Thomas’s deep voice told her to come in, so she pushed open the door and smiled tentatively at him. He was at his desk, buried in paperwork, the sleeves of his crisp white shirt pushed up, his hair tousled as if he had been running his hands through it.
Abbie stepped into the room and found herself taking a mental picture of him, wondering if she would ever see him again. She was sure of her decision, but seeing him made her waver. She had loved working here with him. The thought that she wouldn’t be any longer was harder to comprehend than she had realised. ‘Do you have a minute?’
‘Of course. Take a seat.’
Abbie sat down on the other side of the desk and crossed her legs. ‘I wanted to talk to you, to tell you that I’ve made a decision. As you know, Jack’s been here all weekend and he’s presented an opportunity to me, and I feel that I need to accept it.’
He nodded and put his pen down. ‘You’re going back to London.’ His face showed no sign of what he felt about that.
‘I have to, Thomas. Setting up my own PR company is something I’ve always wanted to do. And I haven’t had any hint of other job prospects so far this summer. I can’t turn this down. But I am sorry to leave here.’
Thomas nodded, avoiding her eyes. ‘I’m sorry that you’ll be going,’ he said softly, then he cleared his throat and spoke more formally to her. ‘It sounds like a good opportunity, and I’m aware it wasn’t ideal working here for free. I appreciate all you’ve done.’
‘You know I was happy to help,’ she said, wishing he didn’t sound so businesslike. Wouldn’t he miss her at all? ‘I’m so sorry I won’t be seeing out the summer here, but I know you’ll make a big success of the relaunch and I will definitely . . .’
‘We’ll see,’ Thomas cut her off before she could say that she wanted to come back for the party. ‘I’m just looking at the books, and even if I do the relaunch party at the end of the summer, I just don’t think I can hold the bank off much longer. Perhaps you leaving is the sign I need that this place is finished.’
Abbie stared at him. ‘No, you have to keep trying! The party is all set up, the ballroom is almost ready. Please don’t give up just because I’m going.’
‘It has nothing to do with you.’
Abbie was stunned by his coldness. She thought they had become close, and that he might be happy for her. She was at a loss as to what to say.
‘Look, Abbie, I appreciate your enthusiasm for this place, I really do, but you’re going and it’s up to me what I do next.’ He picked his pen up and looked down at his paperwork; apparently the conversation was over in his mind.
Abbie was furious with him. ‘Why won’t you try?’
‘This is no longer your concern, Abbie,’ he said, not even bothering to look up.
Abbie stood up. She couldn’t believe their partnership was ending like this. She thought back to their dinner together and how she had thought there was something in the air between them. That all seemed like it had happened to two different people. ‘Goodbye, Thomas,’ she said, matching his cold tone, and hoping that she didn’t start crying in front of him.
‘Abbie?’
She paused in the doorway, hating the hope that sprang up as she turned around. She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to say, but she waited, with bated breath.
He looked at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘Good luck.’
Abbie was annoyed that tears started to well up behind her eyes. She couldn’t understand why he was being so distant after all they had shared since she arrived in Littlewood. She didn’t know why he couldn’t be happy for her, or why he was so willing to give up on Huntley Manor. There was nothing left to say. Everything between them seemed dissolved for ever.
Why did that hurt so much?
She spun around and marched out, her heels echoing down the hall. She left as quickly as she could, yanking open the front door and stepping out into the morning light.
Abbie pulled out her phone and typed a message to Jack. I’m coming to London tomorrow.
His reply was instant. You won’t regret this!
Abbie was relieved that she had made the choice she had. It was clear that Thomas didn’t care what she did. She marched back to Louise’s cottage and decided that the sooner she was back in London, the better.
‘What’s happened?’ Louise said, looking up as Abbie flounced into the kitchen. She was making a sandwich for lunch.
Abbie sank down onto a stool and sighed. ‘I just told Thomas that I’m going back to London, and he was horrible about it. He acted as if he didn’t care at all, and then he said he was going to give up on the hotel, after all the work we’ve done!’
