Filipe Alexandre was doing a good job of keeping them well appraised but, even so, this was his project. Wanting to cast his own eye over things was completely reasonable, and wanting his interior designer present was also completely reasonable. And he was in Paris next week, anyway, which was even better. He could fly to Lisbon from there, meet Quinn at the building like last time, assuming she could make it, would agree to come...
His stomach dipped. If she did, would she suss that he was taking a leaf out of her book, meeting her there to avoid the awkwardness of flying over together, meeting her for the first time since their last visit, with Filipe between them to temper the air? And if she sussed that, would she see that what he was trying to do was make amends and, if she did see that, would she let him?
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘HE EMAILED YOU?’ Sadie looked up from putting on her jacket, her expression halfway between cross and curious. ‘And what did he have to say for himself? Sorry, by any chance?’
Her heart crimped. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned the email, just that she might need to swap a couple of shifts, but since the older woman was her friend as well as the shelter manager, and since she had mercilessly bent her ear about Will, she could hardly blow her off now just because she was in turmoil and didn’t want to talk about it.
‘That would have been a nice touch, but no...’ She pulled her own jacket on, using the moment to push down the hurt. ‘He wants us to go see how things are going with the building.’
‘Will there be anything to see yet?’
Her own first thought exactly! Filipe was keeping them up to speed with progress, but it was still early days. Her second thought, which she’d instantly discounted as too needy and pathetic to entertain, was the one that was busy surfacing in Sadie’s light green eyes.
‘Do you think he could be using the trip as an excuse? As a way to see you?’
She offered up a shrug, not trusting herself to speak.
‘Perhaps he’s feeling bad...’ Sadie was running up her zip now, her expression brightening. ‘Maybe he wants to see you face to face so he can apologise.’
Something snapped inside.
‘He could apologise face to face here, Sadie! Where we both happen to live. He’s only had, let me see, three weeks, three and a half days to pick his moment.’
‘Not that you’re counting...’
She felt her bristles stiffening then collapsing. Sadie was only trying to lighten her up, but she couldn’t make herself feel lighter, not even for Sadie.
She swallowed. ‘I’m sorry but that isn’t helping.’
Sadie nodded slowly. ‘I can see that—’ little shrug ‘—sorry.’ And then she was letting out one of her deep wise sighs. ‘You know, Quinn, maybe things aren’t quite what they seem with him. I mean, we see it with our service users all the time, don’t we? Behaviours that can make you think one thing about a person, then you find out there’s more to it, more to them.’
Her heart caught. ‘But the more part is what I thought I’d found! We were getting on, having fun. I thought we were connecting.’ And then he’d flicked the switch, pitched her into blinding darkness. She felt an edge hardening somewhere. ‘But clearly, I was wrong. I don’t know what’s real with him and what isn’t—what makes him tick, who he is!’
Sadie’s eyebrows slid up. ‘You’d like to find out though, wouldn’t you?’
Her stomach locked. Would she? Still? In spite of everything?
That light in his eyes... That mad thing he’d done with his hair to make her laugh... The way the corners of his mouth curved up just before he smiled. They way he’d saved her, held her without awkwardness, looking at her as he had that other time, when she was seventeen, concern etched on his face, kindness. All the good in him. Her heart twisted. But he’d stung her too, more than once. How many times before she was a mug? How much, even for Anthony’s sake, could she take?
She reconnected with Sadie’s gaze. ‘I don’t know. I keep thinking about Liam, all the effort I put in, the big fat nothing I got out of it.’
Sadie rolled her eyes. ‘Liam O’Connor was a waster, transparent from the start.’ She turned to her locker, pulling out her street-duty rucksack. ‘I told you to watch yourself with him right after I met him that first time. Look past the roses, I said.’
She felt her neck prickling. Sadie had said that. But what made her think Will wasn’t a waster too? It wasn’t as if she’d met him, taken his measure.
‘So now you’re saying, what? That I should look past the thorns...’
‘I’m just saying don’t be too quick to judge him, that’s all.’ Sadie sighed. ‘From what you’ve said, it seems he’s had a lot to contend with in his life.’
Her heart gave a little. Nothing she didn’t feel to her bones for him, even now. But still...
‘So have I, but I don’t ride roughshod over other people!’
Sadie shook her head. ‘I’m not saying what he did was right, Quinn, but I think you should give him time.’ And then her gaze was softening, reaching in, full of kindness. ‘Yourself too.’
Time. In Lisbon. Getting tied up in Will Thacker’s capricious knots!
‘Well, I don’t have much choice as far as that goes, do I?’ She yanked her rucksack out of her locker, fighting a sudden urge to slam the door shut. ‘This isn’t a quick makeover job we’re trying to pull off, so Will and I are going to have lots more lovely time together!’
‘Come on, Quinn.’ Sadie’s tone was cajoling now. ‘He saved you from that hole in the floor, tried to take the blame for the whole thing, then went back for your stuff. There’s a good guy in there somewhere.’ Her gaze lit. ‘Plus you like him. Tingles were mentioned. Goosebumps...’
Should have kept her mouth shut!
She shouldered her pack. ‘I did like him, yes. Now I just feel like an idiot!’
‘Maybe he feels like one too...’
‘Oh, I doubt that!’
Nothing remotely sheepish about the way Will had sat on his phone talking business all the way to the airport! In the lounge as well: call after call. Oh, and on the plane he’d put his seat back and closed his eyes, taking a moment out of his busy schedule to excuse himself, blaming the lunchtime beer. By the time they’d landed she couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. She’d forced herself to say goodbye at the barriers because she couldn’t allow herself to be as rude as he was, and then she’d taken off. Maybe he had felt like an idiot then, but since she hadn’t looked back to see, it was open to speculation.
‘Come on, let’s do the rounds.’ Sadie was pulling the door open, ushering her through. ‘A couple of hours in the London cold will soon have you longing for Lisbon, even if Will Thacker is part of the package!’
Sadie was right. Checking in with the rough sleepers had definitely given her a bit of perspective on everything. Next to theirs, her problems were beyond trivial.
She sprung the microwave door and took out her cup, going over to the window. Quiet street. Lamplit. Neighbour’s cat doing its own nocturnal rounds. She was lucky. Nice roof over her head, not even a mortgage because of Dad’s life insurance. A career she loved. Friends. And Sadie, who’d been her tutor at college and was now a cherished friend-cum-auntie figure. Older. Wiser!
