Page 55 of Love from Pretty Beach
‘Whatdoyou do?’
Darby realised how much more it was for her than friendship. She wouldn't be telling him that. ‘What Iamsaying is it’s all or nothing. I’m not half-assing around with friendship when I basically jumped into bed with you way too quickly. Nah, not happening. No.’
'So, what are you suggesting, exactly?'
‘I don’t know.’
‘How about I buy you another gin and tonic?’
'Even though I'm an entitled blow-in, who thinks the coast exists for my entertainment?'
Darby picked up her gin and finished it. The sensible part of her brain, the part that had learned caution through years of disappointment, was telling her to politely decline and walk away. She'd already been hurt once by this man, and there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. But the gin-influenced part of her brain, the part that remembered how good it had felt to laugh with someone and wake up next to someone and have someone to text when she saw something funny, was telling her to open the door. Wide.
Darby looked at him, this man who had made her happier than she'd been in years and then hurt her more than she'd expected to be hurt. The sensible thing would be to say goodnight and go home alone, to take things slowly and see how they went. But the gin and the warmth of the pub and the way he was looking at her told her to go for her life.
'I suppose I should try the forty-pound tiramisu. For research purposes.'
'Trust me, that tiramisu will be worth it.’
43
Darby was standing in the garden with a mug of tea, watching the light creep across the white gravel she'd jet-washed the day before. The air in Pretty Beach was crisp and clean and there was the gorgeous scent of hyacinths blooming in their terracotta pots. Pretty Beach was waking up by the sounds of it. There was the distant hum of the early ferry and seagulls wheeling in the air. Walking down the side path, she surveyed the courtyard. Everything looked exactly as it had the previous morning, but things inside were very different. The same bunting fluttered between the porch and the corner tree, the same cast iron table sat in the corner, the same lavender pots sat grouped by the front wall. Darby didn't feel the same at all. Having a man in her bed that had not been occupied with anyone rather than herself for a long, long time tended to make one feel on the different side.
After the gin and the pub, Archie had come back under the guise of tasting the tiramisu. That had turned into a deep bath for two. That had migrated to the bedroom. That had been nice. The knowledge of Archie being up in her bed made Darby feel strange. She'd crept out early, needing air and space and tea before she could even begin to process what had happened.The forty-pound tiramisu had been extraordinary, but it wasn't the dessert that had had her feeling like a teenager who'd been kissed behind the bike sheds.
Sipping her tea, she tried to make sense of the tangle of emotions churning through her. Relief, happiness and good old-fashioned nerves. What if this was just temporary? What if he changed his mind again? What if she'd been an idiot to let him back in so easily? It was worth it.
Her phone buzzed against the garden table.
Penny:Morning sunshine. Did you end up going to the pub? How’s the courtyard looking?
Darby smiled despite herself.
Darby:I had an interesting evening in the end.
Three dots appeared immediately, then stopped, then appeared again. Darby could practically hear Penny's brain whirring.
Penny:Define interesting. Does this involve He Who Must Not Be Named?
Darby:He came into the pub.
Penny:AND?!
Darby:He apologised again. We ended up back here.
Penny:He stayed?????
Darby:Yes.
Penny:OH MY GOD FINALLY. How do you feel?
Darby looked up at her bedroom window, where the curtains were still drawn. How did she feel? Like she'd remembered what it was like to be wanted, to have a nice long deep bath and chat to someone who wasn’t a phone or a wall, to laugh until her sides ached and then fall asleep next to someone who made her feel like her again. Despite all that, she tried not to think that she was setting herself up for another spectacular disappointment.
Darby:I feel I'm glowing from the inside out.
Penny:Good. Just run with it.
Darby:Easy for you to say. I have a track record of spectacularly poor decisions in this department.
