“For old times’ sakes.”
“I don’t believe that any more than you do. And I certainly don’t believe that’s the reason you were spending time with him either. You have feelings for him, rather strong ones, or you wouldn’t have given up so much of your time here to be with him.”
“Of course I have feelings for him. He was my first love. I’d have to be heartless to no longer have any feelings for the first guy I ever fell for. But he said he’s in love with menow.”
“And are you in love with himnow?”
“No! I don’t know! Yes! Okay I said it. I’m in love with him too. Are you happy now?”
Flustered, Gaby drank more wine and scowled. The truth of what she’d just said and what she’d just admitted wasn’t as surprising as she thought it should be. There was a lesson in that, not that she was ready for it yet.
“Feel better for getting that out of your system?” Jill asked, an amused smile on her lips.
“No. Not even a little bit.”
Jill chuckled. “Well, at least it’s out there now. He loves you. You love him. And now the question is what are you going to do about it?”
“There’s nothing I can do, Aunt Jill. I’m leaving tomorrow. I have a job waiting for me.”
“You could pull out of the contract.”
Gaby was appalled. “I would never let an employer down at the last minute.”
“I seem to recall that the only reason you’ve been able to stay here these past couple of weeks is because an employer letyoudown and rescinded their job offer mere days before you were supposed to start.”
“Yes, because their conference centre caught on fire! They had a good reason.”
Jill shrugged, as if she didn’t entirely agree.
“And anyway,” Gaby continued, “if I’d pressed things with my employment agency, they would’ve found me another job somewhere else, but I didn’t because I wanted to take the opportunity to spend more time with you. But the solid reputation I have with the agencies I work with means they would’ve found something else for me straight away if I’d asked. And that’s because I’m reliable and dependable and do an excellent job. I’ve built a great reputation that helps me pick and choose where I want to go. I didn’t get that reputation by being flighty and pulling out of contracts for personal reasons.”
“I understand all that. I certainly won’t criticise you for having a solid work ethic and forging a stellar reputation for dependability and excellence, a reputation that has taken you all over the world. All I’m saying is that perhaps you also need toconsider whether the choices you’re now making are for the right reasons.”
Gaby frowned, wondering what her aunt was talking about. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“What I mean is that Peter put himself out there and laid his heart on the line and told you the truth about how he feels. And he did it even though he knows you’re leaving. He did it because he wanted you to know and presumably because he hopes it might change your mind about the future.”
“I already know that, Aunt Jill. Last night after we…” She paused, realising what she was about to say.
Gaby glanced at her aunt, feeling embarrassed.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Gaby, we’re both grown women. You and Peter slept together, right?”
Gaby blushed. “Yes.”
Jill rolled her eyes. “Good for you. No wonder you’re addled after his visit just now. So, you were about to tell me what happened afterwards.”
“He asked me to stay. Not as in, stay the night. Stay as in, stay here in Hamblehurst for… well, I don’t know for how long.”
“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say he meant stay forever.”
Gaby let out a gasp. “Now that really is stretching the imagination too far, Aunt Jill.”
“Really?”
Gaby didn’t reply, just sipped her wine. She didn’t know why she was still playing down what Peter had said and what he’d confessed to her. He’d already admitted never loving another woman the way he’d loved her. During the time they’d spent together yesterday, he’d made the intensity of his feelings clear.
When they’d looked up at the stars on Blackberry Hill and then shared that scorching kiss, she’d been under no illusions about what he felt for her… or what she felt for him.
