Page 39 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

“Where?” asked George.

Lucy breathed out. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “She wouldn’t say.” And it had seemed like a subject that Cal really hadn’t wanted to talk about.

“Look,” said George. “I know that your dating life is really none of my business, and I swear to you that I’ll stand by anydecisions you make. I don’t know this woman and, like Pen said, whatever happens, everyone deserves a second chance, so I’m not going to hold anything against her.”

“You just liked being the secret-keeper,” Lucy said, shaking her head. “I know you, George.”

“Then you’ll know that I’ve only got your best interests at heart. I can tell that you like her, Luce. But is all this a good idea?”

Lucy stole a piece of the croissant that was on the plate by George’s side. “No, probably not. Mostly because she’s going to leave sooner rather than later. But then, you regret all the shots you don’t take, right? I mean, isn’t it better to go for something and be disappointed than never to take the risk?”

“You barely know her,” said George. “And I hear what you’re saying about this whole money heist being a misunderstanding. But you don’t know her, you just like her. And sometimes, good people do bad things.”

Lucy leaned back a little in her chair. “I know that. I used to be homeless, remember? I grew up in care. No one is more aware of self-protection than I am. I don’t get any of the red flags from her though. I feel… myself with her. I don’t know, I can’t really explain.”

George nodded. “I understand. But maybe that’s a part of the problem too.”

“What?”

He sighed and looked at her, his eyes dark and kind. “You do like an underdog, Luce. Someone to fight for. Someone to mother. Maybe because you never had anyone do those things for you.”

“Bullshit,” Lucy said, getting up.

“Come on, I’m not criticizing you.” George got up too. “And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t see where this thing goes. I’m just saying that you need to be careful, aware of your own biases, that sort of thing.”

“Christ, I wish you’d stop listening to those self-help podcasts,” Lucy said. Even if maybe he was right, maybe she did need to be a bit more self-aware around Cal.

“And I wish you’d stop leaving hair in the shower drain, but we can’t all get what we want, can we?” He went behind the counter. “Now, you should probably have some lunch on your lunch break, what’ll it be?”

She surveyed the sandwiches and chose one while George made her a coffee.

She would be more careful, she decided, more circumspect, even if she did believe that Cal was telling the truth. No harm could come from looking after herself. And on that note, she vowed that she wouldn’t go to the house this afternoon.

She’d go home and get some much-needed painting done. Her work for the residency was already photographed and turned in, but she wanted to keep pushing herself, just in case she needed to make a case for herself.

The thought of not seeing Cal made her feel a little sad inside, but she’d have to get used to it. Cal wasn’t going to be around forever.

Chapter Sixteen

The fake jade box sat on the dressing table where it caught the sun and shone like a beer bottle on the beach. Cal could both hardly bear to look at it and couldn’t tear her eyes from it at the same time.

This had been the end of everything. Or the beginning of everything, she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of was that she very much didn’t want the thing in the house or anywhere near her. Yet she couldn’t quite bring herself to throw it away.

The alarm on her phone beeped. She sighed and switched it off. She needed to get going. Despite not having seen Lucy for two days, she’d got a text just that morning reminding her that there was some kind of wedding rehearsal tonight.

Who needed to rehearse a wedding?

Surely it wasn’t that complicated. You walked down an aisle, said yes to whatever you were asked, and put a ring on someone’s finger. Hardly rocket science.

But she was going anyway. Not at all because she wanted to see Lucy. She owed a debt. Lucy had helped her at the house twice now, and had promised that after the weekend she was all Cal’s for three full days. That should be enough to get the place done, or close to it. And she’d signed off with a kiss. Three kisses.

Not that Cal was counting.

She left the jade box sitting on the table and walked down the stairs. She was unlikely to have a great evening, given thatthe wedding party was almost certainly made up of people that hated her. But then… but then Lucy would be there. Cal got that feeling in her stomach like a kid before Christmas.

When she got back to the pub she went upstairs, showered, dressed, combed her hair and slapped on a little cologne, woody and spicy. That was it. She was done and early to boot. Which gave her entirely too much time to think about jade boxes and Lucy’s eyes, so she went downstairs as a distraction.

“Well, look at you,” Rosalee said, drying a glass with a white bar towel. “You scrub up alright, don’t you?” She sniffed. “Could have done without the scrapes on your face though. You look like you’ve been in a bar brawl.”

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