Page 49 of Sorry, Not Sorry
He sighed in exasperation and walked into the small kitchen at the end of the living room, pulling open the freezer and rummaging through its sparse contents.
‘Do you ever buy food? This stuff looks like it’s been here for years!’
She pulled a face and watched him take out a small bag of ice cubes. He shook half of it into the kitchen towel draped over the sink and twisted the towel into a tight ball. Coming back to kneel beside her, he gently lifted her foot, and her body immediately stiffened at his touch.
‘Where does it hurt?’
She pointed silently to her small toe, and he carefully held the ice-filled towel against it. Despite her pain, she shivered at the sensation of Noah’s warm fingers on her skin, and terrified he would see how his touch affected her, she snatched the cold compress away and flashed a nervous smile.
‘Thanks, it’s fine… I can do it myself.’ She waved him towards the sofa. ‘Sit down. Please.’
Noah eyed her for a second and then released her foot and stood up. He sat on the sofa facing her and nodded towards her foot.
‘Does it feel better?’
Delilah nodded, pressing the makeshift ice pack against her numb toe. The stabbing pain was subsiding into a dull ache, but her bigger concern was why Noah was in her flat.
‘So what brings you here? After what you said the other day, I didn’t think you ever wanted to see me again.’ She tried to keep her tone light, but it was hard to stop the hurt seeping into her voice.
Noah dropped his gaze and massaged the back of his neck. ‘I know,’ he said gruffly. ‘What I said to you in the park… it was cruel and – and unnecessary. I wanted to check you’re okay. I don’t want any hard feelings between you and me.’
‘Oh,’ she said, her voice hollow with disappointment. She knew she could be the queen of wishful thinking, but despite the stern talking to she had given herself, she had still secretly hoped Noah was coming to confess he felt something for her.
‘I suppose it’s my turn to apologise.’ With his hands clasped together and one leg jiggling furiously, Noah couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable if he’d tried. ‘I was well out of order kissing you in the park and then making things worse by attacking you instead of taking accountability for my actions.’
As if he couldn’t bear to sit any longer, he stood up and wandered over to the window, peering through the blinds into the street before turning back to face her. He ran a hand over his face and then sighed heavily.
‘I won’t lie, Del. Sometimes it’s hard to be around you after what went down with us before, and I?—’
He broke off and walked over to crouch in front of her, looking deeply into her eyes. He was close enough for her to see the dark flecks in the brown of his eyes and smell the clean lemon notes of his cologne.
‘You… what?’ she asked breathlessly, a tiny spark of hope igniting despite herself.
He shook his head. ‘I needed time to work through my feelings about the past. For a minute back there in the park, it felt like we still had unfinished business, but I’ve thought long and hard about this, and for your sake and mine, it’s time to let go of my anger. I’m ready to try so we can both move on. Is that okay with you?’
‘Absolutely!’
‘So, we’re good?’
‘Of course!’ Delilah nodded emphatically.
Noah drew himself up to his full height and grinned, and Delilah responded with a bright smile, wondering if he could hear the sound of her heart breaking. She could see the relief in his eyes, and she swallowed the bitterness she could taste in her mouth, determined not to show him how much she was hurting and invite his pity.
She changed the subject before she started to cry. ‘I haven’t spoken to Zazie, but she’s been sending me texts with ideas about how she can connect better with your mum. How’s that going?’
‘Funny you should ask, cos that’s the other thing I wanted to tell you.’
What fresh hell is this man about to announce? Delilah braced herself for more pain, praying for the day she could disentangle herself from Noah’s life.
‘There’s been a breakthrough on that front, and the funny thing is Zazie didn’t need to do anything. Mum called yesterday and invited us round to theirs for lunch next Sunday. She said she wanted to get to know Zazie better.’
‘Oh…!’ Delilah stared at him blankly.
‘I know, right? The best part is Zazie’s actually excited to go. She really seems to like you, and it looks like your advice has done the trick cos I swear before she met you, she’d have refused point blank or found some excuse. But when I told her, she seemed really excited and said if Mum’s extending an olive branch, she’s willing to meet her halfway.’
He smiled wryly. ‘Look, Del, I know it’s been weird for both of us, what with our history and everything, but you’ve really helped Zazie and me turn the corner on this situation with Mum, and I want to thank you.’
Delilah smiled through lips that felt as frozen as the ice cradling her injured toe. ‘I didn’t really do much, but I’m pleased for you, Noah. For both of you. I hope everything works out.’
