Page 70 of An Unholy Affair
He’s brought me flowers!
Simon barked out a laugh. ‘Well, Evelineisthe church, and she’ll only take them over herself if I don’t.’
She stared at the bouquet. It was stunning. The predominant colours were red, with roses, gerberas, dahlias and proteas. But there were flashes of gold, too. It must have cost a fortune.
Jack ignored Simon and turned to her. ‘Eveline, I want to thank you for all your help and support over the last couple of weeks, and to apologise for my behaviour yesterday.’
She heard aharrumphfrom Simon behind her.
‘You can do whatever you like with these,’ Jack continued. ‘They’re yours.’
Eveline took them from him, holding them close to her pounding chest, as if they were an extension of him.
‘Thank you, Jack. Are you coming in?’
He glanced at Simon and shook his head. ‘I was going to head over to Foxbrooke Haven.’
Jack made his feelings for you clear yesterday. You can’t hope for more than that.
She swallowed. ‘How’s your mum doing?’
‘Tired. Yesterday took a lot out of her.’
‘I’ll see if I can pop over to see her today. I can bring back the photos.’
‘Thanks.’ Jack gave them both a quick nod and left.
‘Why don’t I take those from you?’ Simon asked as they returned to the kitchen. ‘I can run them over in a bit.’
Eveline clutched the bunch tighter. If she couldn’t have Jack, then she wanted the flowers. ‘No, thank you, Simon. I’m going to keep them in the rectory.’
‘But you’ve never done that before,’ he blustered.
She smiled brightly to hide the light of her anger. ‘Well, there’s a first time for everything. And besides, people come and go all the time here, so I’ll still be sharing their beauty.’
Simon harrumphed again. ‘Well, let me arrange them for you.’
She knew her feelings were disproportionate, but she didn’t want Simon touching the bouquet. She didn’t wantanyonetouching it.
‘No, thank you. I’ll do it later.’ She pulled a large jug from a cupboard, put the bouquet inside, and took it to the sink. Despite the noise as the ancient tap turned on, the birds continued to squabble at the feeders outside.
When the jug was filled, she placed it on the counter. Simon eyed the flowers as if they were about to grow teeth and eat him.
He cleared his throat. ‘Eveline. I haven’t had you over for quite a while now. How about you come to mine tonight for a meal?’
How about you actually ask if I want to?She turned away and pretended she needed to check the tap had properly turned off.God, I’m so angry with him and it’s not fair. He’s done nothing wrong.
‘Eveline?’
She faced him with a smile she didn’t feel. ‘I’m afraid tonight is not suitable.’Not a lie, I just don’t want to.
Simon’s face crumpled in on itself with confusion. ‘But you don’t normally have anything on a Monday evening.’
‘Maybe another time?’
‘Okay then, tomorrow. You can come after Evensong.’
‘I think Isaac is popping over then.’
