Blame it on the Moonlight

by Emily Harvale

  ‘Are you really hoping for a future with her? Do you honestly believe there’s a chance of that? Even Molly, her own mother, thinks that Severine made a mistake last night. That Severine will end up hurting you. None of us want that. And are you really prepared to be some sort of surrogate father to both Raven and this new baby? Don’t you want children of your own? You’ve just started a new business, Logan. You could have a bright future ahead of you. Do you really want to mess it up over a woman? I can’t bear the thought of her breaking your heart.’

  Logan digested everything his mother had said. He took her hand and squeezed it.

  ‘Firstly, Mum, I don’t know if Severine and I have a future together. All I know is I love her and that I have to take this chance. Secondly, I don’t care if Molly, or anyone else, thinks Severine made a mistake last night. I only care what Severine thinks. If she thinks it was a mistake then so be it.’ He shrugged. ‘Thirdly, Raven’s a great kid. She has a father, and as Roggero is planning on sticking around, I don’t think Raven needs me to be her dad. But if she does, that’s fine. I’ll be her dad or her friend. Whatever she needs. As for the new baby, yes, I’ll happily be whatever Severine wants me to be. And as for wanting kids of my own, yes, of course I do. But that won’t stop me from treating both Raven and the new baby as my own, either. Instead of fighting this, why can’t everyone just leave me and Severine alone so that we can sort this out. I kissed her. I told her I loved her. Apparently. But we didn’t set a date for our wedding, or anything. Don’t you think that everyone might just be jumping the gun a little?’

  She looked him in the eye and smiled, letting out a long, low sigh. ‘I suppose you’re right, darling. After all, it was just a couple of kisses in the moonlight. And you did have rather a lot to drink. I’m sure when you think things through, and get a chance to talk to Severine, it will all sort itself out. I really hope so, anyway. And you know I’m only saying all of this because I love you so much. You’re a wonderful young man, Logan. Hard-working, loyal and honest. I know in my heart that somewhere out there, there’s a young woman who is absolutely perfect for you and who will make you very happy. I also know in my heart, that woman is not Severine Starr. But I won’t say anything else on the subject. Not today, anyway. Now I’d better let you get on. You’ve got a restaurant run.’

  Since his mother had left, Logan had done nothing but think things through.

  He loved Severine. He always had. From a very young age he had put her on a pedestal and worshipped her. Severine could do no wrong in his eyes. He knew all of her faults, and loved her more because of them. He had always imagined that he could be the man to change her from the often moody, often selfish, sometimes unpleasant and uncaring woman she was, into the loving, selfless, caring and delightful woman he knew she could be. The woman he was sure she wanted to be. All she needed was the right man to love her.

  He sat at the table and peered out the window, watching the rain, and the boats bobbing in the marina as a couple ran in front of the restaurant, hand in hand, jumping puddles and laughing. He watched them run to one of the café’s situated diagonally opposite his restaurant, and close their umbrellas in the doorway.

  As the man turned, Logan saw it was Chris Lyons, the owner of Michaelmas Bay Books.

  Since when had Chris had a girlfriend? He hadn’t brought her to the party last night.

  Chris stepped to one side and opened the café door. The woman went inside and a few seconds later, stood next to one of the tables in the window, glancing in the direction of Logan’s restaurant.

  Their eyes met through the rain and the two sets of glass, and the short distance between them.

  It was Luna. The woman who had been holding hands and running in the rain, with Chris, was Luna.

  Had they met last night? Had she gone inside, after standing with Logan in the moonlight and looking into each other’s eyes? Had she gone inside and met Chris? Had she gone inside and arranged a date with another man?

  What was he getting so upset about? Why did it bother him? He should be wishing her well. Wishing them both well.

  After all, he had only met Luna himself, yesterday. Why did it matter that she had met someone else? He didn’t have feelings for her.

  He was in love with Severine. He’d been in love with Severine his entire life. And finally, he’d kissed her and told her how he felt. He’d wanted to do that for longer than he cared to remember.

