Page 28 of A Little Love Song in Seabury
If only.
The only thing that would look different was her entire future as she drove away from William Pepper for the last time.
‘Sure you’re okay to drive?’ said Ewan.
Leah blinked, cursing the hot prickle of unshed tears.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, forcing a laugh. ‘I’ll message you in the morning,’ she added, glancing at Rosie and then Connie.
They both nodded.
‘I’ll walk you out,’ said Ewan, getting to his feet. ‘I need to grab a couple of things from the van.’
Leah gave the others a quick wave and headed towards the back door of the house. The quicker she was out of there, away from their collective concern, the better.
‘Bloody William.’
The parting huff from Connie nearly brought a smile to Leah’s face… but then the sounds of crashing piano hit her from inside the house, and she was back to fighting tears again.
So. Will was clearly fine. Just not with her!
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you down to town?’ said Ewan, catching up as she strode through the house.
Leah shook her head. ‘Thanks. But you go back to the others.’
‘It’d only take me a couple of minutes,’ he said, ‘and you’ve gone really pale…’
‘I’m fine,’ said Leah. ‘Seriously. Absolutely fine.’
If there was an overused word, it was definitely that one.
‘Okay, well, if you’re sure?’ Ewan didn’t look convinced.
Leah just nodded, not trusting her voice. She was nearly free. She just needed to grab her bag and then…
A series of heavy chords burst through the house. Leah jumped, sending her bag sprawling across the flagstones of the hallway floor.
‘Damnit, Will!’ growled Ewan, bending to help her retrieve her scattered belongings. ‘See what it was like being brought up with your boss?’ he added with a rueful grin as he reached for her diary, which had skidded beneath a nearby cupboard. ‘It was like having a stroppy, musical ghost haunting the place. He hated practising when there were people around, so he’d sneak down at night and wake us all up instead!
Leah swallowed. This time, she couldn’t even force a smile. She didn’t want to hear anything else about William Pepper. She just needed to get away from him… everything about him… because every single note running through her body right now was like a caress she’d never feel.
Slotting her diary back into her bag, Leah threw her escaped lip gloss and a couple of pens in on top of it. She was just about to have one last scout around for anything she’d missed when the music came to a spine-tingling climax.
‘I’ve got to go,’ she muttered, scrambling to her feet.
Before Ewan could even get up off his knees, Leah bolted outside and ran towards the car, sending gravel flying in her wake.
‘Leah?’ Ewan called after her. ‘Leah wait, you’ve?—’
Leah sank into the driver’s seat, slammed the door closed behind her and set the engine roaring. She knew she was being rude. She knew she probably looked like a headcase… but she also knew that she couldn’t spend another minute in that house.
One more disdainful glance from William Pepper would break her heart forever… that’s if it wasn’t already broken beyond repair.
CHAPTER 11
WILLIAM
The last few notes trickled to a halt, and Will smiled as his fingers came to rest on the keys. Every inch of him was tingling. It was like the feeling you got after a good storm, when the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun broke through.
