Chapter Thirty-One
Sabrina looked pensive as Dominic Best tentatively opened the door to Kevrinek Cottage and greeted her with a weak smile.
‘Well, this is a bit of a turn up, you staying inmycottage.’
‘Yes, Isaac didn’t have much choice– I just showed up and asked him if it was free and thankfully he said yes. I figured it’s a peaceful and private place to meet. I also gave him another five hundred pounds for Headway.’
‘At least money talks, eh, Dominic?’ Sabrina said tightly.
‘I know I’ve been a complete dick but I’m here now. I had to see you. To talk face to face.’
‘How long are you staying?’
‘Just tonight. It nearly killed me driving down and back in one day when I saw you before. And I’m off to a…err… a work event in Cannes on Friday.’
‘Won’t it be a bit cold in Cannes this time of year? And…I’m certainly not apologising for you doing all that driving before.’
‘I’m a big boy, Sabrina. I make my own decisions.’
‘Yes, and lately, most of them have been wrong.’
‘I asked for that.’ Dominic lowered his eyes.
‘Yes, you did.’
‘Are you going to stand out there all afternoon? At least come in for a cup of tea.’ He ushered her inside.
With mugs of hot tea in front of them, they sat at the pine kitchen table.
Dominic put his hand over to touch Sabrina’s, she pulled it away.
‘What do you want, Dom?’
‘To talk like adults instead of screaming at each other.’ Nodding, Sabrina instantly felt tears pricking her eyes. She sniffed them back and took a large gulp of tea.
‘It fucking hurt to find out she was pregnant from a newspaper article.’ Dominic squirmed in his chair. ‘All you had to do was ring me. What did you think I was going to do?’
‘She hadn’t even had her first scan and if I’m honest I hoped she’d change her mind. We did talk through that option.’
‘But she didn’t, and you are going to be a father again. I bet Mercedes is delighted about that.’ Sabrina said cattily, letting out a little laugh at the thought of his spoilt daughter hearing the news of Dominic not only being involved with a woman younger than her, who was also with child.
Dominic looked to her left hand. ‘Who did you sell your ring to, then?’
She managed a smile. ‘You can take the girl out of North London and all that.’ A pause. ‘Of course, I haven’t sold it. You can have it back if you’d like it.’
Dominic’s face dropped. ‘Sure, I’m that kind of man, aren’t I? Auction it for the charity if you like. How is your brother, anyway? It’s a long old trek for you to visit him from here, isn’t it?’
The man in front of her sure knew how to play her emotions.
‘I’ve called him every fortnight, as usual. He seems happy and the staff constantly tell me he’s living his best life so he’s as good as he can be. And I guess that is all we can hope for.’
‘Well, if I’m honest, I’m not living my best life without you, Swifty. I miss you. I miss you a lot.’
Sabrina took a deep breath. ‘You made your bed.’ She looked up to the ceiling to push back more tears. ‘Alright. I miss you, too.’ She paused. ‘Actually, I only miss parts of you and parts of our life together. If I’m honest, being apart from you has made me realise how shallow our existence together was most of the time.’
‘I’ve had time to think, too. If you come back, we can change all of that. I promise.’
‘Do you plan to leave your job, then?’
