Chapter 27
‘I thought you weren’t talking to me anymore, after I got chatting with your dad?’ Briony sat down next to Troy on the sofa.
‘Sorry, that was quite childish of me. I was, well, you know …’
‘No, I don’t know.’ Briony wasn’t making it easy for him to apologise. But then he had scared her when she’d stepped into the outbuilding. She hadn’t realised he’d been there all along, lying on the sofa, asleep.
‘I was jealous.’
Briony shook her head at Troy. ‘There’s no need to be.’ She knew she didn’t feel physically attracted to Sebastian; not like she was to Troy.
He was still talking about you when I drove him home.’
‘He was?’
‘Sounds like you’ve got a lot in common.’
‘We both love the ocean. Your dad said he wanted to be a marine archaeologist, but then … life got in the way.’
‘You mean, I got in the way.’
‘My parents had me way too young. I bet they must have some regrets about that too,’ said Briony.
Troy breathed a sigh. He patted the sofa seat next to him. ‘Will you join me?’
Briony hesitated.
‘Won’t be the same, watching the sunrise without you.’
That elicited a smile from Briony. She admitted, ‘I came out here hoping to see you on the beach, thinking the exact same thing.’
They cosied up to each other on the sofa, Briony sharing the blanket she’d brought with her from the house, Troy sharing the throw from the sofa, placing it over her legs. ‘How long have you been here?’
‘Does it matter?’
‘I guess not. I couldn’t sleep. What’s your excuse?’
He nodded. ‘The same. Although this sofa is way too comfortable. I fell asleep the moment I sat down.’
She passed him her mug of tea.
‘Thanks – it’s cold in here without any heating on.’
‘We could switch on the heater, or light the fire?’ suggested Briony.
‘No, I’d rather not.’
‘In case the heaters or the fire don’t work?’
This time, Troy smiled. ‘Of course they’ll work. I installed them myself. I just don’t want to get up from my cosy spot on the sofa – with you.’
Briony didn’t want him to get up either. She asked, ‘Who were your parents?’
Troy shifted in his seat to look at her.
She realised she’d thrown him a totally unexpected question. ‘Sorry, but your dad said that he adopted you. Sounds as though your mum was one of his best friends when they were young.’ Along with my mum, thought Briony, but she didn’t add that.
He handed back the tea. ‘It’s nice, you should drink some too.’
Was he avoiding the question? Briony took a few sips. It was still hot. ‘I make a lovely cup of tea.’
‘Yes, you do.’
Briony eyed him. ‘Are you going to answer my question – about your parents?’
‘Yeah – sure. I guess it’s the least I can do after I treated you quite appallingly this week.’
‘Yes, it is,’ Briony replied, her lip curling up into a smile, even though it was true. She’d tried to catch his eye and speak to him on several occasions since Monday, but he had acted like a sulky teenager.
‘There’s not much to tell. She got pregnant young, at seventeen. Her family cut her off. Apparently, her parents wanted her to get rid of it, me. She didn’t, obviously, and her boyfriend stuck by her for a bit, but then … she died. And he didn’t stick around.’
Briony didn’t press him about how she’d died so young.
‘Dad and my mum had been best friends. He couldn’t stand the thought of her baby going into care, perhaps being lost in the system, lost to him, so he took me on, fostering and then eventually adopting me.’
Briony pursed her lips, thinking that was a massive thing for a teenager to do – take on the responsibility for someone else’s child, even if they were best friends. She couldn’t help feeling that there was more to it.
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be. I’ve been lucky to be adopted by a lovely guy, and grow up in a great family.’
‘How did Sebastian do it, look after you and work? I mean, that is really young to foster a baby. Did your grandparents help out?’
‘My paternal grandma died a long time ago. At first, my grandfather, Sebastian’s father, did not understand his decision to take on someone else’s kid, let alone at the tender age of eighteen. But from what I understand, Grandpa surprised himself and my dad by falling in love with me, the moment he set eyes on me.’
‘That’s so sweet,’ said Briony, hugging his arm.
‘I think he saw in me, from a really young age, his successor to the business – something my father never wanted. Although apparently he did warn my father I’d hold him back.’
‘From studying marine archaeology?’
‘Oh, no, my grandfather never wanted my dad to do that – he was talking about the family business, which my father wanted no part of anyway.’
‘Construction?’
‘Yeah. Look, about that. I’ve got a confession to make,’ said Troy.
Briony thought she knew what that confession might be; she’d overheard Sebastian saying that Troy had never done a day’s work in his life that didn’t involve sitting at a desk. It looked to her as though Troy knew what he was doing, working on the outbuilding. But she imagined he was going to tell her anyway that it wasn’t something he normally did.
But then she had a confession or two to make herself. For starters, she normally didn’t employ people to do up someone else’s property. She intended to tell him that her grandmother was in hospital, and that all this was meant to be a surprise for her to return home to when she was well. He hadn’t really questioned where her grandmother was. Perhaps he’d just assumed she was away, visiting friends, or on holiday.
But before she got into all that, she had another little confession to make. A rather big one.
‘So have I,’ said Briony. ‘I’ve got a confession to make too. But can we watch the sunrise together first?’ She had a feeling, after what she was about to tell him, about the baby, that it would be their last sunrise together.