She nodded. ‘Same here.’
They stood for another long moment, although this time it didn’t seem so awkward.
‘I’ll walk you out.’
Ella moved slightly in front of him, keeping her head down as she walked out of the door onto the pavement. There was a car waiting at the kerb, and when Gabriel gestured towards it, she bristled for a second, thinking he was expecting her to go home with him. She liked him, but she certainly wasn’t there yet, and she didn’t want to think he’d misread her intention.
‘I—’ she started.
‘I ordered you an Uber,’ he interrupted, clearly realising that she was uncomfortable. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
‘No, I don’t mind at all.’ She was relieved when he stood back and indicated that she should get in, wishing she hadn’t doubted him.
‘Thanks for a great night.’
Gabriel slipped his hands into his pockets as he watched her, and she gave him one last, long look before shaking her head and opening the car door. Talk about a night full of surprises.
She looked out of the window as the car rolled forwards, holding her hand up in a wave as he began to walk in the opposite direction. Ella only hoped that he hadn’t used all his spare money on her Uber, but if he had, it only made her think once again what a gentleman he was.So much for chivalry being dead. Gabriel had clearly been raised by someone who’d taught him the importance of looking after a woman, and if she ever met that person, she’d be sure to show her appreciation.
* * *
It wasn’t until Ella fell into her flat twenty minutes later and locked the door behind her that she realised she’d forgotten all about showing Gabe the sheet of music that she’d had tucked in her bag. She laughed as she kicked off her shoes and padded across the wood floor to her bedroom, wondering how something that had consumed her for the past two weeks could so easily be forgotten. Although he had been rather distracting.
She touched her bag, unzipping it to check that she hadn’t somehow dropped the music by mistake, and as she did so her phone buzzed. Ella took it out and glanced at the messages, seeing she’d missed one from Kate and also one from Daisy, who was wanting to see how it had gone with Gabriel. She quickly texted her back.
You could have warned me how gorgeous he was! I’m still recovering! And it’s such a small world, because we actually went to school together. I pined over him when I was sixteen and he left London to pursue his dreams!
She flopped down onto her bed, phone still in hand, and clicked on the new email that had just come through. Mia.Oh,thatMia!
Ella quickly scanned the message, hardly able to believe that she’d heard back so quickly, or at all.
Hello Ella,
Thanks for reaching out. I don’t know if I can help you, but if you’d like to meet for a coffee or lunch one day, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about my aunt. It’s all such a mystery, these little boxes. I still can’t stop thinking about them, and how fortunate it was that I found them at all.
Mia
Ella reread the email, more slowly this time. She’d had a few drinks, and she wouldn’t normally respond to emails when she was tipsy, but she knew that if she didn’t reply to Mia immediately, she’d only lie awake and think about it all night.
Her mind began to spin with all the questions she had to ask her, but she had to remind herself that Mia knew nothing about her grandmother, or at least that’s what she’d said at the lawyer’s office. But if she could better understand how her grandmother had ended up being born there, or if there were any records at all that could be of help to her, maybe it would take her one step closer to finding out the truth about her family’s past.
9
Ella stretched, sunlight rousing her awake. She squeezed her eyes more tightly shut, regretting not pulling the blinds before going to bed. It took her a moment to recalibrate and figure out what day it was.Saturday. She didn’t have to open the gallery today, although she’d head in there on her way out for coffee just to check that everything was running smoothly.
Mia.
She sat bolt upright when she remembered that Mia had emailed, fumbling for her phone to see whether she’d replied again. Ella had messaged back immediately asking if she were free for coffee that morning, and she didn’t want to miss her if she’d said yes. Her head was a little fuzzy from the gin she’d consumed the night before, but she sat up in bed, covers pulled to her waist, smiling to herself when she saw there was another reply.
Sure, let’s meet today at 11am.
Ella grinned, about to get out of bed and attempt to make herself presentable, when another message appeared, this one a text. Gabriel?
Didn’t you have a sheet of music you wanted to show me? G
She stared down at her phone, seeing Gabriel’s smile in her mind as she replied. It really had been a great night, the best she’d had in a long time.
Can’t believe I never showed it to you.
