But how could he have done anything else? She needed someone to talk to. Even if she didn’t realize it fully, she’d neededhim.No one else. He’d already been more than half in love with her when she went away. And now …?
Well, now he was in big, big trouble. Neck deep. Only just able to keep his head above water, and that might not last long, because he was falling hard and deep for Erin Ross, and that would be a wonderful way to drown.
He’s never been to Lapland. He’s never seen the Northern Lights outside of the TV or a YouTube video. But he’s watched countless reels of them now, drawn to them because she’s fascinated by them. So he pulls the images from his memory banks and starts to weave words about inky night skies,stars like shards of ice and dancing unearthly lights in shades of green and pink and blue.
She interjects now and then, asking him questions, and he answers every one. When the questions finally stop, he knows he has lulled her back to sleep. His job is done. It doesn’t matter if he’s lost what he’s given her. He’d give her anything.
If only she’d let him.
He places his phone back down on the windowsill and opens his mouth wide with an enormous yawn. He punches his pillow to get it how he likes and rolls over, but then his bedroom door crashes open.
‘Mate! You won’t believe the night we’ve had!’
He rolls back over to face the door. His housemate is standing there, coat hanging off one shoulder and a half-drunk bottle of something gripped loosely in one hand.
‘I bet I can fill in some of the blanks.’
The guy laughs. ‘Well, you know me!’
Another yawn, but he can’t help smiling. Yes, he does know his friend.
‘Come and join us! Hopper is going to make us bacon butties.’
He considers it. He loves a good bacon butty, but he’s still enjoying the gentle afterglow of the conversation with Erin. His housemates are too loud, too full-on. They’ll scrub it away and then he’ll have to wait for the next time the soft tinkling of chimes he reserves just for her light up his phone. Besides, Hopper always burns the bacon.
‘Nah. I think I’ll catch some more Zs.’
‘Sure? We can cook extra, just in case you change your mind.’
‘Sure.’ He yawns again as the door closes. ‘Thanks, Simon.’
‘Sweet dreams, Gil.’
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Present Day
I’m running through the flat, tights on, no shoes. My dress is only zipped halfway up my back because I can’t contort myself enough to pull it all the way to the top without Simon’s help. ‘Si!’ I yell. He’s in the bedroom, doing up his tie. ‘You haven’t seen my handbag anywhere, have you?’
‘No!’ he yells back. ‘What about the basket thingy by the door?’
My blood pressure climbs another couple of notches. ‘If it was in the basket, I would have found it by now, wouldn’t I?’
I can’t seem to remember where I put anything down these days, so the strategy has become to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I have a pot for my keys in the hallway and a nice little rattan basket that I put my handbag in when I walk in the door, along with a variety of other receptacles for further essentials all around the flat.
I run from the living room into the kitchen, scouring the counters. It’s only two-bedroomed flat, for goodness’ sake! It’s got to be somewhere.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but Simon and I are supposed to be wgoing out to dinner with his sister Rachel and her husband to celebrate their tenth anniversary.We’re already late, partly because I was on hold to the Royal Marina hotel to see if they’d got any cancellation dates for later this year. And at the same time, Replacement Rob kept texting me because he’s having some kind of existential household management crisis that only I can solve.
I know, I know … But I kinda got suckered in a few days ago when Kalinda and her family were preparing to move to their villa in Majorca for a couple of months and everything went pear-shaped.
Anyway, the upshot is I was late getting ready and now I have an absolutely thumping headache and I can’t find my painkillers because they’re in my bloody handbag.
I turn a circle in the kitchen and make myself slow down.Breathe, Erin …
I keep finding things in the strangest places, so I’ve learned not to look in just the obvious places, but all the really weird places too. I’ve already been through the living room, the bathroom, our bedroom and the spare bedroom/study, so this is the only room left.
I walk to the kitchen cabinet right beside the door, open it up and look inside. Nope, just plates and cups and glasses. I close it again. And then I go onto the next one. I repeat this procedure, working round the room. I check the cupboard under the sink last, and then, just because it’s sitting right next to it, I open the door to the washing machine.
