been sitting on the sand for a few minutes when she sensed someone was behind her.
She turned to see Adrian.
‘Mind if I sit?’ he asked.
Her mouth dry at the unexpected interruption, she held out a hand to gesture for him to sit down too. ‘You came for the party?’
‘Yeah, just not brave enough yet I guess.’
‘I get it,’ she smiled. ‘Starting a job at the café soon got me over any worry about seeing the locals.’ Maeve wished she had a bottle of water on hand, and as though reading her thoughts Adrian passed a bottle her way.
‘Thirsty?’ he asked.
‘Do you mind?’
‘Not at all.’
Their conversation was stilted, how could it be anything but? They’d all been friends before they went their separate ways, but Maeve and Adrian had been a little bit more than that.
