Page 52 of Wishing Under a Starlit Skye
Finally! You got the message! Phew!
Caitlin put her phone down and clicked on the kettle, but as it heated, there was a knock at the door. Her heart began to pound inside her chest and her stomach knotted.
Oh god, please don’t let it be Lyle, she thought as she wrapped her robe tightly around her and walked to the door. The last thing she wanted was a face-to-face confrontation with the man after the tone of his messages.
Hesitantly, she opened it a crack and smiled with relief.
‘Archie, it’s you. Is everything okay?’ she asked as she opened the door wider.
He held out a huge bouquet of flowers. ‘These are for you. Just a wee thank you for last night.’
‘Where did you manage to get fresh flowers at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning?’ She laughed. ‘They’re beautiful.’ The sweet fragrance of the vibrant, sun-yellow roses filled her senses.
‘I have my sources,’ he said with a tap to the side of his nose. ‘They symbolise friendship, yellow roses, just in case Lyle gets the wrong impression.’ He smiled shyly. ‘Well, I’ll be going. I just wanted to thank you for your help. And for any future help you may give me.’
‘Thank you so much. Although you didn’t have to. That’s what friends are for, eh?’
He nodded and his cheeks flushed a little. ‘Aye, but you deserve them.’ He turned to walk away.
‘Hey, want to come in for a cuppa? The kettle’s on just now.’
‘But… what about Grace, and don’t you have stuff to do?’
She shrugged. ‘Grace is still fast asleep. Even Cleo has been out for a wee and gone back up to bed, so I have nothing going on that can’t wait.’
He grinned. ‘That’d be grand then. Thanks, Caitlin.’
He followed her into the kitchen and sat at the small, round table.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said as she arranged the roses in a glass vase and placed it in the centre of the table. ‘I’ll need to decorate a bedroom for Sophie, you know, if she comes to live with me. The actual application of paint and paper isn’t much of an issue, I can handle that stuff with my eyes closed, but the choosing of colours and such might be a wee bit stressful. I was wondering if you and Grace might like to help me with that? You know, when the time comes…? If the time comes.’
After the previous night’s events, Caitlin knew that Grace would need something to occupy her mind that didn’t involve losing her best friend. ‘That would be lovely. I know Grace would love to help.’
Archie chewed his lip and smiled with the other half of his mouth. ‘Aw, great. That’s really great.’
She poured tea from the spotty pot into two matching mugs. ‘So, tomorrow will be a big day, I guess?’
‘Aye. I’ve to contact my solicitor and set the wheels in motion. I’m nervous as hell. But I have a good advisor in Gordon Marr up in Portree, so I should be fine. And I’ve got as much paperwork together as I can locate. I even have a copy of the birth certificate.’
‘Fantastic. Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.’
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ he replied with a light laugh. ‘Anyway, how’s things with you and Lyle? I thought you’d have been out with him last night. I was kind of relieved when you weren’t though.’
She smiled briefly. ‘He and I are… well… let’s just say we’re not meant to be.’
Archie’s eyebrows lifted. ‘Oh, right. That surprises me. I thought things were going great. You seemed all loved-up the last time I saw yous together.’
‘Hmm, looks can be deceiving.’
‘Well, I suppose at least he doesn’t live in Glentorrin, eh? You might not see much of him, which will make things less awkward.’
Caitlin sipped her tea. ‘That won’t be a problem actually. He’s relocating… to Canada.’
Archie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, right. Wow. That’s huge. I bet you’re gutted, eh? Just as things were going so well.’
Caitlin sighed. ‘Things weren’t going well, as it turned out. Not for me, anyway. He couldn’t get past the fact that I had Grace without knowing her father. Said some quite hurtful things about it. Although that was after I’d just turned down his offer of moving to Canada with him. And he asked me in front of the girls, too, which was nice and awkward.’
‘Bloody hell! He asked you to go with him? But you’ve only been dating a few weeks.’
