‘I didn’t realise I had so much stuff.’ Emma looked at her belongings dubiously. ‘I’m not sure it will all fit into the back of your van.’
Jay began to move her suitcases towards the lift. ‘We’ll get it in, don’t worry.’
‘Thanks, Jay. It’s so much easier with you helping me out. I’m not sure I could have coped with it on my own. And even now, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all this stuff. I don’t even know if it will fit in the room I’ve got.’
‘You can leave anything you don’t need straight away here, if you like. I can always store it for you until you decide what to do with it.’
She nodded. ‘That would be good.’ She turned her head away so that he wouldn’t see the tears that were once more threatening to spill over. Why was he being so nice? It certainly didn’t make leaving him any easier.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The apartment seemed empty without Emma. Jay wandered around aimlessly feeling as though part of him was missing. He’d been alone here so many times, especially when they’d worked separate shifts, but then he’d always known she’d be coming back. Now he was truly on his own, and it was all his fault. If only he had nurtured their relationship more, then maybe he wouldn’t have failed so spectacularly.
When he’d gone to bed last night, he’d come into the bedroom to see a beautifully wrapped package lying on the bed. She’d left him a present for his birthday next week. The tears he’d been holding back all evening had finally spilled over. How like her to be so thoughtful, even when she’d known she would be leaving. Right now he didn’t even want to acknowledge his birthday, knowing he would be spending it without her.
With no work to attend to today he’d gone to see his nan, looking for comfort. He hadn’t found any there, though. Instead she’d admonished him for letting Emma slip though his fingers.
‘She’s such a lovely girl, Jay. And it was obvious that she loved you very much. You might have been foolish to mess this up now, but give her a bit of time and then you must try to win her back.’
‘But what if she won’t change her mind? She seemed pretty definite last night.’
‘Like I said. Give her time.’
‘And if that doesn’t work?’
Betty sighed. ‘Then at least you’ll have tried.’
Of course his nan was right, he thought as he walked into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. The problem was he didn’t have the confidence with women that other men seemed to have, but, if he was going to convince her she wasn’t second best, he was going to have to go out of his comfort zone.
In the meantime, he had to stop moping around. He needed to concentrate on work right now. While he was waiting for the kettle to boil, he texted Liz to arrange when they could meet up to plan ahead for her maternity leave. And then he took his coffee into the living room, to make some notes on what they needed to talk about. It was then he noticed Emma had left her laptop charger plugged into the wall. Jay looked at his watch. She should be finishing work soon. He would drive over and give it to her. He wouldn’t stay or ask to talk, he would just let her have the charger back, thank her for her birthday present and leave. Give her the space she’d asked for. But hopefully she’d see that he was thinking of her.
Jay parked the van at the back of the hotel where they’d unloaded Emma’s things yesterday. He was just getting out when he saw her come out of the staff entrance and head towards the accommodation block. Her name was on his lips but he stopped short when he saw another person follow behind her.
‘Hey, wait for me.’
Nick. He might have known he’d be around. Jay clenched his fists as his frustration mounted. Nick was the kind of man who had the confidence with women that Jay lacked. He was also the kind that wouldn’t take no for an answer until he got what he wanted. Jay moved behind the door of the van so that he could see them, but they might not notice him. He watched as Emma turned towards Nick and waited for him to catch up. He put his arm around her.
‘I’ve been thinking about tonight all day. I’ve got wine chilling in the fridge and you’re going to be blown away with the food!’
They entered the staff accommodation, so Jay didn’t catch Emma’s reply. But he didn’t need to. It was quite obvious they were together. All her talk of needing some space to be on her own was a smokescreen. She just wanted to be with Nick. For amoment he was unable to move. But he couldn’t stay here. He looked down to his hand, where he still held her laptop charger. He shut the van door and walked round to the front of the hotel. He would hand the charger in to Reception and ask that they pass it on to her. And then he would leave her to the life she had chosen. He accepted that his behaviour had driven her away. But he hadn’t thought she would move on from him so quickly. He didn’t stand a chance of making amends now. And that was what hurt the most.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Agreeing to have dinner with Nick had seemed like a good idea yesterday, but now she wasn’t so sure. Despite the fact that she had told him she was only interested in friendship, and he had agreed, he was acting with a possessiveness that implied otherwise. She hadn’t liked the way he put his arm around her when he greeted her in the courtyard and had managed to shrug him off as they walked into their accommodation. He had immediately poured her a glass of wine, and kept topping her up as he talked to her while he cooked. She’d been hoping to do some unpacking before they ate, but it was obvious that Nick had other ideas. She didn’t want her life here to get off on the wrong foot, so she’d decided to be polite to him for now. But as soon as they had finished eating, she’d make her excuses and escape to her room.
‘Right, nearly ready,’ he said. ‘Let me top up your drink.’
She put her hand over her glass so he couldn’t pour any more wine into it. ‘No, I’m fine, thanks. I’ve had quite enough for a school night. Early start in the morning.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame. I thought we could make an evening of it. Watch a film after we’ve eaten, maybe?’
‘Thanks, but I’ve still got a lot of unpacking to do. I barely made a dent in it last night.’
‘I could help?’ He spooned the risotto onto two plates and grated Parmesan cheese over it.
‘That’s enough cheese for me.’ She didn’t just mean the dairy variety, but she wasn’t sure he’d registered her meaning.
He handed her a plate and she tucked in. She was hungry and she needed to soak up the wine. The risotto was as good as he’d said it would be, but she was uncomfortable throughout the meal. This had been a mistake.
