Page 75 of Quiet Longing

Bringing my attention back to Charli, she seemed surprised when Padraig casually mentioned how we were going to be working in the same building. Hadn’t Nuala or Derek told her I worked at the hotel? Thinking on it, she’d seemed taken aback when I’d let myself into the house like I was some ghost from her past she hadn’t expected.

Fuck, she had no clue I was going to be turning up, had she? I’d bet she didn’t know we’d be coworkers either.

Towards the end of dinner, Charli declined dessert and said something to Jo about going for a walk on the beach. It was cold and dark out. Jo said as much to her, but she replied about needing some fresh air after being cooped up all day.

I watched her go, my eyes following the soft curves of her body wrapped in a grey wool cardigan. Her hair, the same glossy shade of dark brown, was shorter than I remembered.

“Charli had no idea I was going to be here, did she?” I spoke quietly to Derek, who was seated next to me.

He rubbed his jaw. “Oh, uh, I’m not sure. Nuala, did you tell Charli that Rhys was coming to dinner?”

His sister frowned, looking strangely guilty, and everyone else began paying attention, which I didn’t enjoy at all. “No,” Nuala replied then glanced at me. “Sorry, Rhys. I haven’t really spoken to her about you. She’s had such a rough time of it with the divorce. It’s all we’ve been talking about.”

My back stiffened, homing in on one part of what she’d said. “What do you mean ‘a rough time’?”

Nuala grew flustered. “Oh, you know how divorces are. They’re rarely easy.”

“Tell me about it,” Derek muttered under his breath.

Luckily, his kids were busy on their phones and weren’t paying attention to the conversation to hear his comment. Paloma, his ex-wife, had taken him to the cleaners when they’d broken up. He’d managed to get shared custody of the kids, but she’d been awarded a large portion of his wealth, including the four-bedroom house they’d lived in while married. Derek currently lived in an apartment with two extra rooms for when the kids came to stay with him.

Something about Nuala’s expression when I’d asked about Charli’s divorce aroused my concern. It seemed like there was stuff she wasn’t saying.

“We’re just so glad to have her here,” Jo put in. “It’s been far too long since we’ve gotten to see Charli. That ex-husband of hers—” She paused mid-sentence as though thinking better of what she’d been about to say.

“What about her ex-husband?” Derek asked, frowning.

Jo glanced at Padraig, seeming torn, before she returned her attention to her son. “He didn’t get on well with her mother. Louise confided in me that Jesse influenced Charli against her, convinced her to spend less time with family.”

Hearing this, I tensed, my stomach twisting. Exactly what kind of arsehole convinces his wife not to see her family?

“I thought she just got busy in her career, and that’s why she didn’t come to visit anymore?” Tristan said.

And yeah, that was what I’d thought, too. I’d imagined Charli off living her life, married to that smiling bloke from the picture who, of course, I’d despised, building a future. The thought of her absence being down to some kind of coercive control situation disturbed me greatly. A swift pang of nausea seized my gut.

“No,” Nuala put in, her lips forming a flat, unhappy line. “It’s what we all thought at first, but it quickly became apparent Jesse wasn’t a very nice guy.”

Wasn’t a very nice guy?Just what the fuck did that mean exactly? I gripped my glass, bringing it to my mouth as I took a harsh gulp and struggled to contain my fury that Charli had ended up with someone who—if Nuala’s expression and tone was anything to go by—had mistreated her in some way. Again, I remembered the girl I’d met that summer, the one with bright eyes and a smile that could lift your soul. I contrasted her with the tetchy, anxious, quiet woman who’d sat across the table from me at dinner and found few similarities. Heartburn scorched my stomach.

“Why didn’t anyone say something?” I asked, unable to hide the frustration in my voice, and everyone’s attention came to me once again. Jo and Padraig knew that Charli and I had been friends that summer, but they didn’t know about the romantic side of our relationship. Derek, Tristan, and Nuala, however, did know. Although it appeared the brothers had been in the dark about Charli’s husband being a dick, but Nuala had known something wasn’t right.

“It was a long time ago, Rhys,” she replied. “When I first had my suspicions about Jesse, you were away in France. By the time you came home, I’d lost touch with Charli altogether. I didn’t have her number anymore, not even an email address.”

My jaw tightened as I swallowed down my irritation. It wasn’t Nuala’s responsibility to keep me informed of her cousin’s life, and besides, it wasn’t like I’d gone out of my way to check on Charli. As soon as I’d found out she was engaged, I’d forced myself to move on, even if our summer together had formed some of my fondest memories.

“Look, us blaming ourselves for not trying harder to keep in touch will get us nowhere,” Jo said. “All we can do is make things as normal as possible for Charli now that she’s here. Get her settled in and help her build her life back up.”

There were noises of agreement from around the table. I had to admit, the idea of Charli living in Ireland permanently gave me an unexpected feeling of relief. Not because I was looking to pick up where we’d left off. After my breakup with Steph I was nowhere near ready for a new relationship, but I did like the idea of Charli being somewhere I could look out for her. Help her find her feet.

Fucking hell, she deserved it after I’d ghosted her all those years ago. Once again, I reprimanded myself for not pushing through the darkness and reaching out, telling her about Mam and how her sickness had made me feel like the world was ending. But I hadn’t. I’d done what I’d always done and kept it to myself. Carried the burden alone. And no amount of wishing could change my past actions.

After dessert, I said my goodbyes and headed out. I was halfway to my car when I spotted Charli returning from her walk. She wore a long, padded coat and a woolly hat, the tip of her nose red against the cold. It was cute, and a certain warmth spread through me as I took her in.

“I’d say that was a bracing walk,” I called to her as she neared, her eyes wary as she approached, though my comment lured out a faint smile.

“Philly winters are pretty cold. I’m used to it,” she replied, piquing my interest.

“Philly? Not Boston?” I asked curiously, and she nodded.

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