‘She doesn’t exist for you!’
‘Seeing that we’re talking of exes…’ This was his chance.
‘We weren’t,’ Angelina retorted, kicking him under the table.
‘Seeing that we are talking of exes,’ Matt repeated, ‘tell me what happened between you and Rosy, Chase.’ He felt a bit awkward. He liked the man that he had met this evening, but still, he needed to know what exactly had gone on.
‘Oh my God. Can you not talk about her for like five minutes? This is my evening. Not bloody goody-two-shoes. I can’t believe you!’
‘Um… I was never dating Rosy, buddy. I only met her that night and she wasn’t interested in me.’
‘What do you mean not interested in you?’ Angelina rounded on him, half falling off her chair in the process. ‘You were NOT interested in Rosy.’
‘Well, I hadn’t met you yet… ouch! I’m teasing! I met Rosy when she came to the party, we bonded over – well I can’t tell you, other than a pretty scary sight. And yes, Ange, fists unfurled please, I thought she was lovely, but just not my type.’
‘Because I’m your type!’
‘Less so by the minute I should think, shut up, Ange! I want to hear what Chase has to say. Are you telling me you’re not the one who’s dating Rosy?’
‘Yep, I have never dated her, Matt, and from what she was telling me that evening, she only has eyes for one man. It’s just… it’s not really my place to say.’
Matt felt his heart lift and sink in the space of seconds; this was too much to compute. He had been convinced that she was dating Chase. It had explained everything, especially as he knew she had spent Valentine’s night here. But if that weren’t the case then who was the guy that Chase was talking about? He realized Chase was still speaking and he hadn’t a clue what he had just said.
‘Sorry, mate, I missed that, what were you saying?’
‘Oh, can we not stop now? This is dull, dull, dull!’
‘Shh.’ Not completely cured then. His sister was still capable of being a selfish pain in the arse.
‘I’m slipping into a coma here.’
‘Yeah, but not quietly.’
‘Are you two always like this?’
‘Nah, normally she’s more violent, I think she’s on her best behaviour because you haven’t been dating that long. Anyway, ignore her. As long as she’s not setting fire to anything we should be OK. Now what were you saying about Rosy?’
‘Just that whilst I don’t like to break confidences I think maybe this needs to be said, cos you kinda got a raw deal that evening. That night I met her, and I agree she is lovely, funny, kind, smart—’ Chase’s head whipped around. ‘Did you just growl?’
‘Yeah, she does that, has done since she was about eight. You’re right about Rosy, she is all those things, and more.’
‘Yep, and as I was saying, and yes, Ange, I promise we’ll all talk about you in a minute, anyway, from what I can see Rosy thinks the world of you but the tricky thing is… I shouldn’t be sharing this… but she has a few demons from her past that need healing first. That’s why she kicked off at you. She’s scared but I think she’s making headway. I think you should stick in there, give her time, be gentle, get her to talk, and with any luck it will all come good.’
Matt froze. Did he just hear Chase right? Rosy thought the world of him? She liked him like he liked her? Oh this was ridiculous – he wasn’t some twelve-year-old girl passing notes in class and crushing on the head of the First XV. Plus he had enough baggage of his own, most of it six foot tall, blonde and very demanding. Could he take any more on? A picture of her teaching him Cornish flitted into his head and he smiled. The naughtiness of her face when he was wearing the hairpin widened his face into a grin. However, getting even soppier in front of his sister’s new boyfriend was not an option; he was going to have to man it up now.
‘Oh right, that’s good to know, yeah, I can do that.’ He nodded, masculinely.
‘Right, brilliant, are we done now, can we get on with the evening? Let me show you the rest of the house. The wardrobe is out of this world! Seriously. Oh my God, you’re going to love the garden! And Chase is taking me to St Barts next month, aren’t you, honeybun?’
‘Not if you call me honeybun I’m not!’
And so the evening continued, and yes the house was amazing, the gardens were to die for and anyone with a whole bloody beach to themselves was seriously lucky, but really the only thing whooshing around in his mind was Chase’s statement and the fact that he needed to have a serious talk with Rosy. A proper one, not a promise of one that never materialized. He needed her to open up about whatever was scaring her and know that he would never do anything other than keep her safe. Then they could iron out what was looking increasingly like a mess of miscommunication that had done nothing but play with both of their heads.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Rosy was pleased to see Marion; she had just finished on the phone and had some news for her. However, as usual, she hadn’t been able to get a word in from the minute the woman hurtled into her office.
‘What do you mean we have to throw a party, Marion? Everyone’s exhausted. The toing and froing from the garden over the last couple of weeks, the stress of the potential closure, not to mention everyone’s out-of-school lives – a party is madness. I’d much rather have a few days in bed with my head under a pillow if I were to have my way on anything.’
