‘You. Us.’
‘Oh!’ She sounded surprised.
‘You didn’t imagine I ever thought about us?’
‘I didn’t imagine you’d just come out and admit it,’ she said. ‘I suppose I’m not used to people telling me the truth so easily.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I suppose you’re not. But I’m not like that.’
‘I never thought you were.’ She turned and leaned on the railings, mirroring his own posture. They both gazed out over the river in silence for a minute. Then she spoke. ‘Well… Joel and Annette have broken up.’
So here it was.Cue end credits and sad music. Sam nodded. ‘Right. That’s, er…’
‘Irrelevant really,’ she said, and he turned to look at her in surprise. She gave him a sideways glance and smiled. ‘Totally irrelevant, because he’s not coming back anyway. I made that very clear.’
‘You’ve spoken to him?’
‘I have. He turned up at our house yesterday, expecting me to forgive and forget. He was sadly disappointed.’
‘So…’
‘So it’s over, Sam. Me and Joel are history. I could never love a man who didn’t love his daughters, and he doesn’t. Sadly, if it had just been about me and him, I think I’d have gone on forgiving him, putting up with it all. But when I realised that he just didn’t care about Hallie and Ada, that was it. They deserve better.’
‘They do,’ Sam agreed. ‘But so do you, Jenna. You always did.’
‘You’re right,’ she admitted. ‘I just didn’t see it. So, what happens now?’
He wasn’t sure what she was asking. ‘What do youwantto happen now?’
‘Well… Obviously, the twins and I are going home on Saturday. Back to school next Monday for all three of us.’
‘Back to work for me,’ he said nervously. ‘I’m starting back with Luke in the building trade.’
‘You are?’ She beamed at him. ‘That’s amazing! Oh, but what about the pub? Are you closing it down?’
‘Jenna, you’re not going to believe this. It’s like a dream. Dad’s decided not to sell the pub. Stella’s going to help him.’ He grinned, still hardly able to believe it himself. ‘They’re going to set up a carvery and bring back the shanty nights that they used to have here when Dad was a kid. He’s so full of plans now, it’s unbelievable.’
‘Oh, Sam!’ Her eyes shone with happiness for him. ‘That’s brilliant! You can go back to doing what you love, and you won’t have to leave Kelsea Sands after all.’
‘No. Dad says I can live at the pub for as long as I want to.’ His smile faded. ‘But you’re going back home, aren’t you? I-I’ll miss you. I know you probably won’t want to hear that.’
‘Why wouldn’t I want to hear it?’ she demanded. ‘It’s exactly what I hoped you’d say!’
Sam frowned. ‘I don’t understand you, Jenna. Are you saying youdowant to be with me?’
She took his hand. ‘I’m sorry. I know I must have confused you when I ran off after we kissed. Truth is, it was me who was confused. That kiss… Sam Hughes, you really know how to sweep a lady off her feet.’
‘I do?’ It was news to Sam. ‘You mean, youdidfeel something?’
‘Oh, Sam. How could you not realise it? Surely my response made that very clear to you?’
‘I thought… I mean, I hoped… But then you just said nothing and you couldn’t get away fast enough, and you’d warned me that you were afraid you wouldn’t feel anything and didn’t want to hurt me. I thought you leaving so suddenly was to avoid telling me that what you’d feared was exactly what had happened.’
‘It was the opposite,’ she said. ‘I felt… everything. It was insane. But it was confusing, too, because it was so different from what I was used to with Joel. You know, Mum once asked me an important question. We’d been talking about Mac’s gambling addiction, and her addiction to junk food, and she asked me whatmyaddiction was. And I couldn’t answer her because I was ashamed. I couldn’t tell her that my addiction was Joel. Pure and simple. But it turns out I was wrong. I wasn’t addicted to Joel at all.’
‘You weren’t?’
She shook her head. ‘Nope. What I’ve finally figured out is, I was addicted to that feeling. That physical reaction that came with being with him. The churning stomach. The thudding heart. The racing pulse. All that adrenaline sloshing around inside me. All those chemicals! Basically, I was hooked on fear, jealousy and pain. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?’
