‘Is he trying to torment me?’ she muttered to herself. He wasn’t here to witness what he’d done to her with that soft heart that beat under his protective prickles – or answer the hundreds of questions she had for him now.
Mainly: what on earth were they going to do with each other?
Fumbling for her phone, she was about to ring him, but Andreas appeared at the door and she stuffed the device back into her pocket and rushed at her old friend.
‘Is he here?’ she said in lieu of a greeting as he came through the sliding doors.
‘Who?’
‘Who do you think? Gabri! Did he ask you to put these plants on my desk?’
Andreas threw his hands up. ‘I didn’t want to be involved, but Sophie and Ginny together can be scary.’
‘Sophie and Ginny?’ she repeated. ‘Speaking of which, you need to actually communicate if we’re going to get your wedding off the ground.’
‘I was happy they were distracted by you for a little while,’ he grumbled in reply.
‘Did you put these things on my desk?’
He met her gaze. ‘He called me, over the weekend, said he had something for you.’
‘And?’
‘He promised he’d give you space. If he’s pushed you, then I’ll?—’
She shook her head to cut him off. ‘You don’t need to protect me any more, Andreas.’
‘I know,’ he said gruffly, ‘but it gives me something to do to?—’
‘Miro wouldn’t want that – you know it’s true. He’d want us both to be happy.’
The look Andreas shared with her was full of sympathy. He’d struggled with the loss as well – being happy and in love, expecting a baby when his best friend had died and he’d survived.
‘And you’ll be happy with this Italian florist?’ He enunciated the word ‘Italian’ with a hint of disdain, as though his own nationality weren’t the Tricolore and the five-pointed star. But she knew his German-speaking region valued its identity and autonomy. ‘I suppose you’ll be moving and leave me alone with the I Do Destinations frou-frou. What does Cillian think?’
‘We haven’t got that far! All he’s done is give me a rosemary plant and a thistle!’
‘A thistle?’ Andreas’s laboured pronunciation reminded her of Gabri’s ‘tizzle’ and a laugh escaped her. ‘That doesn’t sound romantic.’
‘It’s a long story, but didheput this on my desk, or did you?’ she asked frantically.
‘He did! He asked me to let him in here last night,’ Andreas replied, studying her as though she had a screw loose. ‘Why would I give you a thistle?’
Toni didn’t answer him. She was too busy processing the fact that he was here. Gabri washere, in Weymouth, when he’d said he wouldn’t visit.
‘What did he say to you?’ she asked, gripping Andreas’s arm urgently.
‘He said he was going to give you time.’
‘Me? It washimthat wasn’t ready.’
Andreas shrugged. ‘He just said he was willing to wait.’
Toni groaned. ‘Waiting is the last thing I want to do. Please tell me you know where he is.’And how long he can stay and whether he has any idea how we can fix the little issue of a thousand miles.
‘Ask Ginny. She got us all into this mess, so I’m sure she’ll work out a way to get you out of it.’
Snatching her phone back out from her pocket, she scrolled for the number, but paused to point a finger at her old friend. ‘You’re not off the hook, you know. We’re going to prepare a dream wedding for you and Sophie and that means you need to tell us whatyouwant too.’
