“Aunt Cat. You have been secretly sleeping with the butler.”
“Yes, and you were about to shag the gardener. What difference does it make?”
“I haven’t shagged anyone. There’s the difference!”
“No wonder you’re so uptight today, dear.”
“Oh, my gosh. This is ridiculous.” I held out my hands. “I’m not sure why on Earth you think this is going to help the situation. Dad is hurting a lot right now.”
She gave the dog a scratch on the top of the head. “He’ll get over it. If your happiness matters, he’ll be fine with you dating the gardener.”
“He doesn’t care about me seeing Miles!”
“There’s no need to shout, dear.”
“Yes, there is, because you aren’t listening!” I slapped my hands down on the island, startling the dog. “You have been secretly sleeping with the man who has served our household for more thirty years and who is one of his closest friends. You have been courting a relationship right under his nose for the past seven months and never thought to tell your brother that you’re in love with someone who means a lot to this family.”
Aunt Cat stilled, looking down at her feet.
“I am always on your side, Aunt Cat. I’ve taken the wrap before for things you’ve done because I knew it wouldn’t hurt Dad as much if it was me being an idiot. Heck, I tried to cover for you last night by saying a spider scared me.”
“You aren’t scared of spiders.”
“Exactly! I still tried! I have always covered for you and taken your side, but I won’t take your side on this. You should have told Dad. He deserves more than you lying to him.”
“Gabi, I—”
“I am so happy that you’ve found someone who makes you happy. Truly, I am, and I cannot think of anyone in this world who deserves that more than you do, and I believe the two of you are a wonderfully weird match and that you will be happy together.”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“But you didn’t need to break Daddy’s heart in the process. He would have understood and given you both his blessing.” I backed up towards the door. “It’s not always easier to ask for forgiveness, Aunt Cat. Not when the person you’ve wronged would have moved Heaven and Earth for your happiness in the first place.”
She swallowed, and the dog nudged her with his nose. She rubbed it, still looking at me, and the tears that filled her eyes spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
“I’m going to Miles’ cottage. I’ll let you know if I won’t be home tonight.” My own ball of emotion welled inside me, and I turned and left before my voice broke.
Her sobs echoed through the hall, and I hesitated at the door, but I couldn’t comfort her now.
This was a storm of her own making, and she had to weather it.
I escaped through the front door and walked over to where Miles had been waiting. He’d not long finished work and had promised we’d cook together in his cottage where we’d have a little privacy, as long as I didn’t mind if we took something up to his grandpa.
I didn’t, obviously.
But that seemed a thousand miles away from me right now when all I wanted to do was run away and hide.
“Gabi?”
I drew in a deep breath. My jaw quivered at the sight of Miles, and it took all of me to keep it together. “Can we go? Please? I need to get away from here.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on.” He all but carried me into his car and shut the door behind me, then go in the driver’s side. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “Not right now. I need a few minutes to pull myself together.”
“All right.” He reached over and rested his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I squeezed his fingers, then he pulled away so he could put the car into gear. “I’m sure.”
A succession of loud barks made him pause. “Is that a dog?”
I rested my elbow on the window and pressed my fingers into my temples. “Don’t ask. Or at least wait for ten minutes before you do.”
***
“I left her there, crying! I am a horrible person!”
Miles watched as I paced up and down his very adorable and cosy living room. “Why does she have a dog, though?”
“I left her alone, crying, and you’re worried about the dog?”
“I just want to know where it came from.”
“She said she found it.”
“Did she get it checked for a microchip?”
“Yes. She found it at a dog rescue,” I said dryly. “I guess when Dad told her no more farm animals, he forgot to include dogs in that, and she exploited a loophole.”
“Ah. So the chip is registered to her.”
“Exactly.” I continued pacing. “What am I supposed to do? I shouted at her. I made her cry. And then I walked out and came here. I’m a terrible niece.”
“You are not a terrible niece.” Miles stood up and came over to me. He touched my arms, slowly running his hands up my arms and over my shoulders to cup my face. “Trying to look out for your dad and be a good daughter doesn’t make you a bad niece. I think she knows that, too. She knows what she did was…” He sighed. “It wasn’t wrong, was it? Not if it makes her happy. But the way she went about it has left a lot to be desired.”
“You put it much nicer than I did.” I sniffed, leaning into him for a hug, which he obliged by circling his arms around me. “You didn’t see Daddy when he left. He just packed a bag and went and he’s not answering my calls or texts.”
“Is there anyone you can call to see if they know where he is?”
I shook my head against his chest.
“What about Alexander?”
Right.
My cousin.
He was there when it all happened.
“Do you want me to text him?”
“Since when do you have his number?” I leaned back and looked up. “What are you, best friends?”
“Best friends is somewhat of an exaggeration,” Miles replied. “But we’re relatively good friends. We exchanged numbers at the hotel after I said I liked chess.”
I blinked at him.
Did I tell him my cousin was basically a grandmaster?
No.
I’d let him find out by himself.
At least I didn’t have to play him anymore. Silver linings and all that.
“Right,” I said slowly. “Um, I guess. That’s the only place I can think he might go. Aunt Elizabeth is his sister. She’s used to dealing with him and Aunt Cat when they argue.”
“All right. Why don’t you sit down? I’ll bring you a glass of wine and text Alex. Okay?”
“Should I apologise to her?”
“Sit.” Miles released me and spun me around, then forced me to sit on his sofa. “No, you should not apologise to her yet. Let her calm down. It’s been an emotional twenty-four hours for everyone.”
“Speak for yourself. All other things aside, I just discovered my aunt has had more sex in the last month than I have in the past two years. Talk about stressful.”