‘And now we know exactly which one of us around this table knows you best!’ laughed Connie, elbowing Leah playfully in the ribs.
Leah shot him an apologetic look, and suddenly… Will wanted to kiss her. Just like that. Right in front of his annoying brothers. Right in front of the girls. Hell, he’d do it in front of the whole town as long as he could gather Leah in his arms and tell her he loved her.
Wait. He loved her?!
The music in his mind suddenly geared up another notch. Chords crashed inside Will’s head, and he knew—for certain—that he couldn’t make this bit wait.
‘I’ll be back,’ he muttered, turning on his heel.
‘Will… wait!’ said Connie.
‘Where are you going, weirdo?’ laughed Matt.
‘Urgh, who cares, as long as he doesn’t take the food with him!’ muttered Ewan.
‘Is he okay?’ That was Matt’s voice, and the last thing Will heard before he hotfooted it back inside the house and made a beeline for the ballroom where his childhood friend still sat.
Will practically jogged across the beautiful, wooden floor, barely sparing Ewan’s cosy knitting nook in the corner a glance. He yanked the dust sheet from the piano, lifted the lid, and suddenly his hands were flying over the keys with all the urgency he felt in his soul.
CHAPTER 10
LEAH
‘Ithink I’d better go,’ said Leah into the astounded silence that fell around the picnic table as Will disappeared back inside Seabury House.
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Connie, shaking her head.
‘Yeah, don’t leave on Will’s account,’ said Ewan, loading his plate with every bit of food within reach. ‘He’s been weird from the moment we arrived at the cliff house to check he was okay.’
‘What happened?’ said Rosie.
‘Honestly? I’ve got no idea,’ said Matt, a frown creasing his serious face. ‘He didn’t even open the door to us when we got there. In the end, we went around the back to see if there was another way in, and he was just there at the piano, playing like a man possessed!’
Leah raised her eyebrows. This was news, because as far as she knew, Will hadn’t played a note since the final concert of his tour. He might have requested a piano at his holiday home, but she hadn’t expected him to actually use it.
Right now, though, she didn’t have the energy left to figure out what was going on inside her boss’s head. All she knew was that coming here to Seabury House had been a mistake.
Hell, coming here to Seabury at all had been a mistake. Thankfully, it was one she didn’t have to stick with.
The sight of Will’s frown when he spotted her at the table was enough to confirm that she wasn’t welcome here. For some reason, her presence at his family home was more than he could handle. If he couldn’t even manage five minutes of polite pretence, she really needed to leave.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said again, scrambling to her feet. ‘I’ve got to go.’
‘Why?’ said Connie in surprise.
‘My head,’ she said.
Frankly, by this point, she wasn’t making it up. Leah’s head was pounding with what felt suspiciously like grief and unshed tears.
She needed to get out of there. Away from these concerned strangers who were so close to becoming friends. She couldn’t let that happen, though… she needed to put an end to it now, because the thought of having to say goodbye to Will’s family was already more than she could bear.
It was better that she slipped off now. She’d pack up the flat and head back to London. Will would be fine here with his family. They’d make sure he was okay.
‘Thank you for dinner,’ she said, her voice breaking slightly at the knowledge that this was goodbye for good. ‘I’m truly sorry to duck out.’
‘Anything I can do?’ said Matt, starting to get to his feet.
‘I’ll be fine,’ said Leah. ‘Paracetamol and early to bed. I’m sure everything will look different in the morning.’
