Page 24 of A Sky Full of Stars
‘OK then. Well, thanks again for the lift, and goodnight.’
‘Goodnight.’ Tristan obviously had the forms on his mind because before he’d even finished speaking, he was through the door.
Charlotte got out her own keys and let herself through to her side of the house. She didn’t bother switching on the main light as the moon was starting to rise and she could see well enough. She flipped the switch on the kettle, grabbed a mug from the cupboard and was just putting some fresh water down for Comet when a tap at the pane of glass in the back door made her jump out of her skin. Comet gave a protective yap and then rushed to the door, tail wagging.
‘Sorry,’ Tristan said, obviously having seen her jump. ‘I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I just wanted to let you know I found those papers, exactly where you said you’d left them.’
‘Good,’ Charlotte replied, once her heartbeat had slowed down. ‘I wouldn’t be much of an archivist if I didn’t know where I’d put things.’
‘It’s odd,’ Tristan mused. ‘I mean, Gran can’t have missed them – they were right there on the kitchen table.’ His eyes met Charlotte’s and she could see the questions in them.
‘I’m sure she just didn’t realise,’ Charlotte replied quickly. ‘Maybe she’d shoved her newspaper over them, or something.’
Tristan gave a brief smile. ‘You’re probably right,’ he said. She got the sense he was trying to reassure himself as he said it. ‘She’s getting on a bit now, and sometimes people her age can be forgetful, can’t they?’
‘Absolutely.’ Charlotte nodded and tried not to think about other reasons Lorelai might have lapsed. Living out here in the middle of nowhere with a succession of lodgers in the annexe wasn’t an ideal prospect if there was anything more seriously wrong.
‘Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you mind keeping an eye on her while you’re here?’ Tristan ran a hand through his hair, looking distinctly nervous. ‘I know you’re just the lodger, but if you notice anything odd about her behaviour, anything at all, it would take a load off my mind if you could let me know.’
‘Of course,’ Charlotte replied. ‘I’m sure I’ll see you around the building site when you move your office up there. I’ll let you know if I see anything concerning.’
‘No,’ Tristan said. ‘I think it might be better if I gave you my number. That way, you can text me if I need to come and check on her.’
Charlotte’s face flushed. She’d been hoping that Tristan might give her his phone number, but these weren’t exactly the circumstances she’d been wishing for. ‘That sounds like a good plan.’ She whipped her phone out of her jeans pocket, and they swapped numbers. Her heart gave a little extra thudding beat as Tristan’s number appeared on her phone after he called it.
‘Thanks, Charlotte,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but it’ll put my mind at rest if you could let me know if you spot anything out of the ordinary.’
‘I will.’ Charlotte looked up at him, and for a long moment, their eyes locked. Despite the step from the door to the patio, they were standing very close to each other, having checked the phone numbers, and now Charlotte wondered how to break the moment.
In the end, it was Comet who did it for them as he meandered past Tristan, giving him a cursory sniff on the way, as if he was saying, ‘Well, are you staying or going?’
Tristan reached down and gave the dog a pat. ‘I hope you both had a nice time tonight,’ he said as he straightened back up. ‘Annabelle, Nick and Jamie are all great company.’
‘Yes, they are,’ Charlotte replied. ‘And it was nice to get to know you a little bit better, too.’
Tristan glanced away and Charlotte wondered if she’d made him uncomfortable.
‘I enjoyed getting to know you a bit better, too,’ he said softly. ‘Let’s do it again sometime.’
‘I’d like that.’ Charlotte gave a grin. ‘Well, you know where to find me.’
‘I do.’ Tristan fumbled to put his mobile back in his pocket. ‘So,’ he said quietly, ‘goodnight then.’
‘Goodnight.’ Charlotte watched as he moved away from the doorstep, rounded the corner of Nightshade Cottage and then she heard the engine start and the Audi pulling out of the drive.
For the second time that night, she jumped out of her skin as another voice floated softly across from the other side of the patio. ‘Silly boy,’ Lorelai said, more than a trace of humour in her voice. ‘As if I’d be losing my marbles!’
Charlotte, once over the surprise, gave a short laugh. ‘You hid those papers on purpose, didn’t you, Lorelai?’
Lorelai, close enough for Charlotte to see the feigned look of innocence in her eyes, gave a grin in response. ‘Well, what was I supposed to do to encourage the two of you to stop snapping at each other? And from what I’ve just seen, it worked!’
Charlotte shook her head. ‘Lorelai,’ she said gently, ‘has anyone ever told you you’re incorrigible?’
25
After a leisurely Sunday, which, for Tristan, was a rarity, he got to Flowerdew Homes’ head office in Taunton early on Monday morning. He’d decided not to phone Martha that weekend: in fact, he was hoping that things might peter out between them naturally now. Martha was a lovely woman, but they’d been keeping things casual as neither wanted anything serious. She’d made no secret of the fact that she wasn’t looking for anything exclusive, and so he’d give them both a bit of space.
It didn’t take a genius to work out why he might be feeling that way: he’d really enjoyed Charlotte’s company on Saturday night, and he’d felt that spark between them, still very faint, but it was definitely there. He wasn’t going to overthink things, but the way thoughts of Charlotte kept intruding into his mind over the next twenty-four hours had to be a sign that he was ready to get to know her better, if she wanted that too.
