An Unlocked Mind (Secrets #2)(24)

He knew the truth. It had all coalesced when a man—a stranger—held Rob to his body and whispered to him that things were going to be okay. A man who’d shown Rob more kindness in the short time he’d known him than anyone had shown him his entire life. Not that it was saying much. His mother was becoming increasingly erratic, and even though his father was there, he was absent. As far as Rob knew, no one had heard from Alex since he and Leo had stormed out of the house. Rob had pushed all his friends away, because after what happened, his whole world had shifted and he couldn’t handle it.

So now he was lonely. Afraid to tell people the truth about who Rob Daniels was. Terrified that people might see the man behind the mask. Easier to be thought an arse and push people away, because being around people might reveal all the things Rob kept hidden. And there were a lot of layers to the onion that was Rob. He chuckled at the analogy. Then he started to think about Vic again. If Vic knew the truth, if he found out what happened between Rob and Alex, would he see Rob the way he did now? Would he still think Rob deserved kindness, or would he decide that everyone else was right and Rob wasn’t worth the effort? He shuddered at the thought.

Rob knew he was being stupid. He’d come to London to apologize. To see Vic in person and let him know how sorry he was. He’d done that, and tomorrow he’d get on the train and head back to Manchester. Back to reality. Back to his life.

Rob sighed. “Yep, my perfect life.”




“NO, SERIOUSLY,” Vic said, wiping the corner of his mouth. “The designs were perfect, the material was grade A. Where it fell down was the company they hired to do the work. There was supposed to be a small bridge linking one area to another. It was supposed to be something light and airy, more whimsical than something for adults.”

Rob laughed so hard, his stomach hurt. “You’re telling me they hired a contractor to come in and make a children’s play area, and pretty much everything they did wasn’t kid-friendly?”

Vic smacked his hand on the table, rattling the dishes. “Yes! What they built was gorgeous, but it wasn’t the plans that had been agreed upon. Throughout the whole project, not one of the people bothered to check in. There was failure to communicate at every level.”

“Unbelievable.”

“The company who designed it blamed the laborers, who in turn explained that they did exactly what the plans showed. The client fired them and hired us. Turns out it was one of my favorite projects to work, because by the time we were done, it was like a fairyland for the kids, with twinkling lights and everything. Best of all, I got to help make the bridge that turned out to be the centerpiece of the whole project.”

For two hours they’d sat chatting over lunch, and it had gone by way too fast. If Rob had been asked, he doubted he could have told anyone what they’d eaten—he’d spent the whole time being enthralled by Vic. His stories about his job ranged from serious to sidesplitting.

“You must love what you do,” he murmured, a twinge of envy coursing through him.

Vic let out a contented sigh. “I really do. I started out working as a laborer, but my boss saw I had potential. He gave me a shot at helping to design a landscaping project, and I haven’t let him down yet. Well, at least I haven’t built any play areas with sharp points and lots of wrought iron.”

Rob chuckled again. “That sounds great,” he said, pushing his dishes to the middle of the table.

When Vic reached across and picked up Rob’s plate, stacked it on top of his own, and then moved all the dishes to the edge of the table, Rob cocked his head.

“Never make anyone’s life harder than it needs to be,” Vic explained. “The waitress? Her name is Sarah. She’s got two kids at university and a husband who was injured in an accident. So she has to work a couple jobs to make ends meet. It never hurts to think of someone else’s problems, because then you’ll know there are people who may be worse off than you.”

It was a simple, off-the-cuff comment, but the truth of it shook Rob. He drained the last of his shake, then added his dishes to Vic’s. He had to admit, the thought that he was helping their waitress gave him a warm feeling. Rob had never found it easy dealing with people. He thought back to the woman who’d come in and asked questions about the food she wanted. He’d considered her an intrusion on his time, but what was her story really? Had she been sick and needed to ensure that her food wouldn’t hurt her? Maybe she was having a very important date and wanted everything to be just perfect. If he’d actually given her his undivided attention, could things have turned out differently? True, she could have just been a mean person, but had Rob even bothered to give her a chance?

“I guess I never thought of it like that,” he murmured.

“It’s not just you,” Vic replied. “So many people can’t see the wood for the trees. They walk around, their attention locked on their Twitter, Facebook, whatever. In the process, they lose themselves and their connection to people. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy having an online presence, but if I happen to go a few days without checking, it’s not the end of the world. I much prefer things like this.” He waved his hand between them. “Sitting down with someone, enjoying a meal, and talking for a change.”

Rob couldn’t deny he was having a good time too. He thought back to his visits to Jamie’s house. They were raucous at best, filled with music that was way too loud, a little bit of pot, some kind of mischief, or inane talk about stupid things. Did we ever have a real conversation? If they had, Rob couldn’t recall it. If he tried to bring up something current, Jamie would change the subject and that would be the end of it. Rob never pushed, not once, and yet, looking back, he had to wonder at that. Had he really allowed himself to be so easily led by another person? And for what purpose? To win Jamie’s approval? Rob snorted inwardly. At least he’d finally opened his eyes to what kind of person Jamie was.