Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“You look like a woman who could use some sugar,” came a voice, and I glanced up to find Tara standing over me, holding out a delicious-looking cupcake with pink frosting.
I chuckled. “Isn’t that always the case?” I took the offered treat, and Tara sat down next to me in the seat Nuala had vacated.
“So, Paloma’s back,” she said, staring in the direction I’d been looking for the last while. “She’s infuriatingly gorgeous, isn’t she?” I pressed my lips together, swallowing down the thick lump that had lodged in my throat. Tara cast me a glance. “Sorry.”
“What are you apologising for?”
“You and Derek were always—”
“Friends,” I finished for her. “We were always friends.”
“He wanted to be a lot more than friends back in the day. You did, too, but you were so shy back then. You kind of still are, but you’ve gotten a little less inhibited over the years.”
“My shyness wasn’t the reason we never became more than friends,” I told her, and she arched a curious eyebrow.
“No? Why, then?”
I slumped in my seat and took a bite of the cupcake. It was delicious, just as I expected. “It’s complicated.”
“Wow, that is the most dejected I’ve ever seen a person look whilst eating a cupcake. Can I take a picture?”
I scowled at her. “Shut up. And no, you cannot.”
Tara chuckled. “Seriously, though, whatever the reason, if you still want him, I think you should be open about it. He’s single now, and so are you. You two clearly still have a thing for one another, so why not? Have some fun and enjoy your life.”
I cast her a sceptical look. “What do you mean we clearly still have a thing for one another?”
“Exhibit A: How you were just looking at him before I decided to cheer you up with a cupcake. Exhibit B: How he was looking at you from the kitchen window while you were out here talking to Nuala just before the ex-wife turned up.”
Something fluttery unfurled in my chest. He’d been looking at me through the window? Did that mean my presence hadn’t gone completely unnoticed by him like I’d thought? “Elaborate.”
Tara smirked and stood from her seat. “I don’t think he realised I was there organising the cupcakes, but I know what I saw. The man has a thirst. Anyway, I’d better be getting back inside. Still got lots of cakes to distribute.”
I caught her wrist. “Tara.”
Her expression softened before she replied, “Fine. Let’s just put it this way, he looked like a man staring at an oasis of water he desperately wanted to drink from.”
My heart pounded loudly in my ears. “That can’t be—”
“Hey, I just got poetic for you, and I would never willingly utter anything so cringe if it weren’t the truth. So, think about it. I hope you decide to go for the option of having a little fun.” With that, she winked and strutted away, leaving me feeling like I’d just run a marathon as my heart was pounding so fast. Had Derek really been looking at me like Tara had described? And what right did I have to feel so fluttery at the thought of him wanting me, yearning for me?
“Mum, will you take some pictures of me and Gigi?” Deirdre asked, distracting me from my thoughts. She held out her phone, the two girls standing before me. I looked around and saw that the family gathering had dispersed, and most everyone had moved towards the food tables. I couldn’t see Derek, but Paloma was sitting by the rose bushes and talking with his mother, Jo.
I turned to smile at my daughter. “Of course. Where would you like to take them?”
The girls led me over to a large maple tree near the end of the garden, and I spent the next twenty minutes conducting a pseudo fashion shoot for the two of them before they were finally satisfied that they got a couple of good shots.
“Did you talk to Gigi’s dad about me sleeping over yet?” Deirdre asked, reminding me that I had yet to speak with Derek.
“Not yet. I’ll go talk to him now,” I said, and the girls shared excited smiles before hurrying off to join Gigi’s other friends.
I couldn’t see Derek anywhere, so I found Nuala instead, “Hey, where’s your brother?”
“Older or younger?” she queried.
I was amused by her referring to Tristan as younger since they were twins, and she’d only been born a few minutes before him. “Older, obviously.”
Nuala smiled and motioned inside the house. “He’s upstairs grabbing Gigi’s present.”
“Thanks.”
I stepped inside before heading up the wide staircase. It felt like an age since I’d traversed these steps, another lifetime. When I got to the top, I turned in the direction of his old bedroom, deciding that was probably where he’d gone. I was almost at the door when I heard voices and paused just outside the threshold.