CHAPTER 31
MyStarScope Taurus: A relationship may deepen through dialogue, but if both of you feel ready to commit further, make sure you’re on the same page.
For her first waking moments, Daisy couldn’t remember anything that had happened the previous night. Then, the memory of her kissing Matt flooded back, making her almost sick with guilt.
What had she been thinking? She’d only had one glass of wine, so she couldn’t even blame drink! She lay, staring at the ceiling, wondering how she was going to face him. But she had no choice: she had to pull herself together and figure out what she was going to do now.
Although, had anything actually happened? Like, was a kiss even cheating? She tried to imagine how she’d feel if James snogged somebody else. Alma, maybe. She couldn’t even go there right now – it was way too stressy.
She swung her legs out of the bed, hoping her clothes were dry. There’d be no time to drive all the way home, and turning up at the office in one of Matt’s tracksuits wasn’t a good look. Only her clothes were downstairs. They’d still been damp when she’d gone up to bed, so she’d waited until she’d heard Matt going into the bathroom, before slipping down to leave them to dry near the fire.
Pulling the tracksuit on, she opened the bedroom door and stuck her head around to listen. The place seemed quiet: maybe Matt had gone into the main part of the house. She hurried downstairs.
“Hey, good morning.” Matt was at the small electric stove, pouring oil onto a frying pan. “I was about to make some breakfast. Will I count you in?”
Daisy shook her head. “I should really get on the road.” She pointed to her clothes, draped over the backs of two kitchen chairs.
“About that.” He pulled a face. “The road’s still badly flooded.”
“ Shit. ”
“The local council says they’re sending people out around lunchtime with suction hoses to clear the worst of the water off the road.”
She was going to be stuck here until lunchtime?
As if he’d read her mind, Matt added, “I’ll leave you alone if you want to work from here this morning. I’m sorry, it’s not ideal.”
Daisy reminded herself again that none of it was his fault; she just had to be professional. Which was a bit tricky after what had happened.
“It’s grand, I’ll manage.” She grabbed her clothes from the chairs, relieved that everything seemed dry. “Back in a few.”
Upstairs, Daisy showered and dressed, feeling a bit better once she was properly dressed. She phoned James, but after three rings it went to voicemail.
“Hi, just checking in.” She did her best to sound casual. “We’re still waiting for the road to be cleared, so I’ll go straight to work and I’ll see you this evening.” She was about to add that she loved him, but stopped herself. After what had happened between her and Matt, it felt wrong. Without another word, she hung up.
In the bathroom, she pulled her hair into a low knot, and reapplied her make-up, grateful that she always carried some for touch-ups. That was the thing about her job: people expected her to be stylish and ‘finished’ looking. It inspired confidence.
As she headed downstairs, she wondered if they could just pretend the kiss had never happened.
“Perfect timing,” Matt said, putting breakfast on the table.
“Great. I usually just grab some toast in the morning, or a pastry on my way into work. Although I always get a coffee. Two, sometimes.” And now she was babbling. Nervous babbling! He’d never guess.
“Why don’t you just stay another night and I’ll really spoil you.”
He shot her a sly smile, and a mix of desire and panic spiralled through her. She’d spent one night at Granary House and look what had nearly happened! But clearly, they couldn’t ignore it.“Matt, about that kiss – ”
“About last night,” Matt began at the same time.
Shit, he regretted it, she thought.
“It was late,” he said. “We both got a bit carried away.”
“Exactly.” She nodded vigorously. Good. This was what she wanted. Or at least, it should be.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not still attracted to you,” Matt said slowly. “I’ll be honest. I wondered how I’d feel when we met again. Like, would there still be a spark?”
“And you thought you’d still feel something even though you thought I’d cheated on you?” Only why was that so strange? Every day for the last five years she’d thought about him.
His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry I never asked. It wouldn’t have made everything right, but it would have helped.” He rested his elbows on the table and met her eyes.
Why wouldn’t it have made everything right? He’d said there’d been other things going on at the time. But surely she deserved an explanation now? Especially as it was pretty clear after last night that they were still attracted to each other! Last night ... God, she had to stop thinking about last night. It had definitely complicated things a bit. More than a bit.
What if it was a sign, though? If she ignored it, she could end up experiencing another sliding-doors moment.
Matt pushed his plate away. “I meant what I said about wanting closure. Or that’s what I wanted when I got back.”
“Right.” Daisy stared at the congealing eggs on her plate. “What about now?”
“I’m not sure if that’s enough anymore.”
She looked up, unsure how to respond. She knew he was just out of a complicated relationship. But it was the only thing she knew about these last five years. Despite how familiar Matt felt, he wasn’t the same person. She wasn’t either. She got up and took her half-finished food and coffee to the sink.
“You don’t have to do that.” Matt came over, and put his hand briefly over hers.
“Thanks for breakfast.” She smiled brightly as she met his eyes. “I’ll work in the main house until the road is cleared.”
He gave a brief nod. “I’ll let you know.”
Upstairs, Daisy leaned for a moment against the bedroom door, her mind racing. Matt had finally admitted what she’d suspected. But he’d hurt her badly before, and she’d no guarantees that he wouldn’t do it again.
The truth was that nothing was guaranteed. Not Matt, not James, not even her friendship with Laura. And, more importantly, she knew now that she’d done nothing wrong. It had all been a misunderstanding. The only problem now was that she’d no idea what was supposed to happen next.