I was relieved my aunt knew better than to ask how I was doing in front of other people. Undoubtedly she could see I was on the verge of tears.
Max and I followed her into the front hallway.
“I have a client here at the moment.” She nodded toward a back room. “Okay for me to finish up with them?”
“Yes, of course,” I said. “Sorry my timing was off.”
“Nonsense,” she reassured me. “You are always welcome in my home, Daisy.” She looked back at Max with a curious expression and then gave me a bright smile before walking away.
I started up the staircase toward the room that would be mine. At least until I had saved up enough for a deposit to rent a flat.
Max reappeared at my bedroom door. “I think that’s it.”
“I need to tip them,” I said.
“All taken care of.” Max sat on the bed beside me.
Following his gaze around the room, I looked at the familiar chintzy wallpaper and old-fashioned curtains. I absolutely loved it.
Max looked concerned. “Are you sure you’re going to be fine here?”
“It’s my home away from home.”
“Where do your parents live?”
“Scotland. They run a bed and breakfast on the Isle of Harris.”
They had moved up there to avoid being reminded of the worst day of their lives. They kept busy, hosting tourists in their seaside home. I was glad they weren’t around to see how badly I’d messed up my life.
Max reached into his pocket and withdrew my car keys. He set them on the bedside table. “Your aunt seems nice. What does she do?”
“She’s a fortune teller.”
He blinked in disbelief.
“A high-end one,” I added. “She works from home and has an office at Selfridges.”
“Does she ever read your tea leaves?”
“She read mine two months ago. Her expression told me everything I didn’t want to know.”
“That you and Nick…?”
“I’m guessing she saw our breakup.”
“She didn’t say anything?”
“No, she just brought out the lemon cake. It was like she was trying to sweeten the truth.” To think I’d once liked lemon cake, too. “Will you let Nick know where I am?”
“Daisy, I want you to focus on you.”
There wasn’t much to focus on in my life, not really. I just went to work and then came straight home.
But I nodded anyway.
He leaned forward. “These changes in life, the ones that come at you fast, out of nowhere, sometimes it’s the universe sending you in a new direction. Sending you on to something better.”
“To someone better than Nick?” There would never be anyone else like him.
“Someone different.”
I sighed. “Do you want to stay for tea?”
“Thank you, but I have to go.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “Look out for Nick.”
“You know I will.”
“And…thank you for today.”
He rose to leave, and the mattress shifted on my single bed. There was only one pillow—only one was needed.
“It’s time to move on,” he said softly.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yes. Yes, you will.”
He headed for the bedroom door.
“Wait!” I leaned over one of the boxes and ripped up the sealing tape. Reaching in, I pulled out a shoebox and opened the lid to show Max what lay inside. “Don’t forget Pelé.”
Max looked happy to see him. “You keep him. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“He reminds you too much of…”
I glanced down at Pelé. “He reminds me of you.”
Max’s gaze focused on me, and I saw uncertainty in his eyes.
“I’ll keep him in the box,” I added quickly.
“Daisy, I mean this in the best kind of way…”
I nodded. “No more turning up at inconvenient times.”
His expression softened with relief. “Good. We wouldn’t want to have to put a restraining order on you, Miss Whitby.”
My face blanched.
“Daisy, that was a joke.”
Feeling awkward, I averted my gaze so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
He stepped forward and touched my face, forcing me to look up at him as he traced his thumb along my bottom lip. “Take care of yourself, Daisy Whitby.”
I peered up at the man too tall to kiss, and stared into his deep brown eyes, letting myself draw strength from his kindness.
He pivoted and hurried out of the room.
I listened to his footsteps as he rushed down the stairs—he obviously couldn’t wait to leave. When I heard the sound of the front door closing, I collapsed on my bed and curled into a ball, just longing for this day to be over.
This was probably against the Harvey Nichols staff policy—squishing my nose up against the outside showroom window and leaving a smudge. It was my usual pose when I left work, since I could never resist peering through the window at the beautiful evening gown on display.
Gold braiding and twinkling crystals adorned a fitted bodice, below which hung a delicate, wispy chiffon skirt.
God, how I love that dress.
I let out a sigh and my breath steamed a patch of glass. The gown represented hope. The promise of a life of glamour and excitement—that perhaps, by some miracle, a fairy Godmother would appear and give me the confidence to be more than what I’d always been.
The girl next door who rarely left the house.
My days at work kept me busy helping others…watching their faces light up with happiness when they tried on a dress. But it wasn’t all fairy dust and contented customers. Now and again, a snobby client came into the store, one of the stuck-up types. To them, I was the invisible shop girl whose only job was to fetch their size and then help them in and out of it. That’s how I’d learned to master a fake smile.
I turned my back on the display window and walked away, finally rising from my daydreaming to notice the sounds of traffic and pedestrians surrounding me, the noise nudging me home so that I could escape.
The Knightsbridge Tube was my usual way back home to Richmond. My mind felt as numb as my hands in the bitter cold, despite my parka and gloves. Once on the Tube, I buried my face in the Vogue magazine I’d found discarded in the coffee room, flipping through pages filled with women who looked incredible, having found happiness in a handbag. It reminded me of Morgan’s Instagram page.
A moment later, I did myself a favor and deleted the Instagram app off my phone. This was the kindest thing I could do for myself. An act of selfcare that might well save my sanity.
As soon as I made it home, I went straight to my bedroom.
I lay on my single bed, flipping through all the channels on the TV, not really watching anything. I tried not to think about what I could have done to prevent my life from going tits-up.
Competing with someone like Morgan was impossible. She was larger than life, and it hurt like hell knowing that Nick had spent time with her while we’d been together.
It was devastating to realize that my love had never been enough for him.
A knock at the door had me pushing PAUSE on the remote.