Page 25 of A Cornish Love Story
‘I’ve been in the village,’ I said. ‘In the same house. I haven’t gone anywhere.’ He could have knocked on my door when he’d been visiting the site. Even if he hadn’t known I was still there, it would have been a good starting point, because Alperwick was small and most people were eager to pass on gossip.
‘I know, but I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me. I thought you might slam the door in my face.’
‘Thirteen years is a long time, and we were teenagers.’ That was the sensible answer, something my mum might have said. I didn’t add that I would have let him in the day after our last argument, that by then I was already sorry for the things I’d said, and that I’d wanted him back above everything else.
‘Do you want to …?’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t know where to start.’
‘There’s too much,’ I said. ‘And you need to get back to Bristol, don’t you? Sell this place to some businessexecutive or hedge fund manager, someone who’s only going to live in it for two weeks a year.’
Ethan’s shoulders slumped. ‘I will havesomesay over who buys it.’
‘Is Sarah managing that side of it?’
He held my gaze. ‘She’s changed a lot. She knows the Sparks system inside and out, but she can also put on a shiny exterior, say all the right things, when I have no patience for it.’
‘I’m glad she came through.’ I meant it, even though the shock of seeing her hadn’t quite faded.
‘I’m wondering how much you’ve changed,’ he said quietly.
‘I’m surprised you’ve been wondering about me at all.’ I paused to finish my drink. ‘Or I would have been, except I saw that interview inHome Style, where you talked about the house’s name. “It was never going to be called anything else.”’
He closed his eyes for a beat. ‘I didn’t know if … in my speech – if you’d want me to talk about us.’
I nodded, then gestured to the frosted glass. Beyond it, the sun was sinking, shifting from soft glow to burning embers as it neared the water. ‘I need to go. It’s going to be dark soon and I …’
‘You don’t want to stay here with me.’
I swallowed. ‘A whole lot of time has passed, and we’re such different people, Ethan.’
‘You’re as beautiful as ever,’ he said, his gaze confident and assessing. ‘More beautiful, if anything.’
‘Wow.’ I tried to ignore the flutter in my stomach. ‘You must have been working with some shady estate agents if you can say that and not wince at how cringy it sounds.’
He let out a surprised laugh. ‘I was just being honest.’
‘So was I.’ I folded my arms. ‘But thank you. You look very … dapper.’
He frowned. ‘Dapper?’
‘I love how you matched your tie to the furnishings.’
Irritation flickered across his face. ‘I wanted today to go well. If I’d known I was coming across as dapper,I would have rethought the whole plan.’
‘How did you want to come across, then? The genius, nerdy architect? The mysterious, unknowable man behind the Sparks system? Is dapper too commonplace for you?’ I raised my eyebrows. ‘Does Sparks really control the whole house? Do you need to be set up as a user so it recognizes you?’
His nod was wary, as if he didn’t know whether I was teasing him or not.
‘OK.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Sparks, please turn on the disco lights in the shower.’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know who’s speaking.’ The soothing female voice bounced off the walls. I could barely tell she was electronic.
‘Sparks,’ Ethan said, ‘I want to add a new user.’
‘Good evening, Ethan,’ the voice replied. ‘Who would you like to add?’
‘Sparks, please add Georgie to Sterenlenn.’
‘Good evening Georgie,’ the voice said. ‘I will need to learn your voice to add you to Sterenlenn. Please say:Sparks, what’s the weather like today?’
