Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘It’s such a shame there aren’t any suitable properties,’ Hilary said.
Genevieve nodded like she was still scrolling through estate agent websites, but she was actually looking at a message from Finlay.
‘And I can’t believe it was that couple you said were so dismissive that actually put in an offer.’
‘I know, that was very strange.’ She leaned on the breakfast bar where she was sitting, angling the phone away from her mum, so there was no chance she could see who was messaging. Staying at her own house was still ok. It wasn’t officially sold yet and even if she accepted the offer, the couple presumably had to sell their house, then they would arrange a move in date. But she hated it being so empty. Not that it was much different from normal. The reason had everything to do with the man whose message picture was sitting on her screen and nothing to do with missing furniture or décor. Moving back with her parents meant she always had company, though it was a little awkward and the elephant in the room was getting bigger every day. Now he’d joined them electronically.
While her mum added some dishes to the washer, Genevieve opened the message.
FINLAY: Hey. How’s it going? Hope you’re ok. I think you’d like the shops and the bars around here, but it does feel a bit… different. I haven’t really been anywhere much yet, other than school. It feels weird going on my own and I’m not quite chummy enough with my colleagues yet. Also, I’ve been warned by the principal to ‘behave myself’. Some parents saw the engagement post. I notice you haven’t posted that we split up. Can you please hold off doing that for the time being? The governors will have me strung up if they hear about that. God knows what the principal makes of it. His face when I said we weren’t together anymore even though we only got engaged a few weeks ago… Well, you can imagine.
Anyhoo… I miss you
xx
She almost forgot what the rest of the message was about as her focus kept returning to the last bit. He misses me. Christ, she missed him too. So bloody much.
‘Here’s an idea,’ Hilary said, taking a seat opposite. ‘I know you said you wanted to sell your house anyway and it had nothing to do with…’
‘Finlay. You can say his name. I won’t break down about it.’ Or she at least hoped she wouldn’t.
‘Finlay, yes. So he was also selling his apartment and didn’t you say it was one of those lovely riverside ones?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why don’t you buy that one? It’s a much nicer location. It’s a flat so I suppose it would all be on one level, but I guess about the same size as your house otherwise.’
Once upon a time, she’d joked about it with him, but how could she be there without him? She stopped herself blurting something out when actually it wasn’t a bad idea. She had always loved those flats. The only thing putting her off was emotional baggage; the thought of being there alone, knowing what they’d done together there… how happy they’d been. But then maybe the opposite would happen. Maybe she’d feel safe there as she had been when he was with her.
‘I’ll think about it.’
What would he make of it? She typed a message in response to his.
GENEVIEVE: Sorry you got into trouble because of me. I’m going to look into a rebrand. I feel like I’ve outgrown prostituting my soul on social media but I like the cookery aspect of it. I phoned James at Duchan Fayre to discuss the contract and it’s going ahead. I’m excited about it.
Or she was trying to be. James was a decent guy. He always had been and even when she told him about her split with Finlay, he’d been commiserative and didn’t question why in her emails she’d acted like she was never going to Dubai. If he wondered in private, so be it. The thought of having her range in a place like Duchan Fayre was something she desperately wanted to share. James had talked of photoshoots, professional filming and live demos. He’d even mentioned commissioning a recipe book to sell with the products. If only she could be genuinely thrilled about it and not just serenely pleased.
I won’t say anything online about our breakup, so hopefully you’ll be fine. How is the job?
She paused again, trying to imagine where he might be and how it might look. He’d probably send a photo if she asked but she wasn’t sure she wanted to make it so real. When it was just a vague fuzzy idea, it was somehow easier to handle.
My house is under offer. I haven’t found anywhere yet. Mum thinks I should buy your flat. What do you think of that?
Miss you too
Xx
Her eyes pricked as she typed the last words. It didn’t take long for him to reply.
FINLAY: I suggested that once before. Feels like I should give you mates rates… Or just give you the flat, full stop. Guess if you want to buy it, then you can, but doesn’t it feel a bit bizarre?
X
It did and she couldn’t deny it but it also had an almost circular feeling, like a perfect loop, keeping them both together while circumstances kept them apart.
Juicy red apples dripped from the trees as Genevieve walked Mitzi through the garden on her way to the woods. The roses were past their best, but still fragrant. That smell would always remind her of the proposal. She carried on walking. Finlay had been away for over a month now. Autumn was creeping in as September drew to a close, but it was still seasonably warm and the sky was bright after a few days of heavy rain. Genevieve had taken the plunge and put an offer in on Finlay’s flat. Some other people had offered too and she hoped Finlay would be sensible and not sentimental and take the best offer. How would she feel though if someone outbid her? Would bitterness creep in if someone else got it? Finlay would know who made the offers and ultimately would have the decision. Perhaps she’d done nothing but put him in an awkward place… again. Her social media posts had almost lost him his job. How could she have forgiven herself if he’d been sacked?
She’d bitten the bullet and was in the process of rebranding The Vieve as cookery and homeware only. No more beauty products or relationships. James had been in touch again about the first photoshoot. Genevieve had also returned Flora’s call to discover Flora also wanted a piece of The Vieve. She’d asked Genevieve to design dinnerware for the retreat, which would give even more exposure to her brand. How could she refuse? Things were falling together in her career, but her love life was still dragging behind in a wagon with a missing wheel.
She opened a gate at the far end of the garden that led to the woods. Finlay used to come cycling here. She remembered him saying he’d seen her parents’ house from up here, though never known who it belonged to. He’d be missing cycling unless he could hire a bike in Dubai. No doubt he’d put in some running or use the school gym. She couldn’t imagine him not doing some sport or other. Maybe he’d set up his own tug-of-war team.
Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket and she fished for it. The estate agent. She hastened to answer. Had her offer been accepted?
‘Hello.’
‘Hi, Genevieve,’ Emelie Bright said in a tone that suited her name perfectly. ‘I have an update regarding your offer for the riverside flat.’
‘Yes?’
‘I’m afraid it’s not good news.’
Genevieve’s heart sank. Of course Finlay had every right to choose whichever offer but she’d harboured a secret certainty that he’d pick her. ‘My offer has been rejected.’
‘I’m afraid so. There are circumstances surrounding the sale of this property but…’ She hesitated and it sounded like she let out a sigh. ‘Obviously it’s all confidential and I can’t talk about it to anyone but the seller. However… Can I speak off record for a second?’
‘Go ahead.’
‘Don’t you and the seller have a relationship? I seem to recall—’
‘Oh, um, yes.’ How could she forget Finlay had been with her when Emelie had done her initial valuation? This must look completely bizarre from her position. If they were actually a couple, then they could have done a private sale and cut out Emelie completely. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll speak to Finlay about it.’
‘Great,’ Emelie said. ‘That’s the best plan and hopefully it’ll work out better in the long run.’
Genevieve wasn’t entirely sure what Emelie meant, but she didn’t question it. The fewer people who knew about the state of her private life, the better. Well, that was that. The flat was going to someone else. Maybe someone who’d paid a lot more money. That was probably why Emelie thought it would work out better. She would think Genevieve would also benefit from that. The thought of messaging Finlay and asking him why he hadn’t chosen her fluttered into her mind but she couldn’t do it. Just like he hadn’t chosen her as a life partner, he hadn’t picked her for the flat either.
‘Men,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t know why I’m bothered. I should go back to being a happy single girl and be done with.’ So what if she never managed the life with a husband and two point four kids? Did it matter? But no matter how hard she tried to bully her brain into believing she didn’t care, it wasn’t working. She really did want that life and the only man she wanted for the job was Finlay.