Page 66 of Love, Accidentally

I have to laugh as Jonathan wraps his son in a hug and Will mouths ‘Help’ at me over his shoulder. He may be uncomfortable with this sudden display of physical affection from his father, but I’m relieved that it seems to have broken the tension that’s been sitting between us since our conversation in the workshop.

‘So, what happens now?’ Jonathan asks when he finally releases a mortified Will.

‘What do you mean?’ Will asks him.

‘Well, you’ve told Tilly about your dyslexia and, from what I can see, she doesn’t seem spooked. You like her. She likes you…’

‘Whoa!’ Will holds up his hand. ‘Back right off, old man. I’ve also explained about Cass, or have you forgotten her?’

‘I wish I could. But anyone can see that Tilly’s nothing like Cass, Will. If you let your experience with her hold you back, then she’s still controlling you. Is that what you want?’

‘No, but?—’

‘You two have been dancing around each other pretty much from the moment Tilly first set foot in this house. Now that everything’s out in the open, there’s nothing to hold you back.’

A lump forms in my throat. Everything isn’t out in the open, but do I actually need to tell Will about my disastrous relationship with Luke? It’s in the past, but I feel I want to be totally honest with him and, as we all seem to be speaking our minds today, maybe now is the time.

‘Actually, Jonathan, there is something else Will and I ought to talk about,’ I begin carefully. ‘Can we borrow your workshop again, please?’

‘By all means. Just don’t touch anything, especially Audrey.’

* * *

‘What an absolute bastard.’ Will’s face is a mask of outrage. ‘To be honest, I’m just as cross with his mother. Fancy putting you through that. Sadistic old bat.’

I’ve held nothing back, including the meeting with Cindy, and I’m almost amused that this is the part of the story that Will has latched on to most strongly.

‘I think she believed it was the only way to get him to confront reality.’

‘Bollocks. She was manipulating the situation to cause maximum distress to everyone involved. Who wins in a situation like that? You came out of it completely humiliated, as did Cindy. She should have just told you he was married and warned you off, like a normal person would.’

‘But then he’d have got away with it.’

‘Maybe, maybe not. But that wasn’t your problem, was it? His relationship with his wife was nothing to do with you. The evil mother should have given you the choice about how you ended things with him, not stuck her nose in and set up some kind of Agatha Christie-style unmasking.’

‘What if he’d just moved on to someone else though? I’d have felt responsible, knowing that I could have done more to stop him.’

Will sighs. ‘Someone like that isn’t going to stop, that’s the reality. I’m no psychologist, but the way he tried to gaslight his way out of it shows that he’s never going to accept any responsibility. Which is another reason I’m so angry with his mother. She must have known what he was like and how he was going to react. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced she set the whole thing up just for a bit of entertainment.’

‘Bit harsh, Will.’

‘Didn’t you think it was weird?’

‘I was busy trying to keep on top of an avalanche of shit. I didn’t really have mental capacity to analyse it the way you have.’

‘Fair point. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make it sound like you’re to blame for any of it. I’m just really angry on your behalf.’

‘Anyway,’ I begin, anxious to move the conversation along now that I’ve told him what I need to. ‘You’ll hopefully understand now that I need to ask you if you have a wife and several beautiful children hiding anywhere that I ought to know about.’

To my relief, this is enough to break his mood. He smiles, crinkling his beautiful eyes. ‘I can assure you that I don’t,’ he tells me. ‘What about you?’

‘Just me,’ I assure him. ‘And as far as your dyslexia is concerned, I may not know much about it now, but I’m willing to learn.’

His smile widens into a grin. ‘I can’t believe Dad pulled out all that “I’m proud of you, son” stuff back there. So embarrassing.’

‘I thought it was rather sweet.’

‘What do you think the deal is with him and this Audrey? Should I be worried?’

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