‘I know! We could’ve been caught by some members.’
‘Not just because of that. But because we were supposed to talk.’ His face fell.
‘You’re leaving,’ I jumped in. There was no point beating about the bush. I just wanted to get this crappy conversation over and done with. Yanking off the plaster would be less painful than dancing around the giant elephant in the room.
‘Yes.’ He hung his head. Even though I knew this was coming, my stomach still bottomed out and my throat went dry. ‘The flat is paid up until the end of the month, so once Theo’s back from his honeymoon, I’ll suggest that you move in. You’re already comfortable here, so it makes sense. Jane and Jackson are taking the flat next door, so you’ll have good people around you.’
‘Thanks, but I don’t care about the flat. Do you really have to leave?’ I choked the words out.
‘Yes,’ Ben said softly. ‘That was always the plan, remember?’
‘I know.’ I swallowed hard. ‘But I thought that… maybe…’
‘It’s for the best,’ Ben jumped in, then his gaze dropped to the floor. ‘I’ll be leaving straight after the wedding.’
My eyes bulged and a sharp pain shot straight to my gut.
I knew that I shouldn’t be shocked because, like he’d said, it was what we’d agreed and I’d sensed last night that this was what he was going to say. But I thought he’d wait until after the honeymoon. And we’d said this was temporary a lifetime ago. So much had changed since then, hadn’t it?
We agreed to thatbeforewe’d spent so much time together—reading, cooking, relaxing and talking.
Before we knew that we had an intense connection that went beyond the physical.
Before he said he believed in me.
I’d thought him making the desk was a sign of commitment. That things were serious between us. But now I realised that it was a parting gift.
My mind whirred like an overheating laptop.
‘Where will you go?’
I doubted he’d go back to California given what had happened, so where else could he go that would be better than here?
Sunshine Bay was stunning and it had the library, Theo andme.
Iwas here.
Maybe I wasn’t enough for him to stay after all.
‘I’m going travelling with Tom. It’s been a while since we’ve spent time together. He’s jealous that Theo’s had me to himself for so long.’ He flashed a half smile.
‘Right.’ I nodded solemnly.
The room fell silent.
I didn’t know what to say.
There was no point in telling him now that I wanted him to stay. Not when he’d already made his mind up that he was going.
‘Everything’s under control for the wedding prep, right?’ Ben asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Is there anything else you need me to help with today? Perhaps we should film a final social media video to round off the series?’
God, I’d forgotten about that.
All the videos we’d made had been a huge hit and I’d had it on my list to speak to Ben about doing more, but the social media focus these past few weeks was on the readers’ retreat and the book bar.
