Page 98 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘Tori, hi. It’s me, Ryan.’
Chapter 30
Ryan?What?But it couldn’t be, surely? Tori took a step backwards, shaking her head. She felt winded, as though she’d been punched in the stomach.
‘Ryan? What the…’ She took another step backwards as he moved towards her and stumbled, losing her footing. Ryan grabbed her arm to steady her.
‘Yes, Tori, it’s me,’ he said, his teeth flashing in the light from the café, a stark contrast to his tanned skin.
‘But why are you here?’ she asked, snatching her arm out of his grasp.
‘I know,’ he shrugged, ‘it’s crazy, isn’t it?’
‘But I don’t understand why you’re here?’
‘I’ve missed you, Tori. These last couple of months without you have been hell. I’ve realized I made a terrible mistake—’
‘No!’ she shouted. ‘You don’t get to just turn up here in the middle of the night and say you’ve missed me. Things are over between us; you made that pretty clear when you dumped me five thousand miles from home!’ Her eyes flashed with rage.
‘I was an idiot, Tori, I didn’t know what I was doing. Things were getting so serious between us, I just got scared. I knew marriage and kids was the next step and I just… panicked.’
‘So what’s changed?’
‘I still love you, Tori. Isn’t that all that matters?’
She stared at him, unable to articulate a response. Her brain was whirring, trying to process his words. Less than five minutes ago, she’d been kissing Leo. And now?
‘Why don’t we go inside, I’ll explain.’
‘No way,’ she said, pushing him away.
‘Don’t be silly, Tori. It’s nearly eleven o’clock, I’ve been on a flight for hours, where am I supposed to go? My bags are—’
‘Not my problem,’ she said, folding her arms.
‘Come on, Tori, you can’t just leave me out on the street all night!’
‘The Apple Tree’s still open. If you hurry, you’ll make it before closing, they’ll have rooms for the night.’
‘Whatever you want. I know it’s a shock, me turning up like this, but when you didn’t reply to messages, I just knew I had to—’
‘Goodnight,’ she said, opening the front door and slamming it behind her. Whatever else he had to say, she didn’t want to hear it. The nerve of him, showing up on her doorstep like that, after everything that had happened. ‘Arrrgggggh!’ she yelled.
‘Tori, is that you?’ said Joyce, from the top of the stairs. ‘What on earth’s going on?’
‘Oh, Mum, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,’ cried Tori, running up the stairs.
‘What’s wrong? What’s happened? Is it Leo?’
‘No, the date was great. But when I got home… you won’t believe who…’ Anger was coursing through her, she couldn’t find the right words.
Joyce pulled her into a gentle hug. ‘Take some long, deep breaths…’ Joyce breathed deeply and Tori followed suit. ‘That’s it, love… in… and out.’ Tori’s breathing began to regulate. ‘Let’s go and put the kettle on and you can tell me everything.’
With a cup of soothing chamomile tea inside her, Tori was feeling calm enough to tell her about Ryan’s arrival back in Blossom Heath.
‘I thought I heard the doorbell go earlier, but I was upstairs. It must have been Ryan. It’s a lot to get your head around, that’s for sure,’ said Joyce, opening a packet of chocolate digestives. ‘How do you feel about seeing him?’
‘I honestly don’t know. Six weeks ago, if you’d told me Ryan would be flying halfway around the world to tell me he still loved me, I’d have been overjoyed. But now?’ She shrugged and rested her head on a hand. ‘The nerve of him… just as I’m starting to move on.’
