‘You don’t understand.’
‘That’s the thing: I really do. What was it your mammy said? “‘Follow your heart and you won’t get lost.” If you do this, you will lose not only someone who would lay a golden pathway of love and trust below your feet if only you’d let him, but you will lose yourself, too.’
At the mention of her mum, Sabrina let out another almighty sob. Conor moved to her side again. ‘You can’t drive in this state.’
‘Watch me! You can’t stop me. And if you do say you love me like you do, then you’d want me to be happy and let me go!’
Conor stood in front of the door.
‘Let me go.’ Her eyes were wild.
The handsome Irishman silently moved aside to let her go past. Sabrina, slightly wrong-footed by his sudden change of mood, looked back up the stairs to see him still standing in the doorway watching her go. She felt her heart do a little leap.
‘I’ll be waiting.’ He said softly.
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘Mummy said that if you cry inside and don’t let your feelings out, then you drown inside. Is that right, Auntie Rini?’ Sabrina lay on her bed at the Dickinsons’ Essex home with her friend’s insightful eight-year-old sitting on the unicorn-printed bean bag she had dragged in from her bedroom.
Sabrina propped herself up in bed, her face streaked with tears. ‘Well, there’s no drowning going on here, I promise you that, Thea.’
‘Der, that’s what I mean. You’ve been crying for hours and hours, I heard you. You nearly drowned my Barbie already, look. I put her close to your face to look after you.’ With that, she picked up her dolly by its damp hair and headed off downstairs to her dad, who was loudly calling her for breakfast.
Dee walked in with a mug of tea and put it on the mirrored bedside table.
‘I’ve upset Thea, now. Sorry.’
‘Don’t worry. She’ll get over it.’ Dee smiled. ‘It’s quite a drive up here, and most of it was in the dark. You must be so knackered.’
‘I’m exhausted. Thanks for letting me stay, matey.’
‘You’re always welcome, you know that. Do you want some breakfast? Stu is doing his legendary smoked salmon and poached eggs on bagels. I daren’t get anywhere near him. He thinks he’s bleeding Gordon Ramsey the minute his Chelsea Football Club apron goes on.’
Sabrina laughed. ‘Posh grub on a Sunday, sounds good, but I need to get going and resolve this properly with Dom. He wouldn’t have come all the way to Cornwall twice if he didn’t care and I think I owe it to him– to us– to see where his heart really does lie.’
Dee nodded, looking sad but determined. ‘You have to go your own way with this, Rini. And I may not agree with what you are doing, but I’m here for you, you know that.’
Sabrina rubbed her hands over her face. ‘Conor said he loved me. He’s known me for five minutes, that’s ridiculous.’
‘Conor is so lovely, Rini. He’s a solid man.’
‘I know. I know. But that doesn’t discount the fact he did tell half the bloody market about the closure and I asked him not to.
Dee sighed. ‘Is that the worst things he’s done?’
‘Er, yes. But…’
‘Let’s stop this stupid fault finding when something good is clearly in front of your face, shall we, Rini? He did what he thought was best for you. I mean, could you really have taken it on yourself?’
‘I hate you, Delilah Dickinson.’
‘Let’s not start that again. You know I’m always right.’
The women laughed.
‘I don’t get why don’t you want to be with him, though? HeisAction Man personified. He hasn’t really let you down ever and he has told you to your face that he loves you. He is also bloody hot! Come on Rini, let’s stop this fear shall we.
‘What fear?’ Sabrina screwed her face up.
