He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. His mind was blank. All he seemed able to do was stare at her.
‘Can I come in?’ she asked after a moment.
He blinked and tried to pull himself together. ‘Yes, of course. Sorry.’
She stepped inside and he hurriedly indicated that she should sit down at the table opposite him.
She ignored his instruction and sat next to him, giving a curious glance at the letter in front of him.
‘It’s from Sarah,’ he told her.
Her smile lit up her face, the way it always did, and his heart did that funny little dance in response, the wayitalways did. He couldn’t believe she was here, and he stared at her, not wanting to take his eyes off her for a moment in case she vanished.
‘Really? That’s fantastic! I’m so pleased for you.’ Then her smile faltered, and she said, ‘Itisgood news, right?’
He pushed the letter towards her. ‘Here, read it for yourself.’
‘Are you sure?’
He nodded. ‘I would never have written to her if you hadn’t given me the courage to.’
‘You would. Eventually.’ She quickly read the letter, and her smile returned. She laid her hand on his arm and his stomach flipped over. ‘This is brilliant news. So promising. You must be over the moon.’
‘I am. I mean, I know Wyatt’s not interested yet, but she says he likes to take his time. She didn’t say it was a definite no, did she?’
‘She didn’t.’
‘And even if it is… I mean, I never thought Sarah would get in touch, but she has. It’s good, right?’
He was jabbering and he knew it. Nerves had got the better of him.
‘It is,’ she said soothingly. ‘I’m really happy for you, Mac.’
He put the letter back in its envelope with shaking hands. ‘So, what are you doing here? I never expected to see you. This is quite the day.’
‘For me, too. I went to the doctor’s yesterday. I thought you might like to know that Project Alison has gone very well. I’m thirty pounds lighter, my blood pressure’s normal and the nurse is pretty confident about my blood results. I’ll find out for sure in a few days, but it’s looking good.’
‘That’s great. I’m so pleased for you.’ He smiled. ‘I knew you could do it.’
‘I might not have done without your help,’ she said. ‘I wanted to say thank you.’
‘It was all you,’ he told her. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘We both know that’s not true,’ she said, squeezing his arm.
He glanced down at her hand and hesitated, then covered it with his own hand, hardly daring to breathe in case he’d made a terrible mistake.
‘I’ve missed you,’ she said. ‘And I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry?’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘What have you got to be sorry for?’
‘For being an idiot. A coward. For running away. For turning my back on the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.’
‘Alison—’
‘No, let me say this, Mac. I know you can’t promise me you’ll never gamble again. Truth is, I can’t promise I won’t put weight back on again. All we can do is try, right? We both have so much to lose. But at the same time, we both have so much going for us. Life is good. It could be even better if we’re together. I know there are no guarantees, but I’m willing to take the chance if you are.’
Was she really saying this? On top of the letter from his daughter, Mac felt as if he was in some sort of lovely dream. If he was, he hoped he’d never wake up.