Louise carried on slicing up some cheese. ‘Maybe he’s upset you’re going? You know how reserved he is, maybe he couldn’t show how much he’s going to miss you.’
Abbie snorted. ‘Honestly, he didn’t care at all. And now he might just sell up, what was the point?’
‘Do you think he’s just worried about doing it without you?’
Abbie felt a flash of guilt, but she shook her head. ‘It didn’t seem that way. I think he’s glad I’m going. I thought we were friends, you know? Well, it just proves that I’m doing the right thing, doesn’t it?’ She wondered why Thomas not caring that she was going was upsetting her so much.
Louise looked at her. ‘Thomas cares about you, I’m sure he does.’
‘He’s got a funny way of showing it. I’d better get packing, I suppose.’
‘Are you really sure about this, Abs? You want to go?’
‘There’s nothing here for me.’
‘You know that’s not true! We’re all going to miss you.’
Abbie forced a smile. ‘I’ll miss you, Lou, but I’ll see you soon. I have to do this. And you don’t need me; you’ve been fine here for two years without me.’
Louise sighed. ‘But who will push me to do things that scare me?’
‘The Kindness Pact still stands,’ Abbie said, climbing off the stool. ‘You still need to think of yourself more, and I’ll expect lots of progress reports. Especially about Alex.’
‘There’s no progress report there. I told you, we’re just friends.’
‘But he stayed over.’
‘He probably thought I might choke in my sleep or something.’
‘Or he cares about you.’
Louise sighed and looked away. ‘I think seeing me that drunk is enough to put anyone off for a lifetime.’
Abbie didn’t want Louise to sink back into her shell when she was gone. ‘Just think about it, Lou, for me? I think the two of you could be really happy together.’
‘I don’t want you to go,’ Louise admitted then.
Abbie felt tears prick in her eyes again. Why was it so hard to leave this place? She’d only been there for a few weeks but it had crawled under her skin. She should be excited about going back to London, but part of her was resisting the pull back to the city. ‘Please be happy for me,’ she said, a lump rising up in her throat.
Louise rushed around the counter to hug her. ‘I am happy for you. I want you to do what you want to do. If this is what you want, then I’m really excited for you.’ She pulled back to look at Abbie, tears welling up in her eyes too. ‘It is what you want, right?’
Abbie nodded, wondering why she didn’t feel as sure as she had a few minutes ago. The meeting with Thomas had shaken her more than she cared to admit. She didn’t like the thought of that being their last ever conversation. But he had made it clear that it was. She had to look to the future now. She needed to jump into this new challenge, and not look back. She pulled back from her sister. ‘This is what I need to do.’
‘I really hope it works out for you.’
Abbie walked up to her room and looked at her things, ready to be put back into her suitcases. This was only ever meant to be a short-term visit, just until she got back on her feet. And she had. Jack was offering her everything she had ever wanted. She just needed to grab it with both hands. But she fo
und herself perching on the edge of the bed, not quite ready to start packing just yet.
Abbie told herself she was making the right decision. That she belonged back in London. That Jack was her future. That Littlewood wasn’t her home.
But still a slither of doubt ran under her skin.
She wondered why her head was telling her she was doing the right thing while at the same time it felt as though her heart was trying to pull her in the opposite direction.
Notes from the Brew Kindness Board:
The kind stranger who paid for my coffee in here when he was buying his – an unexpected treat!
***
Thank you to the woman who let me go in front of her at the post office, seeing I was struggling with two kids crying to go home – her kindness really helped rescue the situation.
***
My next-door neighbour for bringing me and the kids our dinner every night while my wife was in hospital for a week. You saved us from beans on toast!
***
Thank you to my niece for walking my dog every morning in the holidays to save me struggling with my arthritis. We both appreciate it, darling.
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2018
A CBS Company
Copyright © Victoria Walters, 2018
The right of Victoria Walters to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
1st Floor
222 Gray’s Inn Road
London WC1X 8HB
Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney
Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi
www.simonandschuster.co.uk
www.simonandschuster.com.au
www.simonandschuster.co.in
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-7158-1
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Random Acts of Kindness--Part 2 Page 9
