‘The hotel you saved from demolition before leaving town and selling your interests in it. Well, I can’t think why you bring it up. Brenda was saying that the renovations are coming along nicely. They’ve even opened the garden bar already.’
He turned to her, unsmiling. ‘She said that?’
‘Yes. For her, it was almost waxing lyrical.’
He still didn’t smile, just nodded. ‘And for you?’
‘For me, what?’
‘Have you been inside?’
She shook her head. Did he really think she could bear to go there after what had passed between them? ‘No, I, er, haven’t had the time.’
‘Right,’ he said. ‘Right.’ He pressed his lips together and was silent for a few moments. A few moments too long for Lucy.
‘Oliver!’ she said, and he looked around as if he’d just hit her. ‘I can’t stand this much longer. Tell me why you’re here.’
‘I wondered if you’d be interested in running the hotel.’
‘Running the hotel?’ She shook her head in confusion. ‘What are you talking about? Even if I were, what’s it to do with you? You’re not telling me you still own it, are you?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m doing. Although I have to say, I thought you’d know. With your spies — your brother, and Augi…’ He trailed off with a shrug. ‘It didn’t occur to me you wouldn’t know.’
‘Strange as it may seem I don’t operate a 24/7 investigative team focused either on the village, its inhabitants, or you!’ She grimaced, shook her head in confusion. ‘Why on earth are you still holding on to it? You said?—’
‘I know what I said, and three months ago I intended to sell all my New Zealand assets. But…’ He tailed off.
‘Oliver, please be direct. This isn’t like you. Just tell me what’s on your mind, because this is killing me. Unless that’s your intention… to kill me.’
He smiled then. ‘No, far from it. I like you too much alive and kicking.’
‘Well, that’s something I suppose.’ Something, but far too weak for her liking.
‘I wondered if you’d be interested in coming in as a partner on the hotel. You’d have a stake in the business, of course.’
She shook her head. ‘We seem to be leap-frogging over the big question here which isn’t “should I go into business with you”, and more like, “why the hell are you doing this?” A few months ago you couldn’t wait to leave, to get away from the hotel, MacLeod’s Cove… from me.’
‘No, Lucy, you’re wrong. But I understand why you think that.’
She scoffed. ‘I could hardly think anything else. You wouldn’t return my calls, you acted like you couldn’t wait to get away.’
He actually flinched. ‘I know. And I’m sorry, but I was doing something I never thought I’d do.’
‘Which was?’ she cocked her head to one side. ‘Running from a woman?’
‘No. Running from myself. Lucy, it wasn’t you I was running from, it was me. It took me some little while and getting some help to put the pieces together, and I’m making headway. I’m not there yet, but far enough along the path to see that I walked out on everything that had meaning for me. I walked out on a future I didn’t think I was worthy enough to claim for my own.’
‘Not worthy?’ She could only repeat his words, hardly able to take them in. ‘But, but… Surely you left because there was nothing left here for you. You said…’
‘I know what I said. What I didn’t know was how I felt. Or, more to the point, what I couldn’t trust were my own feelings. When you don’t allow yourself to feel any kind of emotion for more years than you can remember, it’s pretty hard to understand what the hell is going on.’
‘But,’ her voice was little more than a whisper, ‘you do now?’
‘I do now.’
She couldn’t believe it. ‘And… I’m to take your word for that? That you’ve done a complete U-turn. Why should I believe you?’
‘There’s no guarantees that come with this. All I can say is what happened, and I can assure you nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I’ve changed.’
