Chapter Two
Finlay McBride flipped open the lid of the little black box and stared at the sparkling ring sitting on its moulded silk cushion.
Of all the stupid mistakes he’d made this year – and there had been some real clangers – this ring was one of the biggest. Not in terms of size obviously. In fact, it was small and delicate, hardly something likely to cause trouble. It wasn’t even the ring, the one he’d had handed back to him, along with the confession that she’d never really loved him. This one was somehow more symbolic of his failure than anything else.
What to do with it now? He couldn’t exactly use it for the purpose he’d had it refashioned for. And he couldn’t have it changed back to how it was before. Nothing could do that and perhaps that was partly why it made his insides squirm. Would he never learn? When it came to women and relationships, he was a sad, sad case. Maybe he tried too hard. Well, not anymore. No more dating for a long time. He’d handed in his notice at the local High School and was going to teach in Dubai. Several friends he’d trained with had already done it and said it was a worthwhile experience besides paying well. Who couldn’t do with a bit of extra cash? Especially after the amount he’d lavished on Elise.
He snapped the lid of the ring box shut and surveyed the sea of cardboard packing boxes surrounding him. This was one of those jobs that made everything worse before it got better. Most of the boxes were empty and he’d sat piles of books, pictures, old cables and electronics beside them, not sure exactly how to organise them. They were going into storage, so he wouldn’t be unpacking them straight away. It would be nice to have them arranged in a way that made things easy to find. He also had clothes, bedding, towels, lamps, and kitchen goods to sort. There were even some trophies and medals from his bike runs and rugby matches. The little golden rugby ball one his junior team had won that year gleamed prominently among them. Just another thing he’d have to leave behind. That club would probably fold and die a death now that he was leaving. It was already just scraping by with barely enough funds to keep it going. Ah well, such was life. People moved on.
He’d never thought of himself as materialistic, but what a lot of stuff he’d amassed in his seven years in this flat. Seven years that had seen him engaged twice. Neither engagement had lasted more than a couple of months.
And what should I do with this ring?
If he hadn’t acted so rashly and had it reset, he would give it to his cousin Aidan to give to his new girlfriend. But that wasn’t likely to go down well for so many reasons. He shoved the box onto a side table away from the mess he’d piled up around the dining area. A couple were coming to look around later and he wanted to show off the place to the full, which meant temporarily shoving most of the stuff into the large storage cupboard in the hall. He also needed Elise to come and take her things away. How could one woman have so many clothes? He’d filled several bags, not to mention the ones full of the cushions she’d bought for ‘when she moved in’. That day never came.
Elise drove a flashy little sports car and the bags probably wouldn’t all fit.
‘She can tie them to the roof,’ Finlay muttered. He wasn’t running after her anymore. She could come and get them herself. A lesser man would have chucked them out or burned them after what she did, but he wouldn’t stoop to that level.
He tossed some books into a box, then started throwing some old cables into another. He probably should go through them all but that would have to be after the visitors had been. They’d asked to change the time from the evening to the afternoon and he’d agreed. It meant more rushing about now, but at least he could have a free evening. The sun was shining and his flat had a lovely balcony looking out over the River Briar. He’d like to sit out and chill with a beer, not think about anything and switch off to all the unnecessary drama in his life. He definitely didn’t want anymore of that.
Speaking of the balcony, it was warm in here. He slid open the doors and let the air filter through the room. Voices from the path below drifted up as tourists walked along the river. Only a short stretch of lawn and rails separated the flats from the path and that was great for access when he wanted to go running or cycling, but in the summer, there was always a steady stream of people passing by, which lost it some privacy. This had been his life for so long. Time for a clean break. Maybe applying for the Dubai job had been rash, but it would be an experience, if nothing else.
Returning to his packing, he carried on sorting out the piles he’d made on the floor. His stomach burned as time passed, making him feel like he had indigestion, but it wasn’t that. Eating something might not be a bad plan though; he’d barely touched a thing since breakfast. This needed done first however. Elise was coming soon and that was the reason hot acid was working its way around his stomach. She’d said she would come anyway. But he didn’t trust a word that came out of her mouth these days. He’d rather not see her at all. Maybe he should push all the bags onto the landing and let her take them from there.
‘Ah, screw it.’ Why should he be bothered about seeing her? It wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong. His only fault? He wasn’t Aidan. That was who she’d wanted all along. Now she had neither of them. In the process, Aidan and Finlay had almost fallen out for life. Finlay winced at the thought. He and his cousin had always been friends. For a while, they’d been close. Then Aidan had lost his dad, upped sticks and gone off to Canada to do an endurance walk, leaving Elise behind with no word of when or if he was coming back. When Elise had turned to Finlay, he’d consoled her, not meaning for it to go any further. She was a friend of his sister and he’d known her in that capacity for a long time. She’d seemed so genuinely interested in him, which had surprised him as she never had before. As someone who already had one failed engagement under his belt, he wasn’t going to rush into another one without being completely certain. And Elise had given him every signal that this was what she wanted.
