Chapter 23
Eliza pulled into Farmington just after six a.m..
She hadn’t been able to sleep, so she jumped in the car before she could change her mind.
All the streets were deserted and silent.
The early rising sun covered the stone cottages in silvery light as she drove past The Bush, and then turned in towards Stanley’s at the blue tractor.
Her headlights swept across the gravel drive as she pulled up outside Luke’s cabin, cutting the engine and sitting in sudden silence.
‘This is insane,’ she whispered to herself, gripping the steering wheel.
But Nancy’s words kept echoing in her head.
When had being sensible ever made her happy?
Her sensible career had left her feeling empty.
Her sensible relationship had ended in betrayal.
Maybe it was time to be a little insane.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car, and into the cool morning air.
‘Hi,’ came a voice from the cabin.
‘Luke,’ she said startled, ‘what are you doing up?’
‘Surely, Eliza, it’s me who should be asking you that question? You’re the one who’s just turned up unannounced at my house at six a.m..’ His reply sounded gruff, and her heart squeezed.
Eliza stared at him, suddenly feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. Maybe there was a reason grand gestures only happened in the movies. ‘I, well, this is embarrassing, I don’t even know what I’m doing here. I should go.’
Luke leaned against the doorframe, wearing only pyjama bottoms that hung low on his hips. His chest was bare, and Eliza had to force herself to maintain eye contact.
‘I couldn’t sleep,’ she said, finally managing to get some words out, ‘and I thought we needed to talk.’
‘Not sleeping seems to be going around,’ he replied. ‘I was just sitting up with a coffee on the porch myself.’
‘I was in London with Nancy,’ Eliza said, words tumbling out. ‘She basically called me an idiot and told me to get in my car and drive here immediately.’
‘I’ve always liked Nancy, she’s a smart woman,’ Luke said, a slight smile playing at his lips. ‘Does she often send you on sunrise drives to men’s houses?’
‘Not typically, no. It’s terribly annoying that she’s often right, though.’
Luke stepped back from the doorway. ‘Well, I’m glad she did. Can I tempt you inside?’
Eliza hesitated briefly, and then headed straight for the door, acutely aware of Luke’s proximity – the sight of his abs alone making it worth the journey.
‘So,’ Luke said, closing the door behind her, ‘I thought I saw you at the lake yesterday. You seem to have a habit of spying on me at the water’s edge.’
Eliza blushed furiously.
‘Well, the thing is, I’m arranging a wedding at Jean Pierre’s vineyard for a big celebrity client. So I’m going to be down here quite a lot now, and I just thought you should know.’
‘You’ve got a celebrity client already?’ Luke said with a grin. ‘That’s great. How did that happen so fast?’
An awkward silence grew between them, filled with all the things they weren’t saying. ‘Henry made the introduction actually.’
‘Wow, I didn’t know you guys were talking after Fenella’s wedding,’ Luke said coolly.
‘Yes,’ Eliza admitted, feeling the prickle of nerves and insecurity.
Did he think she went running to Henry? Was this why he was being so cold? A flash of irritation sparked through her, that was categorically not true. ‘I didn’t just go back to Henry, by the way.’
‘I never said you did,’ Luke replied with a shrug that wasn’t nearly as casual as he tried to make it appear. ‘Working with your ex though, that’s quite punchy, given how much you hate him.’
‘It’s just business,’ Eliza replied, more sharply than she had intended. ‘He connected me with the clients, and I’m supporting him with Jean Pierre’s sparkling wine launch. It seemed like a deal that worked well for everyone.’
‘I’m sure,’ said Luke, ‘sounds like it does.’
‘Look, I should go,’ she said finally, though she made no move to leave. ‘I don’t know why I drove here; this was a mistake. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay between us, so it wasn’t weird while I was arranging the wedding.’
‘Was it a mistake?’ Luke asked, turning to face her fully now. ‘I’ve called you every day for a week, Eliza. I’ve left messages. I even drove to London, but I didn’t know where to find you.’
‘You came to London?’ The revelation caught her off guard. No one had ever run after her before.
‘Of course I bloody did.’ His voice was a mix of anger and emotion. ‘You disappeared in the middle of my sister’s wedding. I was worried sick. I’m not a total arsehole, Eliza. I even asked Stavros to ring me if you turned up at the restaurant.’
A feeling of guilt washed over her. ‘I’m sorry for leaving like that, I really am. I shouldn’t have, but I also had to protect myself. After Henry, I just, I can’t do all the lies . . .’
Luke took a step toward her, as if he was afraid she might bolt. ‘Why did you really come here today?’
Eliza stared out of the window. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘When I saw the vineyard, it made me think about everything. About you, us. But Luke, I just need to know – what’s the truth, do I know everything?’
‘Phil has always been jealous of me,’ Luke said, his voice tinged with weariness.
‘His father sold the farm to me without consulting him, and he can’t stand that I’ve succeeded where he failed.
He wants to believe there’s something shady about how I got the money, because the alternative – that I worked hard and got lucky – just kills him.
After Bella left me for Phil because I had no money, and my family lost the land, I made a promise to myself that I would earn back everything we had lost.’
Eliza studied his face in the early morning sunrise, feeling sick at the mention of Bella. ‘And the cottage?’
