Page 48 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

Rowan shrugged. ‘I wasn’t.’

‘Why not? I’ve just told everyone I’m moving down here, and you don’t think I deserve to know you’re not actually going to be here?’ She bit down on her bottom lip. ‘That’s why you were so quiet last night when I spoke about my move.’

With his back against the doorframe, Rowan rubbed his hand across his face. ‘I wasn’t going to tell you, because I’m not accepting the job offer.’

Nina read through the letter again.

‘I need to head down to the bar. Help yourself to anything.’

Leaning against the work surface, Nina held the letter. This was his dream job. He’d always wanted to travel. Always. Was she the reason he wasn’t taking it? Was it because of her announcement yesterday?

Running down the stairs, she walked through the office area and behind the bar. Rowan was pouring two glasses of wine for two women standing at the bar. Sidling up to him, she held out the letter. ‘This is your dream job. You’ve always wanted to travel.’

Glancing across at her, Rowan shrugged. ‘Not anymore.’

‘You were just talking about travelling the other day. You told me you’d never had the opportunity to travel abroad, so you’d travelled around the coast instead. You literally said that.’

‘So, maybe I’ve got rid of the travelling bug?’ Turning back to the bar, he gave the women their glasses and took payment.

Tapping her foot against the floor, Nina waited until the women had retreated to their table. ‘Please tell me I’m not the reason you’re not taking the job?’

Rowan emptied the drips trays beneath the pumps and spoke quietly, his back to her. ‘I don’t need to travel to be happy.’

‘So, it is me, then?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ Replacing the drip trays, he turned and looked at her. ‘What do you want me to say? That if you hadn’t come along, I’d have taken the job? Then, maybe, but you’re here and we’re together and that’s something I didn’t think was ever going to happen again. I’m not about to jeopardise our newfound relationship for a trip abroad.’

‘It’s a bit more than a trip abroad. You’d be travelling all over the world.’

‘But it’s not what I want. Not anymore.’

‘Rowan, please?’ Stepping towards him, she took his hands in hers. ‘I don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Not because of me.’ She swallowed. What was she doing? Why was she pushing him away again? Because she loved him. ‘I love you and I don’t want you to regret missing out on this opportunity.’

‘And you don’t think that if I went, I wouldn’t be missing out on this?’ He indicated the space between them. He looked away and began wiping the bar down.

What was she supposed to do? Sit back and watch him give up the chance of a lifetime? The job which he’d been dreaming of for as long as she’d known him? She couldn’t. She cared about him too much. She loved him too much. She couldn’t let him give up on his dreams. She’d mess up the relationship anyway sooner or later, and then he’d have missed out regardless.

She tapped the edge of the letter against the bar and took a deep breath. ‘I think you should take the job.’

‘What?’ He paused, his back still facing her, the cloth still in his hand.

‘Just that. I think you should take the job.’

‘And, what? I don’t get a say in my own life suddenly?’

‘You’ll only end up resenting me.’

Turning around, he flung the cloth into the sink. ‘Nina, just stop, please.’

‘Stop what? I’m only trying to do what’s best for you.’ That’s all she wanted. She just wanted him to be happy.

‘You’re not; you’re second-guessing me. You’re not listening to what I’m trying to tell you.’ He rubbed his palm across his face. ‘Yes, the chance to travel would be amazing. Yes, I’ve been wanting to travel my whole life. And the job offer is a brilliant one. I’d get to travel, there’s a chance of promotion, the money is good. But it’s not what I choose.Ichoose. Not you. This is my life, and I do get a say in it.’

‘Fine. I’m sorry for caring and not wanting you to waste this opportunity.’ Grabbing her coat, she placed the letter on the bar next to Rowan and headed to the door. Stepping outside, she stood by the door as she shrugged into her coat before braving the rain. As she headed down the hill towards the bakery, she tried to avoid the huge puddles forming across the path. The sky was dark, threatening, the clouds low.

She swiped at her eyes. Not that it made any difference, her hood wouldn’t stay up in the wind and no one would be able to tell she was crying as her face was streaming with rainwater, anyway. She hadn’t meant to upset him. She just knew he would have jumped at a job like that if she hadn’t walked back into his life. She didn’t want to hold him back. She wouldn’t. That was the last thing she wanted.

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