Page 97 of Coming Home to Wishington Bay
‘Yes.’
‘Thank God. You had me so worried last night. I was on the verge of calling an ambulance when you wouldn’t let me help you.’
‘Well, now you know I’m fine, so you can stop calling and messaging.’
‘Holly, wait.’
I pressed the end-call button and switched off the phone.
* * *
Switching off the phone was a lot easier than switching off a six-foot-four Australian though and a few hours later, he was at the back door, calling up to where I was sat on the bed, after I’d made a point of not being outside, or even downstairs when he came home. But fifteen minutes later he was still there and showed no signs of giving up. I stomped down the stairs and yanked open the door.
‘Yes?’
‘We need to talk.’
‘No, we don’t. Probably we should have done that whole talking thing before you even kissed me, let alone got into my bed!’
‘Holly—’
‘Look. It’s fine. We both knew this was never anything more than a summer fling. I was just taken by surprise a bit last night. I thought we were friends and that you might have told me you were moving back to Australia. It stung a bit, that’s all. But I’m fine now.’
‘You don’t look fine.’
‘I’m busy, Gabe. I still have a certain amount to do here.’
‘I’d got the feeling you were thinking about staying on here. In which case there’s no rush, is there?’
‘It’s not as easy as you seem to think. For me, anyway.’
‘I don’t think it’s easy. But I know you’re happier here.’
I was until your mum dropped that bombshell last night.
‘Not to mention healthier,’ he added.
I ignored the truth of his comment.
‘So, I was thinking you can tell your parents now, without lying, that we broke up. It’ll soon get round the village so that’ll take care of itself.’
‘Holly, I don’t—’
‘Just one question,’ I said, cutting him off, ‘Why on earth did your mum think I would be going back with you?’
He tipped his head back and let out a sigh, before rubbing the back of his neck. ‘A while ago, after Gigi had gone, I was speaking to them on Skype. I’d had a really, really shitty day and all of a sudden I was just so lonely, and I said something about maybe going home. I didn’t know if I even meant permanently but Mum kind of took it and ran with it. My mind was still on the patient we’d lost when Mum asked about my “relationship”, and whether you, i.e. my fake girlfriend at the time, would be coming too. I was in a state, got caught on the hop, and I guess I said yes.’
‘Don’t you think this was information I could have done with, as your fake girlfriend?
‘I know. I should have told you. I mean about everything. To be honest, it hasn’t come up for a while and with one thing and another, I just forgot. I’m sorry.’
‘Well, doesn’t matter now. It wasn’t like it was anything serious between us.’ I shrugged, trying not to register the flash in Gabe’s eyes. The hand I rested in the back waistband of my shorts was balled, the fingernails digging into the softness of my palm and I only hoped that somehow I could draw on any acting talent genes, just for these few moments so that Gabe McKinley would believe me. The alternative, letting him know that I’d fallen utterly and completely for him, was far more than my pride would allow me to take. So right now, I just had to do what I could.
He held my gaze for a moment before turning to the door.
‘Also, I’ll need to know when you’re planning on leaving as that will obviously need to go in the details of the house sale, so if you can give me a date as soon as possible, that would be helpful.’
He spun round. ‘You’re evicting me?’ he asked, his eyes narrowing.
