Page 45

“Give it time,” I advise. “Maybe after a year or two, he’ll feel ready to love again.”

She nods, looking out at the park. The solar lights are popping on, showing how the central path snakes over the bridge across the river.

She’s quiet for a while. Then, eventually, she says, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

She nibbles her bottom lip. “What did you mean when you said, ‘I wish things had been different’?”

She looks up at me. Her big brown eyes are full of emotion. Hope? Longing? I find myself lost in them, carried away on a wave of yearning.

When she obviously realises that I don’t know how to reply, she adds, “Were you talking about staying in Evermore? Or teaching? Or…” She trails off.

I think about how she blushed when Harri teased her about flirting with me. And what Cate said: She likes you, Mitch. I’m not sure she’s realised yet. But she has feelings for you.

Was Cate right?

The thing is, even if she was, does it matter? I can’t admit my feelings for her. Because if she does return them, even only a little, it complicates things a hundredfold. I can’t breeze into her life, have a fling with her, charm her daughter, and then leave again.

Even though it would be fun…

I can’t, I tell myself desperately. I think more of her than that.

But holy fuck, I really, really want to kiss her.

I can’t tear my eyes away from hers. “You really have no idea?” My gaze drops to her mouth.

Her lips part, but no words come out.

I lower my head, just a little, and she inhales.

“Vix, Millie’s awake and asking for you. Oh!” Rudolph stops as he walks out onto the deck. “Jesus, I’m so sorry,” he says, backing away.

“It’s okay,” Vix says, embarrassed, “I’ll go up.” She turns and runs into the house without looking at me.

Rudolph hesitates. Then he says softly to me, “I really am sorry.”

“We were only talking.”

“Hmm.” He obviously saw the way I was looking at her.

I give a long, heartfelt sigh and look out over the park. He comes to stand beside me, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

My stomach churns, and I can’t help but feel a swell of resentment toward him. I did what he wanted, and look where it got us. Me trying to make it work in Wellington, unable to commit to one woman because I was still in love with another. And Vix miserable with Jayden, which hurts even more because I knew it was going to happen.

Is he going to tell me not to break her heart? Because if he does, I think I might lose it.

Finally, he speaks. “I hope I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. And I was wrong, Mitch. I’m sorry.”

I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say. I straighten and look at him.

“Please accept my apology,” he continues. “For what it’s worth.”

I’ve carried the guilt and hurt inside me for a long time, and his words punch the breath from my lungs as I’m transported back to St Brendan’s Church on the day of their wedding. Technically, my place had been by Jayden’s side, but although I hadn’t planned it, my feet had taken me to the church entrance to watch as Vix and Rudolph got out of the car and walked up the church path.

All morning, the same sentence had circled around my head. You can’t let her go through with it. The words were like bees trapped in a glass, and I hadn’t been able to shake them.

As the two of them stopped at the church door, and her bridesmaids fussed with her veil, I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to stop her going ahead with it, but Rudolph slid a hand under my arm and propelled me to one side.