So why was this one not igniting that same excitement? Particularly given that it sounded like it had the potential to be the biggest movie she’d ever starred in.
‘So, I guess the last thing we need to check, Gabi,’ the director said, ‘is whether you will be bringing family with you if you came to America for six months? We would just need to know so that we can start looking for your accommodation.’
And there it was. She’d be on her own again. Normally, the words didn’t faze her. She was used to it, so why this sinking feeling?
Maybe she’d lost a bit of confidence with the broken leg. The vulnerability she’d felt, everything she’d been through, had certainly shaken her. But, even if she wasn’t jumping for joy at the moment, she knew this was what she wanted. To get back to her old life. Honeybridge had worked its magic and she was healed– so it was time to jump back in. She mentally kicked herself and refreshed her smile.
‘No,’ she said. ‘It would just be me.’
The woman continued, talking about having located the best physio in town for Gabi’s recuperation and welcoming her to the team before she signed off and hung up. Gabi felt like she’d been hit in the stomach as she let her phone fall back to her side.
She walked back to the table feeling strangely numb, like she was outside of her own body. She was leaving Honeybridge. She was leaving Walker.
‘Everything okay?’ Walker asked as she slipped back into her seat. She reached for a glass of water and drank it down in one.
‘What is it, Gabi?’ Isabella asked. ‘You look pale.’
Walker took her hand, his face creasing with concern and she made herself look at him squarely. ‘Tell me,’ he said quietly.
‘I got the job in America,’ she said. ‘I leave next Sunday.’
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Walker
He held Gabi’s hand as they walked home from Tutto Mio, but they were both lost in thought. He couldn’t believe how the day had changed. The sun was going down now, and both of their moods were dropping with it.
‘Scenic route?’ Walker asked, nodding towards the river. Gabi tried to muster a smile, but it was joyless.
‘Sure,’ she said, and they took the gravel path that led along the water to his house. The only sounds were the crunch of their footsteps and the gentle gurgling of the river. The silence between them weighed heavier with each and every minute that passed. Walker made it as far as the halfway-home bench and then couldn’t keep it in any more. He had to know what she was thinking. He sank onto the seat and pulled her down to sit next to him.
‘Talk to me,’ he said. Gabi turned to him, her face furrowed, and he couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was when she was worried. ‘Tell me more about this job.’
She took a deep, deliberate breath, then began.
‘It’s a great opportunity,’ she said. ‘Predicted to be a huge blockbuster.’ He nodded to encourage her on, feeling a swell of pride for her whilst simultaneously wishing that it didn’t sound so amazing. ‘It’s a massive A-list cast, the crew are all experts in their fields.’
‘Which is why they want you for the job.’ He stretched to put his arm around her shoulders on the back of the bench.
‘The money is incredible, the accommodation fully luxury and the film credit will put me at the top of my game.’
‘Sounds terrible,’ Walker deadpanned. This time she laughed and he thought how gorgeous she was when she did.
‘It’s my dream job. Everything I’ve been building up to my whole career.’ He could see the flash of excitement on her face and then it disappeared as quickly as it came.
‘But it means the Honeybridge holiday is over for me. It’s six months, Walker,’ she said, her eyes searching his face, her teeth worrying her lip.
‘And?’ he said, pushing her. He wanted Gabi to face up to what was in front of them; he wanted her to really let him in.
‘And I felt like this morning could have been the start of something and now I feel like it has to be the end.’
He stared at the water as her words hit home. A family of ducks swam past, five little golden ducklings in a line behind their parents, before disappearing into the shadows of a weeping willow tree on the far shore. Summer was in full force. Everything in nature was full and ripe, bursting with life. By the time Gabi finished her job in America, these leaves would have dried and fallen. The trees would be bare. The ducklings grown. The sun would have lost its heat. He took a long, slow, deep breath in and asked the question that was killing him.
‘Do you want this to end?’ Everything inside him longed to find a way for this, whatever it was, to last a little longer. Gabi lifted her face to him again.
‘No,’ she said simply. ‘I don’t. But we always knew I wasn’t going to be here for ever.’ Her eyes shone with unshed tears and the sight hurt his heart.
He nodded in defeat. It was true. They had always known. Even though it had gone deep, it was only ever supposed to be a short-term thing. He’d been a fool the last few days to think it might be anything more.
