Just in case you never read the last chapter. I’m so sorry I lost Stella’s book. I know I’ll never be able to make up for it, but I thought these might still help you feel close to her. It sounds as though she would have enjoyed the other books in the series if she was into sexy faeries.
He signs off the noteAshand his number, adding:Please call me when you’re ready.
I burst into tears.
I should have let him go years ago, and I certainly need to let him go now – so why is he making it harder for me?
I work straight through Thursday without texting him, and I’m relieved when Friday afternoon comes and I still haven’t cracked. We finish early on Fridays and the other cottage-dwellers are having another barbecue, so I go with Evan to the local supermarket to pick up a few bits and pieces.
‘How’s your first week been?’ he asks conversationally as we wander the aisles.
‘Good.’
‘Think you’ll be happy here in Wales?’
‘Absolutely.’ I’m trying to sound definitive. I want to get back to the joy I felt on Sunday when I first arrived. I was so happy going to work that first morning. I can’t let Ash sour this for me.
‘Got any plans for tomorrow?’
‘No.’ I glance at him out of the corner of my eye.
‘I wondered if you might fancy going to Chirk Castle with me. I haven’t been yet.’
‘I’d love that.’
‘Love’ is a slight exaggeration. I’m far too unsettled about Ash to think about anything happening with Evan, but I could do with a break from Berkeley Hall, that’s for sure.
When we return, we go straight to his cottage to unpack the shopping. The back door is wide open.
‘Hey!’ Harri says, coming inside with four empty beer cans. ‘We’re all down at Celyn’s.’
I still can’t get my head around the fact that Celyn is Taran’s older brother. I wonder if they look alike. Celyn is built like an oak tree and has a big black beard. I always imagined Taran to look a bit like Ash.
‘Cool,’ Evan says. ‘We’ll be with you shortly.’
Harri grabs a few more cans and disappears back through the door. Evan sorts us out for drinks, but I have a sneezing fit as we walk outside and accidentally throw some of my wine. He chuckles and determinedly extracts the glass from my hand before I can waste any more alcohol. As soon as I’ve stopped sneezing, I start laughing.
‘You’re a liability,’ Evan says warmly.
‘Yep.’
And then I see that Ash is sitting on a deckchair further along the lawn in full sunshine, watching us. I jolt violently.
What the hell is he doing here?
He puts a bright blue craft beer can to his mouth and tilts it, looking casual as anything in grey shorts and a grass-green T-shirt, his long legs stretched out in front of him.
‘Just going to put my bag inside,’ I tell Evan, pausing outside my cottage to unlock the back door.
As soon as I’m out of sight, I grab the note with Ash’s number and type out a new text message.
What are you doing here?
I peer out of the window in time to see him pull his phone from his pocket. He frowns at the message, and then lifts his chin and stares towards my cottage.
I watch, confident that he can’t see me from this angle, as he taps out a reply.
Having a drink with my friends.
