Page 46 of Best Laid Plans
‘Can’t you just tell me here?’ she said, grasping onto the only thread of power she had left.
He crossed his own arms and frowned down at the floor, and she noticed for the first time that he had a black shopping bag swinging from one hand. She wondered what he could have in there. It was a strange thing for him to be carrying overnight clothes in.
‘What’s in the bag?’ she blurted, unable to keep her curiosity to herself.
‘You’ll see,’ he said, flashing her an enigmatic smile.
‘Really? You’re not going to tell me?’
‘Non. You’ll have to wait until we’re back at your flat and I’m ready to show you. I’m not prepared to do this out on the street either.’
She bristled with frustration. ‘And you thinkI’mstubborn!’ Sighing, she took one more look at the determination on his face and gave him a resigned nod, knowing there was no way she could turn him away. Not if it meant she’d find out what was going on with him now. It had been eating away at her since she’d last seen him, and she needed answers so she could move on.
‘Okay, fine, you win.’ She gestured for them to start walking. ‘It’s this way.’
It only took them two minutes to walk to her flat from the cafe and neither of them spoke a word as they made their way down the noisy main road, stepping around the puddles that the earlier heavy downpour had left in its wake.
‘This is me,’ she said when they reached the end of her road.
He followed her to her flat – the place she’d moved into after Gavin had left her. Hers was on the top floor of the converted terrace house, which she loved because she enjoyed falling asleep looking at the night sky through the skylight in the sloping attic ceiling.
‘I’m at the top,’ she said, letting them in through the main door and leading him up the stairs. It took her a moment to get the key to line up with the lock because her hands were shaking so much. He stood so close to her she could smell the wonderfully evocative scent of him, and she had to take great gulps of air through her mouth so as not to become too distracted by the urge to turn around and wrap her arms around him and pull him close.
When she finally got the door open, she led him through to the kitchen diner and gestured for him to sit with her at the small dining table that she had set up in the middle of the room.
Blood pulsed in her ears as she waited for him to tell her why he was here.
‘Have you heard about your grant yet?’ he asked conversationally, throwing her for a loop.
Was he still cross about her refusing to take the money from him? She hoped he wasn’t here to try and get her to change her mind. She didn’t regret the decision she’d made, firmly believing that things would work out here without his help. Somehow.
She folded her arms. ‘Not yet. Soon, hopefully.’
‘That must be stressful.’
She shrugged. ‘Yes, well, as you know, money and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment.’
He smiled. ‘That makes two of us.’
What did he mean by that?
‘Are you having financial troubles too?’ she asked, confused.
‘No. But money seems to be my nemesis at the moment. It makes me do stupid things.’
There was a tense pause while she waited for him to elaborate.
He didn’t. Instead, he jumped up and started pacing around the room, moving into the living area and running his fingers lightly over her things, as if wanting to learn them by touch.
‘It’s a great flat. Exactly the sort of place I imagined you living in. It’s very you.’
‘Me?’
He nodded, turning to look her in the eyes. ‘Sophisticated, but welcoming.’
She couldn’t stop the smile from breaking over her face. ‘How very kind of you.’
He started pacing around again and she realised with a shock that he was nervous.