  He was definitely in love with Severine.

  He absolutely was.

  He was.

  Wasn’t he?

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Roggero spotted Severine the moment she walked into the bar, which was virtually empty save for one or two diehards who had battled through the rain in order to have a drink at their favourite inn. She obviously spotted him too, because she quickly turned and walked back out.

  Putting his half-drunk pint of beer on the table in front of him, he got up and followed her.

  She stopped at the lounge door, hesitated and walked away.

  He followed her as she pushed open one door of the dining room and walked through to the other side, opening another door leading into the reception, where she turned, crossed her arms in front of her and waited for him to catch her up.

  ‘Are you following me?’ She scowled at him.

  He glared at her. ‘Yes. Are you avoiding me?’

  ‘Yes. But you’ve been avoiding me all day.’

  ‘I have not been avoiding you. I have been thinking.’

  ‘Really? What do you want? A fanfare?’ She clapped her hands. ‘Yay! Roggero Tazzeone has been thinking.’

  ‘And Severine Starr has been kissing men who are not her fiancé.’ He clapped his hands too.

  She glowered at him. ‘One man! I only kissed one man.’

  ‘But a man who is not your fiancé.’

  ‘So what? What business is it of yours who I kiss? What right do you have to question what I do?’

  ‘It is not my business. I have no right. I know this. And yet here I am.’

  ‘And? What does that mean? “Here I am.”. I can see you. I’m not blind.’

  ‘I am not blind either. I can see you. I can see you are not happy. You should be happy, Severine. You deserve to be.’

  She let out a loud gasp. ‘You should’ve thought of that years ago. You should’ve thought of that before you left. Hell’s Bells, Roggero! You broke my heart. I’m not sure I’ll ever be happy again.’

  He stepped closer.

  Severine stepped back, holding her hands up in front of her.

  ‘No! Don’t you dare. Don’t look at me like that. I mean it, Roggero. Don’t come near me. Don’t you even think about it!’

  ‘It seems I can think of very little else, Severine. I am as surprised by this as you are.’

  ‘What? What are you saying? Are you actually telling me that you still want me? Is that what you’re saying? After all these years?’

  He took another step closer. She took another step back.

  Her eyes were wide, her lips were parted, her expression betrayed the turmoil in her mind.

  ‘It seems I do.’

  He stepped even closer. She did not move.

  ‘And … and you honestly expect me to believe that?’ She gave a derisive laugh but it caught in her throat and sounded more like a whimper. ‘Come on, Roggero. I’m not the stupid young woman I once was. You can’t seduce me with your words like you did back then. With those sultry looks. I’m not going to simply fall back into your arms, if that’s what you think.’

  ‘You were never stupid, Severine. And from memory, I believe you seduced me as much as I seduced you. With your words. Your sensual looks. I do not expect you to fall into my arms but I am hoping that perhaps, we might fall into each other’s.’

  ‘I … I’m engaged.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘I’m pregnant.’

  ‘I know.’

  She stared at him; her eyes filled with doubt,
disbelief and something else. Something he had seen so many times before.

  ‘The last time I told you I was pregnant, you vanished into thin air.’

  ‘I know. And I am truly sorry.’

  ‘And it was your child then. This time it’s not.’

  ‘I am well aware of that, Severine.’

  He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face.

  ‘Don’t touch me,’ she said. But her voice was soft and she didn’t move away.

  ‘I cannot help it.’

  ‘Is this because you saw me kiss Logan last night? Are you thinking that I’m easy? That because I kissed some other guy, I might be prepared to kiss you too? To do more than kiss you? Is that what you’re hoping?’

  ‘I think you wanted me to see that kiss. But I do not think you are easy. You are far from easy, Severine. I believe you are the most difficult woman I have ever known.’

  ‘I didn’t mean easy in that sense. I meant easy as in—’

  ‘I know what you meant. You are not easy in either sense. And I do want to kiss you. But not because I saw you kiss another man. I have wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you again after so many years and so much heartache.’

