Page 103 of Booked for Summer

‘Yes, now. Let’s not have a slow, drawn-out death.’

He took the jacket from her, hands gripping it so tight she could see his knuckles turning white. ‘I’m not ready to say goodbye.’

‘No? Then you need to work on giving out better signals because right now the only one I’m getting is that I don’t matter enough for you to shift out of your comfort zone.’ She stared him straight in the eye. ‘I’m willing to come back, to fight for us. But I deserve a man who’s willing to fight in return.’ With that, she reached up and planted a gentle kiss on his mouth. ‘Forgive me if I don’t see you out. I’m trying not to break down and blubber in front of you but I can guarantee if I have to wave you off, it will end in a mess of snot and tears. I refuse to let that be the last image you have of me.’

He swallowed, gaze raking her face, his eyes a dark storm cloud. Then he sighed, and drew her into his arms. She felt his lips press the top of her head. ‘This isn’t what I want.’

‘Then send me a clearer signal.’ The tears were massing, burning her eyelids. She didn’t want to listen to words of hope, when the last few days had only ever screamed hopeless. ‘Now go, before I embarrass both of us.’

She turned round, squeezing her eyes shut as she listened to the sound of his footsteps down the stairs. It was only when she heard the click of the door that she opened them.

She was steady as she picked up the undrunk beer, the bowl of nuts. Steady as she turned off the oven and took out the lasagne. Steady right until she spotted the bookworm teapot sitting on top of the worktop. Then she crumbled to the floor and let the tears flow.

* * *

Liam told himself it wasn’t being cowardly. Nantucket had taken his total focus for the last three months but now he had a resort manager in place– something he’d dragged his heels for far too long over when the solution had been obvious– it was time to check on his other two resorts.

So after a night of tossing and turning– the sleepless nights, absent while he’d been sharing a bed with Jade, had made a grim return– on Friday morning he headed the yacht in the direction of Cape Cod. There he met with his management team and for an hour he forgot all about Jade and the fact she was leaving tomorrow.

Her and her damn signals. What did she want from him? He’d been the one to ask her to stay in the first place, hadn’t he? He might have told her to go home, but he’d also said he wanted her to come back.

‘Liam?’

Fuck, he’d totally zoned out. ‘Sorry, can you repeat the question?’

The resort manager, Hank, gave him a quizzical look. ‘Is everything okay? You seem… distracted.’

‘I’m fine,’ he barked. Since when had he ever discussed anything other than work with these guys, anyway?

Hank nodded, repeated the question and as the meeting rolled on, he tried not to imagine Jade frowning at him in disappointment. He also refused to think of her when he apologised to Hank afterwards, telling him he was dealing with a personal issue.

He spent the afternoon at the Edgartown resort in Martha’s Vineyard, where the aforementioned lack of sleep and whisky overdose from the night before began to finally kick in.

By the time he dropped in on his grandma, his head was throbbing and he just wanted to crash. What he didn’t want was a message from Jeremy.

Jade changed her flight, she’s going home today. Presume this is your doing?

Angry with him for the dig, and Jade for fuckingleaving, he stabbed out a reply.

She’s a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions.

Jeremy’s response didn’t pull any punches.

I hope, being a grown man, you let her make that decision with full knowledge of the facts? In other words, you didn’t chicken out of telling her how you felt?

Liam turned off his phone in disgust. And wished he could turn off the replay of last night just as easily.

‘Oh dear, what’s happened?’ His grandma gazed at him worriedly as she opened the door.

‘Nothing’s happened. I’ve spent the day either in meetings or travelling between meetings.’

She humphed. ‘Something you’ve spent your working life doing. What else has happened?’

‘Jeremy messaged to say Jade’s gone home today, that’s all. It leaves us scrambling to replace her.’

‘I see.’ The look she gave him told him she saw right through him.

He shifted awkwardly. ‘Actually, you don’t. She was always going home, so this put it forward a day, that’s all.’

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