Page 114 of For Love or Money
‘Unless I can persuade you to ditch Dad and run away with me?’ he said jokingly. But again there was an undertone of something else, something that matched the intent in his eyes and caused her heart to flutter.
She forced a laugh. ‘No, thanks. But I hope we can be friends.’
‘I guess we can try.’ He took a gulp of coffee. ‘So, what’s on the agenda for today?’
‘Lesley and I are going to taste cakes this morning. I’ve found this company that do lovely bespoke ones with healthier ingredients.’
‘Well, enjoy!’
‘Thanks. Oh, by the way, I found you another couple of prospects,’ she said, picking up her tablet. ‘I thought we could make appointments to view them tomorrow. I’ll send you the links—’ She was interrupted by her phone buzzing, skimming across her notebook as it vibrated. She looked down at the display: Dan.
‘Aren’t you going to get that?’ Rafe asked her, frowning.
‘Um ... yeah.’ She picked it up as she stood. ‘Hi,’ she said as she darted from the room.
‘Hi.’ His tone was subdued, and Stella immediately felt something was wrong. ‘I ... shit, it’s hard to know how to tell you this. But anyway, I have ... bad news, I guess.’
Stella’s heart started to pound. Oh God, was the baby all right?
‘It’s Dad,’ Dan said. ‘He died.’
‘Oh.’ Stella felt winded, blindsided by a dizzying mixture of emotions – relief, sadness, guilt and a bewildering sense of loss. But the overriding emotion was confusion. What the fuck was she supposed to feel?
‘It was very sudden,’ Dan was saying. ‘He had a heart attack. Mam just found him dead in bed this morning.’
‘God. Sorry ... I mean ... God.’ It had been on the tip of her tongue to say ‘sorry for your loss’, to offer Dan her condolences in the traditional manner. But it was her loss too ... wasn’t it? Was it? ‘I think I need to sit down,’ she said with a shaky laugh, sinking onto the bottom step of the stairs. ‘How’s ... how’s Mam?’ she asked, keeping her voice hushed in case Rafe could hear.
‘She’s in pretty bad shape. It was so sudden. It was a real shock.’
‘And you? Are you okay?’
‘Yeah.’ He sniffed. ‘I’m fine. It’s ... weird, you know?’
‘Yeah. I know.’ God, she wanted so badly to be with him right now it ached. She wished they were in the same room and could put their arms around each other. They were the only ones who knew how this felt – how weird and wrong and bewildering.
‘Anyway,’ he said more briskly, ‘the funeral’s going to be on Wednesday, if you want to come.’
‘Oh! Do you think I should?’
‘No. I mean, that’s not what I’m saying. I just thought I should tell you in case you wanted to. I know you probably don’t, but ...’
‘Do you think I should?’ she asked again.
There was a brief silence. Then he said, ‘Probably not.’
‘Yeah, probably not a good idea. Has Mam ... has she mentioned me at all?’
‘No. She doesn’t even know we’re still in touch.’
‘Right.’ She nodded dazedly. ‘Best if I don’t go, then. She’s probably had enough shocks to deal with for now,’ she added bitterly.
‘Well, I’d better go – arrangements to make and so on. But I’ll talk to you again soon.’
‘Yeah. Bye. Take care.’
She hung up and sat for a moment, staring into space. Then she got up and walked back into the kitchen in a daze.
‘Are you okay?’ Rafe asked, frowning.
