Oh no. I feel my heart sink. This cannot be happening. I knew this guy was getting too close. ‘Actually Minty, I–’
‘Only, my sister…’
I feel relief flood over me.
‘Yeah, I honestly think,’ he continues eagerly. ‘You and my sister–’
‘Actually, Minty…’ I know I’ve got to stop this. I don’t want affairs. I don’t want one-night stands. I don’t want to be sandwiched into everyone else’s idea of what or who I should date. ‘I’ve got my eye on someone really special. Sorry, mate.’ I glance around the ward and then suddenly my heart sings. It literally rises up and blocks my throat, pushing aside any ideas of what I was about to say, or any urgency to say it, because it’s her. Clara.
‘Marco,’ she says, standing there, as if singled out from the entire world. Singled out for me.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I say. ‘I didn’t mean to run off.’
She waves something in her right hand. A napkin? ‘I got your note. It was kind of…’ She opens it out. ‘Written in blood, so I knew you meant it.’
I reach forward, pain shooting down my right side, but I don’t care, I just have to hold her, touch her. She grabs my hand. ‘Oh, and I see you’ve met my brother.’ She nods towards Minty.
‘Seriously?’ I do a double-take.
‘Yeah.’ She smiles. ‘He washes up okay.’
Minty laughs. ‘You see, sis, I told you. I told you I could find you the right man.’
I kind of wish I hadn’t had to take the brute force of a speeding van in order for that to happen, but then again…
She sinks into my arms. ‘I hear you’ve left your job?’
‘Fitz is taking over. She’s got Amy back in and helping out. Can’t believe I treated Amy so badly. But she forgave me.’
‘She’s a sweetheart like that. Fitz and Amy, the dream team. They’ll be fantastic.’
‘Don’t I know it. Fitz bought all my shares. So she’s the big boss now. Betsy’s going to have to keep her hands off, and Fitz is happy. She loves work and is pretty partial to Terry.’
Clara laughs. ‘Happy endings all around.’
I shrug. ‘Exactly. It was time for me to step back, but I hear you’ve stopped pursuing a career in music?’
‘Hmmm. I’ve decided I want something more down to earth. High-rise living, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But I still want to sing in the shower.’
I draw her towards me and kiss her soft lips. ‘Now that, I want to see.’
CHAPTER 21
CLARA
‘Where are you off to then?’ the cabbie says as he loads my two suitcases into his black cab. ‘A jaunt away for a bit of sun?’
‘Not quite,’ I say as, standing there on the pavement, I give my brother a long hug.
‘You’ll be fine, C,’ Minty says, holding me so tight I feel the air flatten out of my lungs. ‘Any problems, your room will always be here.’
We both glance at the house we grew up in. There are so many memories contained within those four walls.
I’ve made sure the freezer is fully stocked. I’ve dredged the last corners of the washing basket, and the airing cupboard has had every towel and sheet and tea towel folded or pressed. I hope Minty is going to be all right without me. He says he will, and you never know, without me in the house, maybe he’ll even get brave enough to bring a few girls back. Never mind my love life, in looking after me, I kind of feel he may have forgotten to get his own.
I choke back the tears. ‘You know I love you, Minty,’ I mumble between sobs.
He holds me at arm’s length so he can see into my eyes. ‘And there’s me thinking, all those years, that you were here for the cheap rent.’
