“I can call a taxi if you don’t feel like walking home,” he said.
“It’s not far to Foxglove Street,” she replied. “And walking off some of that huge meal seems like a good idea.”
Peter waved goodbye to his friend Eddie Carlotti, who was busy behind the bar, and then held the door for Gaby.
Her warm, citrusy scent drifted in the air as she passed, just like it had when they’d met at the pub. The bright and vibrant aroma suited her and matched her energy and thirst for life.
He almost opened his mouth to say so, and snapped it closed just in time. Commenting on her perfume was a truly bad idea because she’d know just by the look in his eyes what he really meant.
Your perfume is gorgeous and so are you.
He imagined blurting out the words and frowned because once those words were out, there was no taking them back.
Their evening together had left him flailing. He’d tried to convince himself that taking her to dinner was simply him repaying the favour Gaby had done by filling his guest speaker spot at the school. And that was part of it obviously, because he wanted her to know he appreciated the favour.
But the soft candlelight in the restaurant and the good food and wine and the sheer joy of being in her company had overwhelmed him… and made him want more.
And then she’d pulled out that small notebook from her bag with its dog-eared pages and worn cover and he’d looked at all the destinations Gaby had listed there and he’d realised that no matter how much more he wanted with her, he could never have it.
She lived a life of travel and adventure. The list of places already ticked off in that notebook was astonishing.
And there were so many more destinations she’d written there and which still waited in her future.
He’d known from the moment they reconnected that she was only here temporarily. Tonight over dinner, he’d dared to imagine he saw attraction in her eyes when they looked across the table at each other.
And there might well have been attraction. They’d been attracted to each other once. They’dlovedeach other once. Perhaps it was natural for flickers of those old feelings to return.
But Gaby would leave Hamblehurst soon. This time they were spending together was brief and lovely and Peter couldn’t bring himself to ruin it by telling her that being in her company had reignited every feeling he’d ever had for her.
And he couldn’t ruin it by confessing that, since they’d crossed paths again, he now understood why he’d never fallen for anyone else the way he’d fallen for her fifteen years ago.
She was the most amazing and mesmerising and addictive woman he’d ever known. No one else even came close.
But none of that mattered. She was out of reach. Even hinting at how he felt would spoil this brief time they’d had together and also spoil his memories of the summer they’d loved each other.
“I don’t think we’ll need your umbrella, thank goodness.”
Peter blinked out of his inner monologue and saw Gaby looking up at the night sky as they walked along the cobbled lane. The clouds had gone and the stars were out, the air fresh from the earlier rainfall and the drifting sweetness of autumn leaves.
“At least we won’t get wet again,” Peter said, pulling himself together.
“And it’s lovely seeing the stars.” Gaby smiled and slipped her hand through his arm as they walked.
The touch of her fingers hooking into the crook of his elbow just about killed him.
For a moment, Peter’s mind filled with an image of the two of them like this for the rest of their lives, arm in arm and walking the lanes of this little market town together, making their way home beneath a shimmering blanket of starlight.
It was an impossible fantasy and he knew it.
For his own sake, Peter knew this had to be the last time they saw each other. No more drinks, no more dinners, no more requests for favours to keep him inside her orbit.
When he walked her back to her aunt’s house, he’d thank her again for her help, thank her for joining him for dinner, tell her he’d enjoyed catching up, wish her well for the future… and then he’d walk away.
He’d walk his path and let Gaby walk hers.
And then he’d put her out of his mind, somehow, and move on with his life.
“Are you okay, Peter?” Gaby asked, giving him a concerned look as they walked. “You seem quiet all of a sudden.”
