Page 99 of Lie For Me

She turned then and walked unsteadily across the dining room, still clutching her napkin. Over her shoulder, she said, ‘I hope my dad gave you good advice.’

Jack, frozen to the spot, face burning, whispered, ‘He did.’

32

Lucy hesitated for a moment before swiping the key card and opening the door, not knowing what she’d find on the other side. She had marched around the gardens for a time after she left breakfast, but as she started her sixth lap she realised guests on the terrace would wonder what the tearful red-faced woman with the napkin was up to, stomping about the grounds. And she couldn’t avoid Jack all morning.

The bed was still in disarray, the pillows on the floor, the sheets a tangled knot. Jack’s bag lay open on the bed as he stuffed clothes and toiletries into it.

Lucy let the door close and leaned against it.

‘I’ve called a cab,’ he said, not looking up at her. ‘I’ll get a train back.’

He rolled up a pair of jeans and tossed them into the bag.

Lucy felt sick. Her mouth was dry, and her palms felt clammy. How could he leave when everything was such a mess?

‘So you were going to just disappear without even saying goodbye? Wow, that’s low, Jack,’ she said, digging the key card into her palm. ‘I can see why your other relationships didn’t work out, if this is how you treat women.’

Even as the words were leaving her mouth, Lucy wished she could shovel them back in.

Jack stopped packing for a moment and looked at her, his expression dark and unreadable. He screwed up a shirt and shoved it into the bag.

‘I messaged you,’ he said tightly. ‘Check your phone.’

Lucy didn’t bother looking at her phone.

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ she said.

Jack took a deep breath and turned to face her.

‘Luce, I wanted to talk this morning—you were the one who walked off.’

‘I just needed a minute, Jack. I didn’t leave. I just needed some space. You’re the one running away now,’ she gestured to his bag, ‘when there’s so much to say.’

Jack looked pained.

‘I am not running away from you. I just don’t know what else I can say now to make this better. And what exactly is there left to say, Luce? You don’t want to hear what I have to say. I can apologise, but I’m not sure that’s good enough for you. I can’t turn back time and do things differently!’

Lucy glared at him but straightened her shoulders.

‘Okay, no—I don’t like that you told half my family and Suzy about New York before me. And I don’t think feeling like that makes me unreasonable. So maybe you don’t want to hear that you could have been a better friend and been honest with me.’ Her voice trembled. ‘If you’d been honest with me, and I had all the information, maybe last night would never have happened, and we wouldn’t be in this mess now. You obviously feel like it was a mistake and can’t even bear to talk about it, so just go. Go home, then go to New York.’

She ran out of breath and stopped, panting.

Jack marched up to her and stopped inches from her face.

‘Don’t do that. You’re smarter than that, Luce.’ His eyes glinted at her. ‘Don’t make out like it’s so simple, like there’s nothing for me to weigh up here, about my business, about everything I have worked for…’ he broke off abruptly and turned away from her. ‘This is a complication I don’t need.’

Lucy felt like she had been punched.

‘I’m a complication?’

Jack was shaking his head as he reached out to her. ‘No, no, I don’t mean that you are a complication. I mean that this,’ he gestured between them. ‘Last night, it was all…unexpected. You know that. Maybe,’ he looked torn, ‘maybe if there was time, then we could see if this was something. But the contract needs to be returned tomorrow.’ He took a breath. ‘I’m due to leave in a few weeks. There’s no way of knowing if this is anything…’

‘I didn’t ask you for anything, Jack,’ Lucy said, balling her hands into fists at her sides. ‘If you weren’t so busy trying to get out the door, you might have noticed that.’

They were both breathing heavily, and no one spoke for a few moments. Jack folded up a T-shirt and tucked it into a corner of the bag.

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