Until Aidan came back.
Then everything fell apart.
And now he was here, packing up his life and trying to move on. Again. His eyes strayed to the clock over and over. Where was Elise? This was going to be cutting it neat for the couple who were looking around. It wouldn’t give a good impression with several black bin bags piled in the corridor. And he really should change out of these clothes into something a bit less scruffy.
Finally, the front door buzzer rang and he chucked another pile of books into a box, dusted his hands together and checked the intercom. A very familiar face flickered on the screen: serenely beautiful with long dark hair and perfectly made-up eyes. Elise. And she wasn’t alone. Finlay couldn’t see who was with her. Maybe it was Hayley, his sister. That would make things a lot easier if it was. Hayley was good at smoothing things over, remaining neutral and somehow managing to stay friends with everyone, even when everything was messy… like now.
He buzzed her in and opened the door, waiting as the footsteps came up the stairs.
‘Really nice apartments these,’ the other woman said. Not Hayley. ‘I fancied one but there weren’t any for sale when I was buying.’
Her voice was familiar. She was another of Hayley’s friends. The posh one whose dad owned a big renewables business in town.
Genevieve somebody-or-other. The one nicknamed The Vieve who did stuff on social media like she was a celebrity.
Like several of Hayley’s friends, she was glamorous and well-turned out. She was also standoffish and a bit snooty. Finlay remembered, from when they were teenagers, offering to help her rollerblade at one of Hayley’s birthday parties. She’d been struggling, arms flailing, looking like she might face-plant. He was just trying to be nice by holding out his hand and suggesting he walked alongside. But the look she’d given him was almost as cold and hard as a slap in the face. He got the message.
But it hadn’t sunk in far enough… If it had, he would have steered clear of Hayley’s friends altogether. For life.
Elise got to the top of the stairs first. She was slightly taller than Genevieve but together they looked like they’d stepped out of a fashion and beauty magazine. Neither of them had a hair out of place. Hayley would be proud; she was a hairdresser.
Finlay’s eyes locked with Elise and where weeks ago he’d loved looking into those deep, dark orbs, he now saw nothing but cool serenity. She’d used him and it cut like a sharp dagger running across his cheek. He rubbed the spot above his closely cropped beard like she’d actually slashed him.
‘Hi. Your stuff’s in here,’ he said, before looking away. His gaze met Genevieve’s. She was as stunning as Elise. Long caramel-coloured hair glinted in the downlights and she held herself very straight, like she had an iron rod clamped to her spine. Her ice-blue eyes flickered over him before landing on something to his left, her usual expression of cool indifference maintained.
‘You put it in bags.’ Elise stared at the black bags in the corridor, biting her lip.
‘I did.’ He gritted his teeth.
Genevieve glanced at him and gave him a don’t be so insensitive look. What he’d ever done to her to make her dislike him so much, he had no idea, but he got the vibes loud and clear. Elise’s eyes were downcast as she stared at the bags.
‘Feel free to take it out and check it’s all there,’ he said. ‘But if you wouldn’t mind doing it somewhere else.’
‘It’s not that. I just don’t think there will be room in the car.’
‘Well… Can you make two trips? Only I need it out today.’
‘I haven’t got time to make two trips.’ She checked her phone. ‘I’m going to work after this.’
Finlay clamped his mouth shut. Why hadn’t she come earlier?
‘Maybe it’ll squash down,’ Genevieve suggested. ‘Let’s try.’
‘Ok.’ Elise lifted a bag and handed it to Genevieve, then picked up another one.
Finlay lifted two and followed them out, hardly able to watch as they teetered down the stairs in their heels, looking ready to fall flat on their faces at any second. And they’d probably sue him for all he was worth if they did.
Having grown up with a mother and sister who took pride in their appearance and always had glamorous friends, Finlay was no stranger to beautiful people in his life. His first fiancée had also been stunning. But never again was he going to go for someone like that. As long as she had a good loving heart, he’d take the next woman in pyjamas, a just-out-of-bed updo and threadbare slippers. I don’t even care if she drives an old banger and eats biscuits for breakfast. If he’d managed to attract two immaculate women in the past, he couldn’t be wholly unattractive, so it stood to reason he could attract someone a bit less flashy but a lot more caring. And that meant looking far away from here. Away from his cousin’s exes and his sister’s friends.
Elise opened the tiny boot of her black sports car. After she and her friend shoved their bags in, there was no room for anything else.
‘These will have to go on the passenger seat,’ Finlay said.
‘Then where will I go?’ Genevieve asked.
‘You go in first and I’ll put them on your knee,’ Finlay said.
‘I don’t think so,’ she said, looking outraged. ‘There are four more bags or something still up there. I’ll be suffocated.’
Finlay gave a little shrug. It wasn’t his problem anymore. ‘Then get a taxi home. I don’t know. I just need these bags gone now.’
He turned and walked into the house without looking back at either of them. They could figure this out for themselves.