As he rinsed out his cloth Luc could hear a scuffling sound. Had pest control not dealt with the rats in this house as effectively as they’d claimed? Or had he left the front door open and a neighbourhood cat had come in? Or worse – maybe there were still some gang members in the area who felt they had a right to come into a place where their insignia had been painted long ago?
Yeah…
He could hear footsteps. Quiet ones. As though someone didn’t want to announce their presence. Or they were small enough to be a kid?
On high alert, Luc got slowly to his feet and faced the door.
What he saw, a moment later, completely stole his breath.
‘Sophie!’
Shedidwant to talk to him. She’d come all this way to talk to him. Did that mean it was something that had to be said face to face? Because it was the right thing to do even if it was painfully difficult? Sophie’s face certainly looked as if she had to say something he wasn’t going to like. She looked… as if she’d been crying not long ago? She’d stopped in the doorway and Luc wanted to cross the space between them in as few footfalls as possible but his feet refused to obey his urge.
‘What is it?’ he asked instead. ‘What’s wrong?’
Sophie took a tentative step forward but then stopped again. ‘It’s Hannah,’ she said. She cleared her throat. ‘She got in touch with me because… she read the blog.’
Oh,no…
Luc’s heart twisted. Hard. This was his fault. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t walked, uninvited, into Sophie’s life and now it was a disaster that had claimed another victim. Someone he’d loved enough to be happy to marry and be with for the rest of his life.
‘She called you?’
‘No. She came to see me. She just turned up in Saint Jeannet, out of the blue, late this afternoon.’
Late this afternoon? Luc’s brain was scrambling to do some addition. It would have been an hour for Sophie to get to Nice airport, a wait for a flight, two hours to get to Heathrow, take an hour off for time difference but then add it back on for the journey from Heathrow to Camberwell.
What on earth had Hannah said or done for her to have come to see him sourgently?
* * *
Sophie broke the silence.
‘Why, Luc?’ she asked, her voice remarkably steady given the tension her body seemed to be vibrating with. ‘Why did you lie to me? Why did you let me believe that you were driving that night?’
It was Luc’s turn to take a step closer. His voice cracked as he spoke, as if the words were hurting his throat.
‘How could I not?’
‘Because of the promise you’d made Tom?’
‘Not just that. It would have hurt you and you were hurting enough already.’
Oh, God… he’d thought he’d been protecting her? Yes… that made sense. She had always known that this was Luc’s character. He would sacrifice whatever it took to save the people who had his loyalty.
Hislove…
Tom had been the first person in his life to earn that loyalty and even now, after all these years, he had been keeping his promise.
And protecting her. Letting her keep the good memories she had untarnished.
‘I meant what I said about talking about the things from our past,’ she said quietly. ‘That we need to be honest and trust that the truth isn’t being hidden.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Luc took another step closer to Sophie. ‘And here’s the honest truth. I didn’t want to hurt you. Because I was scared I might lose you and… you feel as important to my life as the oxygen I breathe. Or the water I drink. I… wasn’t brave enough to take the risk.’
Ohh…
His words sounded like a wedding vow. A declaration of love that was profound enough to mirror what she was feeling herself.
