Page 25 of So That Happened
He turned and gave her a comical reproving look.
Good, at least she wasn’t in the doghouse. ‘Can I do anything to help?’ she asked, trying hard not to stare at the fluid way he moved his muscular body around the kitchen. How could someone so big be that graceful?
‘No. Thanks. The omelettes are ready. I’ll serve them up now you’re here.’
She sat at the table, her body humming with a confusing mixture of anxiety and something akin to excitement, and watched him load the plates with food, nodding her thanks as he slid one in front of her.
‘Did you move my laptop?’ she asked as they tucked into the food.
He took his time answering her and she wondered why he suddenly seemed so uncomfortable. A slow sinking feeling pooled in her stomach.
‘What is it?’
‘We had a break-in while we were out. They took your laptop.’
She gawped at him, her befuddled brain taking a few seconds to catch up with his words. ‘What?’
‘Someone jimmied the lock on the front door and got in. There wasn’t a lot to steal, but your laptop was one of the things that went. I’ve already spoken to the police and they’ve given me an incident number for an insurance claim. You should check nothing else of yours has gone.’
She dropped her cutlery onto the plate and put her head in her hands. This day just got better and better.
‘But we’re so remote out here. Why would they target this place?’ she said, looking back up at him.
‘It’s happened quite a bit recently, apparently. There are lots of holiday homes in this region; they’re easy pickings.’
‘Maybe someone’s trying to tell me something,’ she said, sighing. That was it, then. All her work on the tender document was gone for good.
‘Maybe someone wants you to have a real holiday?’ he said, picking up his fork again and shovelling omelette into his mouth.
‘Yeah…’ She felt like crying.
‘You’ve got insurance for it, right?’
She nodded and stared at her food, suddenly not hungry any more.
He frowned at her. ‘At least you weren’t here when they broke in.’
‘True.’
They sat in silence while Connor cleared his plate.
‘You’re not going to finish that?’ he asked, nodding at her food.
‘No. Sorry.’
He shrugged. ‘No problem. How are you feeling generally?’
‘My head’s still a bit painful, but nothing like it was.’ She wanted to go back to bed, so the day would be over, but she didn’t want to be rude to Connor. Especially after what he’d done for her. ‘It’s a good job you’re trained in first aid. You saved my life.’
He smiled and pushed his empty plate away from him, looking out of the window. He was closing down the conversation again, but in this case she really didn’t mind. She guessed it was his way of telling her to move on without dragging her through the humiliation of acknowledging what an idiot she’d been. It was a kind and decent thing to do and she felt new warmth towards him.
‘So what is it you’ll be doing in India?’ she asked, taking the hint and opening up a new conversation.
‘I help set up clean water projects in the developing world. This next trip is about making contact and scoping out where the water refineries are needed most,’ he said.
She looked up sharply. ‘Abi never mentioned you were doing that.’
‘She probably doesn’t know. I’ve never talked to her about it.’