Luke held her gaze. ‘The cottage was part of the original Stanley farm, but it was sold off decades ago. When it came back on the market three years ago, I bought it – it was part of my plan to slowly piece the farm back together. I’ve never lived there myself; it’s managed by an agency in town.
When you arrived, I had no idea who was renting it.
It wasn’t until Marjorie mentioned a new tenant from London that I made the connection. ’
‘So, why didn’t you tell me once you knew?’ Eliza asked, her voice softening despite herself. ‘It just seems so weird, like you were intentionally lying to me. Why lie if there’s nothing to hide?’
‘I don’t know – at first, it seemed too awkward to bring up. Like, hey, I’m your landlord! Then, the longer I waited, the harder it became.’ Luke took a step closer. ‘Eliza, it wasn’t some grand deception – just poor timing and my own stupidity.’
The sincerity in his voice made Eliza’s resolve waver. ‘And Bella? Are you really over her?’
‘I’ve been over Bella since I was nineteen, Eliza. She was a teenage love affair that I took too seriously. I shouldn’t have slept with her again. It was wrong, I know that. But I didn’t even know you, then.’
Eliza remained silent; she knew he was right. But it still hurt.
‘Look, Bella has her own regrets, but she’s starting to turn her life around,’ Luke said quietly. ‘She chose Phil, but I think she liked keeping me as the what-if in her story. But I have never wanted to be anything more than her friend.’
Eliza suddenly felt like she didn’t want to get involved in all the drama again – it all felt too much. ‘Listen, I need to head off. I have a lot of work to get through, so I should get over to the vineyard, check some things off my list while I’m here.’
Luke took another step closer, close enough that she could smell him. There wasn’t a fibre of her that didn’t want him.
‘Before you do,’ he said softly, ‘there’s someone who would like to see you.
Your puppy is still waiting for you, as it seems are quite a few people around here,’ Luke said, his green eyes warming when she didn’t respond.
‘But I don’t think collecting her was on your agenda when you drove out here this morning. ’
Eliza took a deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest as he went to grab the puppy and handed her over.
‘No,’ she admitted quietly. ‘It’s not the best timing. But I do really want her. Look at her, she is the sweetest little thing.’ The puppy nuzzled into Eliza’s neck. ‘I think we’d make a good team. But I’m confused, Luke, if I’m being honest.’
Luke just looked at her, hope flickering in his eyes.
‘This wedding is a huge opportunity for me to start my own business. I have to be fully focused. I need this to work.’
‘And what about after the wedding?’ Luke asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she whispered honestly. ‘I’m still figuring things out. I have a mountain of debt I haven’t told you about, a business I’m trying to launch, and I’m not sure where I belong anymore.’
‘Surely you can belong anywhere you want to,’ he said simply.
‘You have no ties anywhere, so you’re in the unique position of just being able to choose somewhere and make it yours.
That’s something I envy. I’m so inextricably linked to Farmington, it’s like I could never escape even if I wanted to. ’
He moved closer to her, then stopped.
‘It’s not that simple,’ she murmured.
‘It could be,’ Luke said. ‘I’m sure we can figure out the debt together.
It can’t be that bad, can it? And as for your business – surely Farmington could be your base?
You’ve already shown the world how brilliant you are with Fenella’s wedding, and I know you’ll do it again with this celebrity wedding.
If you’re holding it down here, why do you need to go back to London?
Aren’t you better being right here on the doorstep. ’
‘London just works for me right now, Luke. I need time to myself.’ She couldn’t meet his eyes.
The irony wasn’t lost on her – this gorgeous man wanted her to stay, and here she was, inventing reasons to leave.
‘So that’s it, just goodbye, see you around?’
‘It’s not goodbye.’ She forced herself to look into those sea-green eyes. ‘I’ll be back for the wedding preparations.’
‘And what if I don’t want to just be someone you see when you’re passing through?’
‘I don’t know, Luke!’ she said. ‘Everything’s happened so fast between us.
Isn’t this all a bit of a dramatic start for a real relationship?
I’m not sure I don’t just want the anonymity of the city, where I can be my own person.
Not have the shadows of someone else’s past always lurking around the corners. ’
Luke was withdrawing. He crossed his arms. ‘I feel like you’ve been running your whole life, from one job to the next, one man to the next, surely at some point you have to choose what it is that you’re actually running toward.’
‘I just want to be sure of what I want – surely everyone can allow me that?’
‘I’m not Henry,’ said Luke, for what felt like the hundredth time.
‘Maybe that’s what scares me,’ said Eliza. ‘With Henry I was never really risking my heart, with you – well, look at you, how many hearts have you broken?’
Luke laughed, his eyes clearing like the sea after a storm.
‘Not as many as you think, Eliza. Listen, I’m not asking you to make any grand life decisions today, but just don’t disappear again, okay?
I quite like your awful jokes and ridiculous swimming costumes.
And if I’m honest, I wouldn’t want anyone else to stalk me. ’
‘Okay,’ said Eliza, swallowing down the mortifying blush stinging her cheeks. She gave the puppy one last kiss and handed her back to Luke before turning quickly towards her car.
‘When are you coming back?’ Luke called. ‘Dinner with a farmer?’
‘Maybe next week,’ she said, not meeting his eyes. ‘I just can’t make any commitments right now.’
Something flickered across Luke’s face before he masked it. ‘The puppy will be ready. She reminds me of you – stubborn, independent.’
Despite herself, Eliza smiled.