Page 65 of The House on Waterfall Hill

She supposed he made a good point but she couldn’t bear thinking of the alternative and never seeing him again.

‘So you don’t even want to try?’

He frowned. ‘We can try but I think all that travelling back and forth would start wearing thin for you, pretty soon you’d be making excuses not to come and your visits would get less and less.’

‘It sounds like you’ve given up already.’

‘Flick, I have loved the last week so much, we’ve had a lot of fun and the sex has been incredible but you’re not going to keep travelling up and down the UK just for great sex.’

Oh, that hurt so much. She let go of his hand. ‘No, I suppose not.’

They fell into silence which for the first time was horrendously awkward. This was it, this was the end.

‘I have to be up really early tomorrow morning to get my flight so it’s probably best you sleep in your own bed tonight,’ Luke said.

‘Right, yes, of course,’ Flick said, her voice quiet.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll see you in a few weeks.’

With that he got up and went down the stairs, leaving her alone on the roof. The tears she had been holding back fell down her cheeks.

Flick was woken by soft noises from the lounge a few hours later. She looked at the clock and saw it was just coming up to three in the morning. Clearly Luke was on his way out. She scrambled out of bed before her brain could talk herself out of it. She opened the door and saw he was walking towards the front door with a bag in his hand.

He stared at her in surprise and she ran forward, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard. He immediately dropped the bag and gathered her in his arms as he kissed her back. The tears she thought were gone came flooding back.

He pulled back to look at her and frowned when he saw her crying. ‘Why are you crying?’

‘Because I’m going to miss you so much.’

His frown deepened and when he spoke his voice was rough. ‘I’m going to miss you too.’

‘Will you text me when you get there so I know you’re safe?’

He nodded and looked at his watch. ‘I really have to go.’

She reached up and kissed him again, stroking his face. She pulled back to look at him. ‘Getting over you is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.’

His eyes widened. Then he gave her another brief kiss on the head and walked out the door.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Flick had cried so many times that morning and it wasn’t even nine o’clock. Every time she thought she had stopped, she’d find herself thinking about him and the tears would start all over again.

It all seemed so final, so quick. One minute she had been head over heels in love with Luke and the way he had been looking at her she felt sure he felt the same. The next moment he was buying her the house which had put paid to any tentative thoughts she might have had about moving to Scotland with him, telling her it was just great sex and then leaving. Yes, he’d be back in a few weeks, but only for a few days to pack up all his stuff then he’d be gone for good.

Had it really all been one-sided? Had she seen what she wanted to see? Somehow, she didn’t believe that. Tabitha was right, buying the house for her was an incredibly generous gift, Luke obviously cared for her a great deal to want to do that.

Maybe they should have had a conversation earlier about where this was going and if it had a future, then she wouldn’t have been so disappointed when it came to an end. But dating for such a short time seemed too early for talks of the future. She thought she had more time.

Maybe she should have taken the bull by the horns and told him she loved him. Even if it had never led anywhere, at least he would have known he was loved. He deserved that. After his last relationship where Martine laughed at him then dumped him when he told her he loved her, and with Sophie telling him she only saw him as a friend, he thought he was unlovable when nothing could be further from the truth. Flick loved him, completely and utterly, and she should have given him that.

She sat up from where she was flopped on the sofa. She wanted him to have that. Even if it changed nothing, even if he didn’t feel the same, she wanted him to know he was loved, even if it was nothing more than a goodbye gift.

She grabbed her phone to call him before remembering he’d probably be on the plane right then or at least driving the five hours from Edinburgh to Skye. Besides, something like that should really be done face to face.

Making a snap decision, she decided she would book a flight and go and see him. She certainly didn’t want to wait a few weeks to have this conversation. She did a quick search for flights and, while there wasn’t one fromNewquay that day or the next, there was one from Exeter that night, which would be a bit more of a drive but it was doable. She quickly booked it before she could talk herself out of it. After today there were no more workshops until next week, she could fly out tonight and fly back the next day. The gift shop would just have to close for a couple of days. This suddenly felt too important.

Having made the decision, she felt a little better. It probably wouldn’t have the outcome she wanted, but at least he’d know.

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