Page 53 of Teacakes & Tangos
‘Well, maybe it is. But don’t you think I deserve an explanation?’
‘Of course you do.’
He gave another heavy sigh. ‘Look, you can’t give the money back to Gran.’
‘Why not?’ I stared at him, puzzled. ‘I mean, it’s obvious that she’s forgotten she gave it to me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t return it.’
‘She didn’t forget she gave you it.’ He looked suddenly downcast. ‘Although it is true Gran’s getting a bit forgetful these days.’
‘What? I don’t understand.’
‘It wasn’t my gran who pushed that envelope of cash through your door.’
‘What? Then who . . .?’
‘It was me,’ he said flatly.
‘You?’ I gazed at him, trying to process this. ‘But... why do it in secret? You should have just told me you wanted to help me.’
He shook his head. ‘I knew you wouldn’t accept it if you knew it had come from me.’
‘But you thought I’d accept it if I thought it had come from your gran?’
‘Well, yes. I suppose I thought I might be able to persuade you to use it to clear your debt?’ He shrugged miserably. ‘I hated to see you in trouble... in danger of actually losing your family home. I just wanted to help.’
I nodded, thinking about this.
I’d been so shocked thinking that Xander had been lying to me all this time. It had really rocked my trust in him.
But having heard his reasons for keeping the truth from me, I could kind of understand, and I felt my feelings towards him softening.
‘I can’t believe you were the one who pushed all that cash through my door.’ I shook my head in amazement.
He shrugged. ‘I had to. I mean, it seemed the right thing to do. I had the money just sitting in my savings account doing nothing and you needed it.’
‘But you can’t just give me money like that.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, it’s just... notnormal! You barely knew me.’
‘Of course I knew you.’
‘Yes, but that’s the kind of money you’d give to help out a really close friend. Not someone who was little more than a casual acquaintance.’
I sighed and got up. Walking to the kitchen drawer, I took out the envelope of cash and laid it on the table, where he was standing.
He looked at me warily, as if he was wondering if he was forgiven, and my heart melted.
‘Thank you for the thought. It was so kind of you.’ I gave him a rather awkward hug and after a moment, he put his arms around me, and I relaxed into him with a feeling of relief. ‘I still don’treallyunderstand why you kept Minnie’s identity from me and decided to give me the money in secret,’ I murmured into his shirt. ‘Well, maybe I do. You thought I wouldn’t use it if I knew it was from you.’
He nodded. ‘Look, I know how desperate you feel if you think you’re about to lose the roof over your head. It... well, it happened to me. I got into financial difficulties after I bought my first flat and it was almost repossessed.’
‘Really? How awful.’
He looked away, remembering. ‘It was. My parents bailed me out and I’ve since paid them back.’ He sighed. ‘But anyway, the point is, I understood how panicked you must be feeling at the thought of losing your home. So everything I did... well, it was done with the best of intentions, I promise you,’ he said softly, and when I looked into his kind, beautiful eyes, I knew I really could trust him.
‘So... your gran must have told you she’d come to see me and offered me the money? Because how else could you have known that we’d need that exact amount to clear the debt?’
