She sighed. She said she didn’t want to make it weird or awkward between them but she’d definitely already done that.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Flick woke very early the next morning when she heard a thump from the lounge. She looked at the time to see it was six in the morning. She’d stayed up until midnight the night before in the hope of seeing Luke and being able to talk to him but he hadn’t come home. She really wanted to clear the air between them and apologise if she’d hurt him.
She scrambled out of bed and quickly went into the lounge and it was evident he was on his way out. His shoulders dropped when he saw her; he clearly didn’t want to see her. He looked really sad and then she spotted the flowers in his hand. Of course he’d be sad as today was his mum’s birthday.
‘Hey,’ she said, softly.
‘Hi.’
‘You’re up early.’
‘I have lots to do today.’
‘Luke, I just want to say…’ She watched him glance down to the flowers and she stopped. Now wasn’t the time to talk about that. ‘Did you want me to come with you to your mum’s grave?’
His eyes widened in horror. ‘Why would you want to do that?’
‘Because I don’t want you to be sad and alone.’
He stared at her. ‘You’re so lovely,’ he said, wistfully. ‘And I don’t deserve it.’
‘What? Of course you do.’
‘Thank you for the offer but I’ll be OK.’
‘Of course. I understand. Grieving is a personal thing, I get that. But if you want to talk or even need a hug when you get back, I’m here for you.’
‘Thank you, that’s really very kind. I need to go, I’ll catch you later.’
He walked out, his head bent as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Luke walked down the stairs to his car, which he’d loaded with his stag sculpture the night before. He was going to hell. He hated lying and he’d lied to the sweetest, kindest person he’d ever met. It felt like kicking a puppy.
He got in the car and drove down the road. He spotted an elderly lady walking her tiny dog on the side of the road. He pulled over and leaned out the window, offering out the bunch of flowers.
‘Here you go, lovely.’
She stared at the flowers in shock. ‘What are these for?’
‘To make you smile.’
She looked at them suspiciously. ‘Did you buy them for a girl and she didn’t want them?’
Luke sighed. ‘Something like that.’
‘The girl’s an idiot. You’re a nice boy.’ She took the flowers from him and a big smile spread across her face.
‘Well, I’ve been told that’s the problem,’ Luke said, thinking of his ex-girlfriend. She’d thought he was too nice.
‘Oh, the old adage of “Treat them mean, keep them keen” doesn’t really ring true. That might be exciting to start off with, but no one wants to marry someone like that. You marry your soul mate, someone there for you through the good times and the bad, someone who has your back. Someone who fills your heart to the top. No one wants to fill their hearts with an arsehole.’
‘No, I agree.’
‘This girl who turned down your flowers, do you love her?’
Luke was regretting choosing this woman for his cast-off flowers. ‘I think it’s probably a little early for that.’
