‘Done?’ He stared at me. ‘What sort of a question’s that? I have an anniversary surprise for you, that’s all. Well, I say that’s all. I’m hoping you won’t think,That’s all? I’m hoping you’ll love it.’
‘Go on,’ I said cautiously. ‘Tell me.’
He put his mug of tea on the bedside cabinet and turned to face me. ‘Well, I thought our tenth anniversary deserved something special. We both work so hard and sometimes we forget that there’s life beyond our jobs. I wanted us to remember that. So I’ve booked us a short break in a beautiful location. Somewhere we can forget all about work and the city and concentrate fully on us and our relationship.’
‘Do weneedto concentrate on our relationship?’ I gave a nervous laugh. ‘Sounds a bit grim. Like we’re going for a counselling session or something.’
He stared at me and I swallowed. ‘Oh. I see. We are.’
‘It’s not like that,’ he said, a little too late for my liking. ‘I just think we’ve kind of lost focus, don’t you?’ He placed his hand over mine. ‘I don’t want us to drift apart, Kirsty, and sometimes it feels like…’
‘Like what?’
He shrugged helplessly. ‘Don’t you feel it, too?’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ I said obstinately. ‘I think we have a lovely life. This house is perfectly adequate for our needs, and it’s in a nice street, and not too far from the town for shopping. And we both have good jobs and no real money worries, and friends, and – and family. I don’t know what more we could ask for. Do we really need to go away? Couldn’t we just stay here and enjoy ourselves without the need for travelling to goodness knows where?’
Rory sighed. ‘It’s just a short break, Kirsty, not three months in the Himalayas.’
‘How long is a short break?’
‘Four nights. That’s all.’
‘When?’
‘Wednesday to Sunday.’
‘In a hotel?’
Rory nodded. ‘Sort of.’
‘Sort of? What does that mean?’
‘Kirsty, can’t you just wait and see?’
‘Well, whereabouts is it?’
‘Somewhere beautiful.’
‘You already said that. That could mean anything. I like to be prepared. I?—’
He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. ‘It’s a present. My gift to us. Please, can you just accept that and trust me?’
But there was something in his eyes that Icouldn’ttrust. He was up to something; I was sure of it. Visions of arriving at some hotel in the back of beyond to be greeted by a horde of pushy estate agents filled my mind, and I pushed away the tray, my breakfast suddenly holding no appeal.
‘You don’t like it?’ he asked, eyeing the remnants of the Eggs Benedict with concern.
‘It was lovely,’ I assured him hastily. ‘I’m just not really a breakfast person, am I? The tea’s fine, though.’
I gulped some down to prove my point, trying not to look at the sadness in his dark eyes. I could change everything in an instant. All I had to do was tell him about the notice I’d seen in the staff dining room after Jenny had drawn my attention to it…
‘Something you might be interested in,’ she’d said as we’d headed towards the door on our way back to work. She’d nodded at the notice board and I’d followed her gaze, seeing exactly what she meant.
If I’d told Rory about it that night, he’d have had our bags packed and a removal van booked.
But I hadn’t told him, and I didn’t tell him now either.
God, what did he see in me? He was the kindest man in the world. The loveliest, the most patient… He deserved better than me.
