Page 102 of All Wrapped Up
‘Me?’ I swallowed.
‘Yes,’ he said gruffly. ‘You, Clementine Bennett. I know the signs and I daresay you’ve made some pledge to your dearly departed or to yourself that you’ll never love again, just like I did. I bet you’ve said that you’ll never let your closed-up heart be warmed by another, haven’t you?’
The sentiment could have been poetic had it not pierced my closed-up heart with all the force of a perfectly aimed arrow.
‘I…’ I stuttered. ‘I mean…’
‘Exactly,’ he said fiercely. ‘I thought as much. Well, don’t end up like me, gal. Seeing you, so young and with the weight of this tragedy behind you, has made me realise how young I was when I went through my own heartbreak and how little life I’ve lived since.’
‘I’m sorry you didn’t have anyone to help you through it,’ I said, setting aside thoughts of my heart and thinking instead of my parents and now my new friends who made life so much more manageable for me.
‘I did,’ he sighed heavily, ‘and I pushed them all away until they left me to my own devices.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I haven’t done that. I have my family and my new friends and now the autumn festival to keep me on track.’
Callum and I had had friends back in my hometown, all other couples, but we’d lost touch. It had been too painful to see everyone’s lives ultimately carrying on while mine had been destroyed.
‘So, you’re not an entirely lost cause,’ he smiled wryly.
‘Not now I’ve been found,’ I smiled back, as an idea popped into my head. ‘And it’s really not too late for you either, Jason. Why don’t you start by joining in with the festival?’
I expected him to look aghast, but his smile grew wider.
‘It’s funny you should suggest that,’ he grinned, ‘because I’ve decided to follow your lead with regards to the festival.’
‘Oh?’
‘I’m going to the library on Sunday to pick up a couple of books that are on the book club list,’ he amazed and delighted me by saying. ‘And I’m planning to trounce the competition at the pumpkin carving competition later in the month, too.’
My mouth fell open.
‘It’s time I started living even if I am on my own!’
‘I hope this gentleman isn’t making a nuisance of himself,’ said Jim, who suddenly loomed up.
‘Not at all,’ I was delighted to be able to tell him. ‘We’re just discussing the autumn book club reads.’
Jason cracked another smile and Jim moved away wearing a puzzled expression.
‘That’ll set tongues wagging,’ Jason laughed and drained his pint. ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you to your thoughts. As long as they’re not dark ones?’
‘They’re not,’ I smiled. ‘But thank you for asking. I don’t suppose you’d like to come and see the cottage sometime, would you?’
He looked astonished. ‘That’s a very generous offer,’ he said, ‘but I’m sure you’ve made some changes and I’d rather keep it as I remember it.’
‘I understand.’ I nodded.
‘Though I do hope you’ve sorted that downstairs bathroom out?’ he added, before he walked away. ‘Cassy and I always imagined it would be glacial behind that frosted glass in the winter.’
‘It’s cosy now,’ I told him, thinking of my beloved home and the hound who would be waiting to welcome me back into it. ‘The whole place is cosy now.’
Chapter 23
When Ash called late that evening to ask how my trip to the café had gone, I took him through all that had been said and after he’d warmly admired me for managing it, I was then eager to tell him the details of the conversation I’d had with Jason in the pub.
‘And you’ll never guess who I then ran into in The Mermaid.’ I knew it was highly probable that I sounded astounded, but that was because I still was.
‘Go on.’
