‘I was looking for Laurie,’ said Pete. ‘Does she still live here?’
‘She’s not back from work yet, can I help you?’ Reid said, coldly polite.
‘These are for her,’ said Pete.
‘Oh. Whom shall I say they’re from?’
‘Er . . . Pete. There’s a card. I’m a . . . er . . . client.’
‘I’ll see she gets them. Thank you.’
The man closed the door then, the exchange over and Pete swore to himself all the way back to his car. He’d hoped she’d be in, allow him to face her. He knew she spent Tuesdays in the Daily Trumpet offices and was usually home early. Hers was the most important bouquet, he’d needed a couple of extra days to build up to delivering it, rehearsing over and over what he would say, even though he knew it would go off-script, his brain would disengage and then his feelings would take over. If she let him into the house, he would have told her everything, blown the secret to smithereens and when she fell, he would have caught her and they’d work this out between them. Somehow.
The card said much less. Apologised, asked her to call him and he’d explain, but why should she? He hadn’t factored into the occasion that she might have moved on and he’d be standing there stuttering like an idiot, spouting bollocks at her new partner. Of course she’d found someone new, she was gorgeous and the man in her kitchen was handsome, refined and presumably owned the Porsche on the drive that he thought might have been a new car for her. Pete had blown his chance. He wished Laurie well, hoped she’d at least forgive him, in the future if not now.
*
Reid took the flowers and shut the door. He wasn’t in a great mood as it was, and now this. He carried the flowers to the kitchen island, and took the small envelope from the plastic holder, ripped the card out.
Dear Laurie, Forgive me. I would love to talk to you and explain if you will please give me the chance. All I ask is five minutes of your time. My number, as you’ll probably have erased it, is on the back of this card. Pete x
Reid tore up the card into tiny pieces and stuffed them right down to the bottom of the kitchen bin.
*
Laurie turned on her phone when she got out of the Daily Trumpet HQ. There were six missed calls from Reid and three voicemails.
One: ‘Laurie, can you please ring me back when you get a moment.’
Two: ‘Laurie, what is going on? Why aren’t you ringing me back?’
Three: ‘You can’t possibly still be in a meeting. Ring me now.’
She rang.
‘Hello, is there something wrong?’
‘Where are you?’
‘I’m just coming out of the Daily Trumpet offices. What’s the matter?’
‘Why haven’t you been returning my calls?’
‘Reid, I always turn my phone off when I’m working.’
‘And you’ve been working all day there have you, without a break?’
‘We stopped for lunch. There were no missed calls on my phone then because I looked at it. I told you I’d be home about six.’
‘And I told you I’d be making dinner for us.’
Laurie looked at her watch. It was ten to six. She didn’t think he’d have it waiting for her to ladle out as soon as she walked in through the door. She liked to unwind first, not kick off her shoes and immediately pick up the cutlery, but she wasn’t in the mood to remonstrate.
‘I’m only about a ten-minute drive away.’ Impatience creeping into her tone now.
‘Send me a picture of where you are.’
She laughed, presuming he was joking, then he asked again.
‘Why would you want me to do that?’
‘Because I don’t believe you are where you say you are. You shouldn’t have a problem with it if you’re telling the truth.’
‘All right then.’
She pressed end call with as much annoyance as her index finger could muster, raised the phone, took a photo of Trumpet HQ and sent it to him, the good mood which usually followed her out of her meetings there now crushed.
Chapter 55
Laurie got caught up in a traffic snarl roadworks and a small collision between a car and a minibus on the way home which held her up. She was all too aware of her anxiety levels rising and wondered when this had become a normal state of affairs, to be so jittery. Reid rang her at half past six.
‘Dinner is going to be ruined,’ he huffed tetchily. ‘Where are you now?’
‘I’m stuck in a jam.’
‘Send me a photo,’ he snapped and ended the call abruptly.
She sent it and then took a mental freeze frame of her life as she sat in a dead snake of cars. What the hell was she doing kowtowing to this sort of behaviour? They might be in the early days of a relationship but were these teething problems, as Bella had called them, or dangerous seeds which would grow wild and high and choke her if she let them?
Seeing Pete on the video that day had reinforced what she already knew deep down, that a heart beat in a singular way for someone it loved. It was not beating like that for Reid West-Hunt. She wasn’t sure it ever would.
Reid greeted her at the door in a rush.
‘I know what you’re going to say,’ he said. ‘I’m an idiot, a demanding boor. The trouble with us perfectionists is that we can be the worst sort of intolerant prats. I bought these for you earlier, but hopefully now they will double up as an apology.’ From behind his back he produced a beautiful bouquet of flowers. ‘Come eat and let’s relax, you must be shattered and frustrated sitting in traffic for all that time.’
She was. And she was also temporarily disarmed.
Charming Reid came out to play. She found herself rationalising his temper tantrum as she ate his delicious meal. He’d wanted to cook for her and for it all to be perfect. She’d arrived much later than he’d planned for – she had to take some responsibility in nearly spoiling it.
‘I need your help on something,’ he said matter-of-factly, as he poured them another two glasses of wine. That would put him over the limit, he was intending to stay over, so it seemed. She really didn’t want that, not tonight. She braced herself to tell him so. Everything felt a battle with Reid, she’d noticed. As with Meredith, when things were playing to their tune, all went smoothly; but neither took too kindly to being challenged.
‘What?’ She presumed it was her legal expertise he needed. It wasn’t.
‘I can’t seem to book myself into your cruise cabin. I was hoping to surprise you and come with you but irritatingly, I need your permission.’
She hadn’t told him about her forthcoming trip. She should have, if they were in a relationship, but every time a suitable moment had come up for it to be dropped into conversation, she’d stopped herself. To avoid the scenario she was about to have, she knew.
‘How did you know about that?’ She forced herself to keep it light.
He threw her a question of his own. ‘Was it a secret?’
‘No. I just hadn’t mentioned it.’
‘Why wouldn’t you tell me?’
‘Because I made a mistake,’ she answered honestly. ‘It was meant to be a fulfilment of Alex’s wish for me but I’d got it wrong. I’m not going to throw all that money away so I’ll just go and get it over with. I leave the day after the year’s anniversary of the crash and I want to be alone.’