  ‘Heartache? What do you know about heartache?’

  ‘More than you can imagine.’

  ‘Really? You ran away and left me, Roggero.’

  ‘I know. But I am here now. And believe me when I say this, Severine. I am not going anywhere. I will never run away again.’

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him and kissed her as if he didn’t want to let her go.

  Because that was exactly how he felt.

  And he wanted her to know that.

  He needed her to know that.

  No matter what happened next.

  Chapter Thirty

  Severine heard a sort of strangled shriek and the thud, thud, thud of shoes against the floor as she and Roggero finally eased themselves apart. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Evie disappearing along the hall.

  Oh Hell’s Bells. Had Evie seen them kissing?

  ‘I think Evie saw us,’ Roggero said. ‘We should talk to her.’

  ‘And say what, exactly?’ She met his eyes but quickly looked away. ‘I’ll talk to her, Roggero. And I need some time to think about what just happened.’

  ‘Are you unsure?’ He placed his hands on her shoulders.

  ‘Unsure of what? Of how I feel? Of us? Of this? You bet your life I am. I need to speak to Evie.’

  His hands slid down her arms and as she turned away, his fingers caught hers.

  ‘Severine?’

  ‘Please, Roggero. Let me go and speak to my sister. Let me think.’

  He nodded and in an old-fashioned gesture, drew her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers.

  ‘Take as long as you need. As I have said, Severine. I am not going anywhere.’

  He smiled at her and she smiled back before hurrying after Evie.

  She found her sister sitting on a window seat at the end of the long hallway, staring out into the twilight.

  ‘Evie. Can we talk?’

  Evie didn’t turn around. ‘It’s finally stopped raining. The clouds are slowly dissipating and it looks as if it’s going to be another beautiful night. That huge moon is already casting silvery strands through the gaps in the clouds. Yes. We can talk, Severine. And perhaps you can tell me who else you’re planning to kiss.’

  ‘That’s not entirely fair, Evie. I didn’t plan to kiss Roggero. It just happened.’

  Now Evie did turn around, but she remained seated.

  ‘It just happened?’ Evie nodded. ‘And last night? With Logan. That just happened too. I’d better make sure I don’t leave you and Zachary alone. It might just happen that you’ll end up kissing him.’

  ‘Evie! I wouldn’t. You know I wouldn’t.’

  ‘Honestly? I’m not sure about that. What are you doing, Severine? I know you said you thought you might still have feelings for Roggero, and I know you said you used to have a crush on Logan, but dear God. You can’t just go around kissing every Tom, Dick and Harry. You really need to get a grip. You need to sit down and decide what – and who – it is you want, because if this carries on, your name will be mud. You may not care, but I think your daughter might. And Mum and Dad certainly will. And Gran. And me for that matter.’

  Severine shook her head and flopped down beside Evie.

  ‘I know. I know. I’m trying, believe me.’

  ‘Try harder.’

  ‘It’s complicated.’

  ‘You can say that again.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Stop kissing people, for a start.’

  Severine smirked. ‘That’s easy for you to say. I can’t seem to help myself.’

  ‘Try Sellotape. Or glue. Stick your lips together and keep your mouth firmly shut. And stay away from attractive men. In fact, stay away from all men, just in case.’

  ‘Join a nunnery?’

  ‘As quickly as possible. Or go and live on an island.’

  ‘Snowflake Isle is an island.’

  ‘A deserted island. With one palm tree for shade.’

  ‘If only I could find one.’

  ‘I expect Zachary will know where one is. In fact, I expect his grandfather owns one. And he’s got a private jet.’

  ‘Joshua Thorn? I expect he does. He seems to own rather a lot of things from what Gran said.’

  ‘Ah. Gran told you the ‘Joshua’ story, did she?’

  Severine nodded. ‘Did you know Grandad was so hopeless with money? We might’ve been rich if only he’d known what he was doing.’

