Chapter Twenty-Three
Eva was sitting up in bed with her make-up done, her hair tied back and a cheery smile on her face. Anna didn’t know how she managed it. She quickly took some snaps of her sitting up in bed. Later they would get to some grittier photos as Eva worked on her physio, which usually saw sweat pouring off her with the effort, but today she also wanted some happy snaps to put on Eva’s Instagram. The world needed to know how well she was adapting to her new circumstances.
‘If you don’t mind me saying,’ Eva began, ‘you look a little downcast today. It’s not something to do with Daniel is it?’
Anna sighed. ‘It’s nothing really. Not compared to . . .’ She trailed off.
‘Everyone has their problems, it’s all relative, and if it’s troubling you then it’s important.’
‘It’s just Daniel,’ Anna said. ‘I think I’ve fallen in love with him.’
Eva nodded. ‘And he isn’t in love with you?’
‘No, I think he does love me actually.’
‘So, what’s the problem?’
‘It’s his son, he lives in Cheshire, and Daniel only gets to see him every other weekend. He misses him and wants to spend more time with him, so he’s set up a project there.’
‘And you’re worried that will take him away from you?’
‘A little bit. But it’s more about his ex-wife. I overheard a conversation between them yesterday. She wants him back.’
‘And does he want to be with her too?’
Anna shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I was too scared to hear his answer, so I legged it before he had a chance to reply.’
Eva snorted. ‘You idiot!’
‘What?’
‘What if he said no? You’re probably worrying about nothing.’
‘Am I? I also overheard that they’d spent time together recently, as a family, something he hasn’t mentioned to me. And he didn’t tell me Lucinda had come to see him either — he told me he’d been working. He lied to me.’
‘What if he hasn’t said anything to you because there’s nothing to tell? You could be getting your knickers in a twist over nothing.’
‘I know, but I also know how desperate he is to spend time with Ben. It would be the perfect solution.’
‘Not if he doesn’t love her.’
‘But she’s the mother of his child.’
‘Maybe so, but there’s a reason they split up. And if he says he loves you, why would he want to lose that? He can still be with you and spend time with Ben. He doesn’t have to be with his wife.’
‘But what if he wants to be?’
Eva frowned. ‘That’s a lot of “buts”. I heard a lot about Lucinda Redfern back in the day and, if what I heard is true, there’s no contest. You’re far nicer than she ever could be.’
Anna felt her face flush. ‘Thanks, but she’s beautiful.’
‘And so are you. But what’s even more important is that you’re beautiful on the inside too.’
Anna stared at her friend open-mouthed, unsure how to take her compliments, but Eva rushed on. ‘My advice to you is to come right out and ask him. Whatever he says can’t be worse than what you’re already imagining.’
‘Maybe,’ Anna replied hesitantly. She’d decided yesterday that she was going to confront Daniel about it. But now the time was nearly here, she wasn’t sure she could do it. What if he told her something she didn’t want to hear? She wasn’t sure she could bear losing him.
‘Ah, here comes my torturer.’ Eva said as her physiotherapist arrived with a wheelchair. ‘Come on, you. We’ve got work to do.’
* * *
Anna opened the front door to Daniel’s house, her hands trembling as she took the key out of the lock. As she’d photographed her friend during her arduous physiotherapy session, she marvelled at how resilient she was. Eva never complained, no matter how many times the physio asked her to repeat the movements. Whenever she failed, she just dusted herself off and tried again. If Eva could be that brave in the face of adversity, then Anna could force herself to ask the questions about her relationship that she needed to. But that didn’t make it any less scary.
‘Anna, is that you?’ Daniel called from the top of the stairs.
‘Yes, I’m back.’ She made her way up to the studio.
‘How’s Eva?’ he asked when she walked through the door.
‘Good. She’s working hard on her physio and doing really well.’
‘That’s great.’
‘Has Lucinda been to pick up Ben?’
‘Yes, they’ll be halfway home by now.’
Home. Did he think of Cheshire as home now?
‘You’re going to miss him.’
‘I am. But I’m taking a leaf out of Eva’s book and looking on the bright side. I’m going up next weekend so I’ll see him then.’
It was now or never, she decided. ‘And you’ll see Lucinda too?’
He frowned. ‘Of course, when I’m picking up Ben and dropping him back off again.’
‘And not at any other time?’
‘I doubt it. Anna, why all the questions about Lucinda?’
Anna took a deep breath and plunged in. ‘Yesterday. I came back from the shops earlier than you thought I did. Lucinda was here.’
The confusion cleared from his face. ‘And you heard her asking if we could try again?’
Anna nodded.
‘And did you hear my reply?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I couldn’t face it.’
‘So you didn’t hear me turn her down?’
‘You turned her down?’
‘Of course I did.’ In two strides he was across the room and had pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the reassuring thud of his heartbeat, and allowed her breathing to return to normal. He bent his head to the top of hers and kissed her hairline, sending shivers down her spine. ‘Why would I go back to Lucinda when I have you?’
‘So you can be a family again. With Ben.’
‘That would be the only thing that would draw me back to Cheshire, but not to Lucinda. It didn’t work before and it wouldn’t work again.’
‘Really?’ She tipped her head back, searching his eyes for the truth.
‘Yes, really.’ He kissed her tenderly on the lips. Their kiss deepened and he began to kiss her more urgently. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to feel his body as close to hers as possible. Her own body was on fire with need — need that was more emotional than physical. After he led her to his bedroom, she allowed him to undress her, kissing every part of her skin tenderly with butterfly kisses until she could stand it no more and the only thing she wanted was to feel him inside her.
Afterwards, she felt as though a huge tension had been released, until he turned on his side and gently entwined his fingers in hers.
‘You do believe me when I say that I don’t want to get back with Lucinda, don’t you?’
‘Yes, but . . .’ She trailed off, not wanting to voice her fears.
‘Yes, but what?’
‘You didn’t tell me.’
‘No, I didn’t want to worry you. Lucinda asked me to go back to her and I said no. And I thought that if you knew, every time I was alone in Cheshire you’d be worrying about me and her together. Afterwards I felt awful for not telling you, and I made my mind up that I’d come clean today, after Ben had gone home.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. Lucinda and I are in the past. It’s you I want to be with.’
‘But what about the other things you haven’t told me?’
‘What other things?’
‘About the three of you spending time together.’
‘What? When?’
‘I heard her say it, Daniel. I heard her say how much she’d enjoyed the three of you being together the other week.’
‘Oh, that!’ His frown disappeared. ‘That was nothing. Ben wanted to show her his bedroom and afterwards I offered her a coffee. I don’t think she was very happy about us being together and I wanted the chance to talk to her about it. She was in the house no more than half an hour, tops.’
‘I see. She made it sound like so much more.’
‘Well, that’s Lucinda for you, making something out of nothing.’
‘And you didn’t tell me because it was nothing?’
‘It was important in the sense that she needs to accept that you’re in my life, but there wasn’t anything untoward about it. You can trust me, you know.’
Anna sighed. ‘It’s Lucinda I don’t trust. How did she take you turning her down?’
‘Not great, to be honest. And she was decidedly frosty with me today as well. But she’ll get over it. And even if she does try to play games, I’m not going to play back. And neither should you. Tell you what, why don’t you come with me next weekend? We’ll show her a united front and then things can get back to normal.’
She nodded. ‘Okay.’ It would be good for Lucinda to see them still together and she wanted to go into Chester to redo some of the shots she wasn’t quite happy with. But deep down she suspected it was only a short-term solution. Despite what Daniel had told her, she wasn’t convinced Lucinda would give up the fight that easily.