This Could Change Everything(17)

‘How about I was the one who stood you up?’ said Essie.

‘OK, I suppose the least I can do is let you be the stander-upper.’ Lucas nodded in agreement. ‘Deal.’

He paid her for the evening’s work, collected her coat from the staff cupboard and let her out through the side entrance so they would be spared the inevitable awkward encounter with Jude and the other members of staff.

‘Sorry again.’

Essie wound her scarf around her neck. ‘Yes.’

‘Just think, if you hadn’t stood me up that time last year, we could have been married by now.’

‘I’m glad you think my situation’s amusing,’ said Essie. ‘But guess what? I don’t.’

What a day.

And now, what an evening.

From his office window on the first floor, Lucas Brook drained the last drops of cognac and watched as the girl made her way diagonally across the square. Beneath the glow of light from the street lamps, her red coat showed up vividly and her blonde hair gleamed. Against his better judgement, there was just something about her that was getting to him. It would be easier – God, so much easier – to simply let her go and put the whole mess out of his mind. But now his conscience appeared to be hell-bent on kicking in.

Great.

Maybe he’d leave it for tonight, at least.

Then again, maybe not.

The card bearing Essie Phillips’ name and contact number was still lying on the desk where Jude had left it. Lucas pressed the numbers into his phone and seconds later saw her stop dead in her tracks, just as she reached the huge lit-up Christmas tree. After a bit of scrabbling in her bag, she answered.

‘Who’s this?’

Time to adopt a strong West Country accent. ‘All right, my love? You left a card here in our pub with your number on it. Still looking for work, are you?’

‘Oh! Yes, I am!’ The note of hope in her voice was almost heartbreaking.

He dropped the accent and said, ‘Well stay where you are. Don’t move.’

He saw her stiffen as she recognised his voice. She swung round, searched the windows above the Red House and spotted him at once.

‘For God’s sake. What is this, some kind of game to you?’

‘Not a game,’ said Lucas evenly. ‘Just hear me out. Please.’

It was frosty outside. His breath puffed out in front of him and the grass crunched beneath his feet as he made his way towards her. The multicoloured lights on the tree illuminated her face.

‘Hurry up.’ Essie’s tone was brisk. ‘My feet are cold.’

‘Look, you need a job. I can offer you one. I know you can’t stand me now, but—’

‘I’m not planning on changing my mind about that.’

‘OK, but I’m just saying, don’t make things harder for yourself than they already are. If you think there’s even a one per cent chance that you might wake up tomorrow morning and regret saying you couldn’t work for me . . . well, you’ve got my number.’ He raised a hand. ‘Don’t say anything now. If you change your mind, give me a call before midday. If I haven’t heard from you by then, I’ll find someone else.’

Essie looked at him. ‘I won’t change my mind.’

So stubborn. ‘OK, but the offer’s still there. Just so you know.’

‘I’m never going to forgive you for what you did.’ She thrust her hands into her coat pockets. ‘Just so you know.’

Touché. Lucas said, ‘Come on, I’ll walk you home. What number are you?’

‘I thought you knew my address?’

‘The card’s upstairs on my desk.’

‘Twenty-three.’

‘Ah. Is that Zillah’s place?’

‘You know her?’

‘I do.’ Lucas nodded. ‘Everyone knows Zillah. She’s a character.’ He paused, then said, ‘How’s your brother?’

‘Fine, as far as I know. He’s skiing in Austria at the moment with friends.’

‘You’re OK with him, though?’

‘You mean after he brought you back to the cottage with him? I wish he hadn’t,’ said Essie, ‘but that’s Jay for you: he doesn’t stop to think about things like that. He thought he was doing you a favour. And it’s not his fault, is it? He didn’t know you were going to do something so completely idiotic.’

‘Neither did I.’ Lucas heaved a sigh. ‘But I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t do it again, I promise.’

Essie had gone to bed at midnight. A couple of hours later, her mobile rang again. By a stroke of luck, she’d had far too much on her mind to be able to get to sleep anyway.

She rolled over in bed and answered. From the level of background noise it was pretty obvious her brother was in a bar.

‘Hey, you!’ said Jay. ‘What’s up?’

Essie squinted at the clock. ‘Well, it’s almost two in the morning. So not much really.’

‘Oh God, were you asleep? I’ve just seen your text. You said to call you.’

‘I did, but I sent it twelve hours ago.’ She’d wanted to hear a friendly voice and had planned on asking Jay if he happened to know of any jobs going locally. ‘Maybe the signal’s bad in the mountains.’