‘But where will you go? Your home, your work, your life is here.’
‘Not for the immediate future. I can’t live here never knowing when I might see them together. And I will. It’s bound to happen. ’
‘Cat.’ Nathan moved along the bed, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. ‘Tomorrow, I promise I’m going to find Luke Carrack and give him a bloody good hiding for doing this to you.’
‘No, please.’ She pulled from his embrace, resting her hands on his shoulders. ‘Promise me you won’t get involved. It’s my problem. I don’t want the family dragged into this. He’s not worth it, and anyway, the last thing I want is for you to be arrested.’
Nathan sighed. ‘Okay, if you insist, but I’m not happy.’
‘I do, honestly. It won’t achieve anything.’
‘Maybe not, but it would give me a great deal of satisfaction,’ Nathan said, hugging her again, his comfort and warmth bringing on a fresh bout of tears.
‘I’m sorry, I’ve made your shirt all wet,’ she said, pulling back and taking a tissue from a box by the bed to try and repair the damage. Feeling a little more composed she looked up at him.
‘I will get over this,’ she said, dabbing at the front of his shirt. ‘And there is somewhere I can go.’
‘Where?’
‘To Italy with Étienne. He did offer, remember?’
‘Yes, but for a visit, not work.’
‘I’m sure he can find something for me. And it will give me time to get over Luke.’ The idea took root and suddenly she wasconfident she could make it happen. But how long would it take to put all this pain behind her? Six months? A year? Who knew? If she found Garda as magical as Ruan and Étienne had said it was she might never want to return. But no, that wasn’t true, was it? Cornwall was her home. She would find her way back eventually. When the time was right.
‘Are you really sure you want to do this?’ Nathan’s sorrow at losing his sister was obvious and she saw him struggle, looking for something that would persuade her to stay.
‘I don’t want to, I have to,’ she said, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. ‘There is no other option.’
Luke unlocked the front door of his cottage and turned on the hall light. Tonight he should have been spending the night here with Cat, making up for lost time, talking about their future together. He’d been planning to ask her to move in with him. Instead he faced a cold, empty bed and probably very little sleep. He’d made a mess of things. She was right; he had lied. But he had no idea Tanya would turn up again and, worse still, decide to wreck their relationship. After Cat’s final, painful words he’d headed back into the club to find the cause of all the trouble. She was waiting at the top of the stairs. He could see from the smug expression on her face she had deliberately set all this up to get rid of Cat. The smile soon vanished when he informed her bluntly he didn’t want her now or at any time in the future and she should leave.
Hearing his words, the sweet, if slightly scatty girl he’d known in Bali told him quite arrogantly that his preferring to be with Cat and not her made him one of life’s all-time losers. When he demanded the cuff back she threw it at him with a vicious smirk, saying it had fulfilled its purpose and she no longer needed it anyway. If he didn’t want her then at least she had the satisfaction of knowing Cat didn’t either. He walked with her toher car, making sure she left before he headed home. Her words stung but he was determined to prove her wrong. What he had with Cat was special and strong, something that might bend but never break, and tomorrow he was determined to prove it.
He undressed, fell into bed and lay there, his eyes closed, still unable to stop images of the disastrous events of the evening filling his mind. He cursed himself for letting her go but he’d had no choice. She was so angry, so hurt. In the morning he promised things would be different. He would drive out to the hotel and see her. She would be calmer then and maybe even regretting their argument. Whatever he found himself facing he couldn’t, wouldn’t lose her.
Eventually he managed to drift off to sleep, waking to the chug of diesel engines as the small fishing fleet left the harbour for their day’s fishing. A glimmer of morning light broke through the curtains where they didn’t quite meet, and without checking his bedside alarm he knew their departure meant it must be close to five a.m. He closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep again. Instead, the events of the night before were back playing in his head. To rid himself of this continuous torment he decided to get up. He showered and dressed, grabbed a couple of rounds of toast and went outside to sit on the low wall just above the harbour, watching Carrenporth wake up to a grey hazy September morning. He decided to wait until nine thirty before driving to the hotel. By that time Cat should be at her desk and he would be able to talk to her privately.
He reached the hotel just before ten, parked up and walked in through the front doors. The first person he saw was Nathan talking to one of the receptionists. Ignoring him, he made his way to Cat’s office, knocked and entered, surprised to find Cat’s assistant, Siobhan Pendennis sitting behind her desk. Heremembered she had been backpacking around South East Asia all summer.
‘Morning, Siobhan,’ he said as he leaned in the doorway, giving her a friendly smile. ‘Is Cat around?’
However, before she had the chance to reply, he heard approaching footsteps echo across the foyer.
‘I’ll deal with this, Siobhan.’ He turned at the sound of Nathan Trevelyan’s voice and saw his frosty expression. With a nod, Siobhan scooped up a small pile of files and left the office.
‘If you’re looking for Cat, she’s gone.’
‘Gone?’
‘Yes, away.’
‘For how long?’
‘She didn’t say, and, to be quite honest, it’s none of your business.’ Nathan paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. ‘You know, she asked me not to touch you,’ he said, his cool blue eyes fixed on Luke, ‘although you will never know how near I came to seeking you out last night and giving you a good thrashing for what you did to her.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry.’ Luke met Nathan’s hard stare. ‘I handled things badly. Is there no way I can talk to her?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ Nathan replied. ‘Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be with Tanya now? You should be making her your priority, not wasting time here in a pointless effort to see my sister. You want some advice? Forget Cat and get on with your new life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m expecting a visitor at any moment.’
