Page 71 of Coming Home to Wishington Bay
He wiggled his head in a gesture of concession. ‘Fair point. I’ll give you that one. And, you’ll be pleased to hear, I hope, that in light of the wish to spend more time with my parents and my girlfriend, I’ve spoken to the powers that be about reducing my hours a bit.’
‘Really?’
‘Yep.’
‘Oh Gabe, that’s great! I am pleased!’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yes! Definitely.’ I laughed. ‘Your parents will be thrilled and I’m sure you’ll feel so much better, not working quite so much.’
‘Like you do, you mean?’
I moved to pick up the flowers and gave him a look through my lashes. ‘We’re not talking about me.’
‘True,’ he said, reaching past me and lifting the vase in one large hand, ‘but that doesn’t change the fact you’re clearly happier.’
‘Getting a good night’s sleep can help with that,’ I said, turning towards the stairs. Gabe’s sizeable bulk was in the way.
‘It’s more than that, Holly. You know it is.’
‘OK, yes. Maybe it is. But unless you want to set off another panic attack, then can we not talk about it right now?’
‘Agreed. How are you going with those now?’ he asked, trailing behind me up the stairs.
‘Good, actually,’ I said, throwing a quick smile back over my shoulder. ‘I’ve finished that book and have been trying to put the advice into practice. It’s obviously not stopped them completely but yes, an improvement.’
‘That’s great, Holly.’
Turning as we got to the stop of the stairs, I caught the look on his face. The same thought was in his mind as was in mine:
But what about when you go back to London?
That, however, wasn’t something I was going to think about right now, and I knew he saw that too.
‘Here we are!’ I said, a little too brightly.
Gabe followed me in, then hesitated and glanced back out at the landing.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I … I’m just checking it’s the same room.’ He laughed. ‘I mean, seriously. My boiler packed up last winter and it was a few days until they could fit a new one. Of course, it was just as the freezing weather really hit and Gigi wouldn’t rest until she’d persuaded me to stay here for a few days while it got sorted. I can’t believe it’s the same room. I mean, it was nice before. And spotless of course, you know your grandmother. But it seemed so much darker. Maybe that’s because it was winter or something? I mean, I know you’ve changed the curtains …’ He gave me a grin, clearly recalling my coming together with the stepladder. Or more accurately, my falling apart from it.
‘You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?’
He did a thing with his mouth that said he hadn’t decided yet, and then that smile appeared and I didn’t really care anymore.
‘Where did you want these?’ he asked, holding the vase out.
‘I was thinking here,’ I said, taking them from him and placing them in the centre of the chest of drawers. ‘What do you think?’
‘Looks good to me.’ He turned again. ‘Seriously, Holly. I really can’t believe it. This is all the same furniture?’
‘Yep.’
‘So you, upcycled? Is that what it’s called? You did that with all the stuff in here? I mean, it looks brand new.’
‘Yes,’ I said, unable to stop the grin forming at his enthusiasm and surprise. ‘Carrie thought it was all new stuff I’d bought too.’
