‘You know about Danny? You know about all the…’
‘Ghosts,’ she finished for me. ‘Of course I do. They’re very much part of the community here. That’s actually why I’ve come to talk to you. Word has spread that you’re Brooke’s cousin, and that you, Rory, are Danny’s brother. Everyone’s thrilled that you’re able to see them and that you’ve been to visit them at their home. They’ve never had any living visitors before so it’s exciting. Callie and Brodie – they’re the ones whose party it is tonight – have asked me to invite you to it. It starts at seven and they’d be delighted if you could make it.’
Rory and I exchanged astonished looks.
‘Well, that’s very kind of them,’ Rory began.
‘The only thing to remember,’ she said, ‘is that Callie and Brodie don’t know about High Spirits. The performance is to be a surprise for them. The ghosts’ gift to the happy couple. So if you do happen to bump into either of them before the party, please don’t mention it, will you?’
‘Of – of course not.’ This place was the most surreal place imaginable. It was like everyone just accepted the ghosts as part of the community. No big deal. I shook my head, amazed. I supposed if Danny and Brooke had to die and become ghosts, they’d chosen the best possible place to do it.
Rory raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged, leaving the decision to him.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘We’d be delighted.’
Penny smiled and went back to supervise whatever was happening in the function room. I took a sip of coffee and watched my husband thoughtfully.
‘You think it’s a good idea?’ I asked, suddenly not so sure. ‘Going to a party where Danny’s singing, given how he feels about you right now? How he feels about both of us?’
Rory cradled his cup, his eyes filled with a new determination. ‘By the time of the party this will all be sorted out one way or the other,’ he said.
‘And you know that because?’
He sat up straight. ‘Because I’m going to make sure of it. This has dragged on long enough. We’re all so bloody miserable and it has to stop. We have to sort things out – the three of us.’
‘Actually,’ I said, ‘I think you’ll find there are four of us in this marriage, or have you forgotten Brooke?’
‘Brooke? Well, I know she’s around obviously, and she’s your cousin, but she isn’t really anything to do with what’s gone on between you, me and Danny.’
I pushed my coffee away. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong,’ I said, meeting his gaze steadily. It was the moment of truth and I knew it. Time to come clean. ‘She’s got everything to do with it. Rory, you and I need to talk. There’s something I have to tell you and you’re not going to like it. I want you to listen to me, and when you’ve heard what I have to say you can choose what you want to happen next, and I won’t try to persuade you differently. But you have to know. I can’t carry on like this any longer.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘This sounds very serious.’
‘It doesn’t get any more serious,’ I told him.
He got to his feet. ‘Then I guess we’d better go up to the room and talk in private,’ he said. His face was grim and his mouth a straight line as he turned and, without waiting for me, headed for the reception and the stairs.
I took a steadying breath then followed him. No backing out now.
When we entered our hotel room, Rory went to stand by the window, his hands in his pockets as he gazed down on the gardens below.
‘Well?’ he said without looking round. ‘What do you have to tell me?’
‘I’m not going to talk to your back,’ I said. ‘I need to see your face.’
If his expression showed disgust or hatred, at least I’d know. Rory’s eyes revealed every emotion, and as much as I dreaded seeing something I didn’t want to see, I knew I wanted total transparency from now on. No more guessing games. For either of us.
He slowly turned round to face me, leaning against the windowsill and watching me. He was clearly trying to keep his expression neutral but there was unmistakeable wariness in his eyes.
I sat on the sofa and began.
‘You think there’s something between us that’s stopped me from being fully myself with you. That I’m keeping something from you,’ I said. ‘And you think it’s all to do with my grief for Danny. You think I haven’t got over what happened that night. And you’re right. I haven’t.’
As something flickered in his eyes I said quickly, ‘But it’s not what you think. I’m not pining for Danny. I’m not still in love with him. The truth is, Rory…’
I paused, hardly able to say the words out loud. It was such a big thing to admit, even to myself. But there was no going back now.
‘The truth is, I fell out of love with Danny long before he died.’
