Page 125 of A Secret Cornish Wish
‘You’ve seen him then?’
‘Yes, he was the one who told me where your shop was.’ Mack looked at me and frowned. ‘Frankie? What is it?’
‘I feel guilty,’ I replied, tired of telling fibs and white lies over the last weeks. ‘Guilty for feeling like I do about you when Rob is going through what he is.’
‘I feel exactly the same,’ Mack said, turning towards me. ‘I’ve always known how Rob feels about you, Frankie. I feel like I’m doing the dirty on him by feeling like I do.’ He paused, and I got the sense he didn’t want to ask his next question. ‘What I need to know is . . . how do you feel about Rob?’
I’m jolted back into the present by Claire’s voice. ‘He’s come all this way again just to see Rob? Frankie, are you listening to me?’
‘Yes.’
‘Has he then?’
I look at Claire.
She sighs. ‘Has he come all this way just to see Rob?
I shake my head. ‘No, Mack is buying the Merry Mermaid.’
‘What?’ Claire looks even more confused. ‘Why? Rob’s only been here five minutes. Don’t tell me he’s bored with it already.’
I shrug. It’s getting harder and harder not to tell Claire anything. I’d have to speak to Rob about it. I can’t keep lying to her like this – she’s my best friend.
‘What’s happened, Frankie?’ She narrows her eyes. ‘Something has. In the same way you know me, I know you too well.’
‘I’m in love with Mack,’ I burst out, desperate to at least share one secret with Claire. ‘And I have been since Rosie and I visited New York in 2019.’
After our trip to New York, Mack and I promised to stay in touch, with Mack announcing he would definitely be coming over to England early next year.
But then the thing happened. The thing that had so much of an effect, not only on my life, but on the lives of so many.
The pandemic kickstarted me back into serious painting again, and as a result allowed me the chance to give up my job at the Lyle gallery and paint full time, something I’d always dreamed of. But at the same time, it also stopped me from seeing Mack.
At first, we jumped on the new trend for video calling, and we spent many hours on Zoom chatting to each other at times when it wasn’t the middle of the night for either of us. But as the pandemic continued and New York closed down altogether, Mack not only had himself and his family to worry about keeping safe, but he also had the responsibility of keeping his business afloat and the jobs of his many staff. So our chats became less frequent and when we did finally manage to arrange a call, it was clear Mack often had other more pressing things on his mind.
Realising he wasn’t quite himself, he of course apologised and said maybe we should wait until it was all over, and he could go back to being the happy-go-lucky chap I was used to him being.
I agreed, reluctantly. And I missed our chats desperately. But what could I do? I was halfway around the world, I couldn’t exactly pop over there – there were no passenger flights between the UK and the US for some time, and even when the world began to open up again, both Mack and I had so much on our respective plates – me with starting my own business and he with saving his – it just wasn’t the right time to try to resurrect what little relationship we had. So, like many things when you don’t put effort in, eventually it simply wilted away.
But now things are different. We have a chance at a new beginning. The problem is, Rob has exactly the opposite.
‘I know you love Mack,’ Claire says without surprise. ‘I’ve known that for a long time. Perhaps even before you did?’
‘Really?’ I ask.
She nods. ‘You two are great together. Your problems have been caused by external influences, not by something either of you has done. And Rosie agrees with me.’
‘She does?’
‘Yep, we’ve talked about it a few times.’
‘When?’
‘When you returned from New York I think was the first time. She told me she’d seen the two of you kissing and holding hands when you thought she wasn’t looking.’
I should have known my daughter was a bit too sharp for us to hide that from her.
‘And then a few times over the years since, I suppose. Mainly when you were video calling each other a lot during the pandemic. Rosie really likes Mack. She’s sad the two of you never properly got it together. You didn’t get it together, did you?’
