Chapter 61
61
‘I’ll have a glass of whatever she’s got,’ Giles said before changing his mind. ‘Scrap that. We’re here all night. We’ll have the bottle. And we’ll probably need another one later, so make sure they’re chilled.’
He muttered a quiet thank you as the barman placed the bottle in front of him, then he topped up Holly’s glass and filled his own to the brim without another word.
‘You know, some days, you think things can’t get any worse, and then something like this happens,’ he said after a long gulp.
The words stung.
‘Today hasn’t been all bad,’ she said. ‘Looking at the flowers was great. And lunch was lovely, after you kicked out Craig.’
‘You’re right,’ he sighed. ‘It’s just… you know. It is what it is, right?’
Holly wasn’t sure if she knew what he meant after all. Sure, the car journey had been pretty horrific, but was he talking about spending time with her full stop ? Is that where the problem had been?
‘At least this wine is good.’ He took another drink, and Holly’s eyes widened as she realised he had already polished off his entire glass in a matter of minutes. Giles was always a very sensible drinker. Often he was the designated driver in the group. This wasn’t like him at all. Yet he immediately poured himself another glass.
‘I know you don’t want to do this—’ Holly started.
‘You’re right, I don’t. I don’t want to do this.’ He turned and looked her in the eye. There was so much pain there. So much guilt. She could see it now – however hard this had been for her, it had to be ten times harder for him. After all, he was the one who was engaged. Only he was engaged to a woman who wasn’t right for him on any level. She was a liar. She was manipulative, and she was going to force him into a future he didn’t want to live. This wasn’t about her. It was about them.
‘Giles, there are things I need to talk to you about,’ she said.
‘No. No, you don’t, Holly.’ He turned back away from her. ‘We don’t need to talk. We don’t have to, and I don’t want to.’
‘Please, if you could just listen?—’
His head snapped back around, and this time, when he looked her in the eye, she could see nothing but anger.
‘Okay, let me put it out there as clear as I can. If I could go back and change the past, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I can’t, and now I have to live with that. That’s all there is to it.’
‘Wow.’ With the single word, Holly was left breathless. He was right. He had made it perfectly clear. If he could go back and change what had happened between them, he would. At least she knew where she stood now. ‘Okay, I guess you’re right. I guess there’s nothing to talk about.’
It was her turn to down her glass of wine. As she did, she turned her head away from him so he couldn’t see the tears in her eyes. She had made a couple of bad decisions in the past. Things that people would definitely call mistakes. But did she ever wish she could go back and undo them? Other than that winter’s walk by the lake, she couldn’t think of one thing she would simply erase from her life.
She emptied her glass and reached for the bottle – at the exact same time as Giles. When their hands touched, she hastily pulled hers away, and in one sweeping move, wiped the tears from her cheeks.
‘Holly, you have to understand what I meant is?—’
‘I get it. It’s fine.’
‘No, no?—’
‘Okay, the room is all sorted if you’d like me to show you up to it,’ Evelyn interrupted. ‘I have to say, you’ve lucked out a little bit. We’re almost fully booked, and the only room available is our honeymoon suite. So I guess that’s a bit of a silver lining, isn’t it?’
Giles and Holly exchanged identical stunned looks.
‘I’m sorry,’ Holly said, still sniffing back any remaining tears. ‘Did you just say the honeymoon suite?’
‘Yes,’ Evelyn said brightly. ‘We do lots of weddings here. It’s where the bride and groom stay.’
‘We understand what a honeymoon is,’ Giles said, ‘but it was the singular “suite” that we didn’t understand. You’re saying there’s only one room?’
‘Yes, it’s the only one left in the hotel. Like I said, we’re almost fully booked. That won’t be a problem, will it?’