  ‘Being rich wouldn’t help you now. Except that Gran might own an island. And a private jet. But being rich wouldn’t stop you kissing people, left right and centre.’

  ‘No. Possibly not.’ Severine laughed. ‘But I’d be wearing diamonds when I kissed them. And I wouldn’t have money worries.’

  Evie nudged her. ‘Do you have money worries?’

  Severine shrugged. ‘I always worry about money. I think it’s in my genes.’

  ‘But … are you in debt, or anything?’

  ‘Not really. Maybe a little bit. Don’t look at me like that. Honestly, I’m fine. It’s just a few thousand pounds, that’s all. And Harvey is going to give me an allowance once we’re married. A huge allowance. So I’ll clear the credit card straight away.’

  ‘An allowance? Good God, Severine! What a horrible picture that conjures up. Please tell me that’s not why you’re marrying him. Please say it’s not for money.’

  ‘It’s not. Honestly. But you’ve got to admit that marrying a rich man isn’t exactly a disaster.’

  ‘It’s a total disaster if the money’s more appealing than the man. Go and tell Gran right now. She’ll give you the money to clear your debt. You know she will. And she’ll give you money to live on if you’re struggling. And if things are really that bad, you can always come home to live.’

  ‘To Snowflake Inn?’ Severine shook her head. ‘Can you really see me living here again?’

  Evie nodded. ‘Yes, Severine. I can. But if you can’t bear the thought of living with all of us in this inn, I expect Gran would help you rent something nearby. She might even help you buy somewhere of your own. And Raven loves it here. She’s far happier here than she is in London. And far happier than she will ever be in New York, I suspect.’

  Severine sighed. ‘I want Raven to be happy. But I do love Harvey. Honestly I do. It’s not just because he’s rich.’

  ‘So you keep saying. And yet, you’ve only been back a day or two and you’ve already kissed Logan and Roggero. Go and talk to Gran. Clear your debt. Get some cash in the bank. And then decide how you feel. You might start seeing things in a whole new light.’

  Shafts of silver moonlight crept through the window and unfurled in front of them, stretching out along the length of the hall.

  Severine and Evie exchanged glances
.

  ‘A whole new light. Like … the moonlight?’ Severine said, grinning.

  Evie nodded and slipped her arm through Severine’s. ‘Yep. And if you make the wrong decision, we’ll blame it on the moonlight, and start all over again.’

  Chapter Thirty-One

  ‘It’s stopped raining,’ Luna said, smiling at her uncle. ‘If it’s OK with you, I’d like to go out and take some photos. The moon is incredible again tonight.’

  ‘Of course it’s OK with me. You know you don’t have to ask for my approval or permission. This is your home now for as long as you want it to be. You can come and go as you please.’

  ‘Thanks, Mason.’ Luna kissed him on the cheek. ‘Do you need anything before I go? I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’

  Mason shook his head. ‘I have everything I need right here.’ He tapped the table beside him, where Luna had earlier placed a glass, a decanter of port and a plate of cheese and biscuits next to his book. ‘You take as long as you want. Pop back into Michaelmas Bay if you like and go for a drink with Chris. As I said, I don’t know him that well, but I’m sure he’ll get you home safely tonight. Or tomorrow, if you prefer. You did seem rather taken with him, from what you told me.’ He chuckled and winked.

  ‘Mason!’ Luna laughed. ‘I simply said he was nice and that he made me laugh and feel at ease. I didn’t say I wanted to jump into bed with the man.’

  ‘Well. If you decide you do, just send me a text so that I know where you are.’

  ‘If I do decide to go into Michaelmas Bay – and I’m not saying I will, although it would be good to get some photos of the boats and the Bay with the moon on the water – but if I do, I’ll still be home by midnight.’

  ‘Have fun.’

  Luna blew him another kiss and left.

  ‘Where are you off to?’ It was Juniper’s voice.

  ‘Hi. Just going to take some photos.’

  ‘Of the moon?’ Juniper’s boyfriend, Darren asked, wrapping his arm around Juniper.