7
EDITH
Later that afternoon, Edith took a shower at the hotel where they were spending the night, then collapsed on the bed in her dressing gown. She was exhausted, and the day drinking hadn’t helped. Edith’s tiredness was a full-body weariness, and her heart was aching from seeing Wyatt. That low American voice, threaded with his unmistakable New York accent, was still devastatingly sexy, and she longed to hear more of it.
The background to his friendship with Titus had been quite moving, and it had been clear for all to see how highly the men regarded each other. In a way, she’d found that hard too because Titus had been out to New York to see Wyatt. More than once, it seemed. They’d met while Titus was working in New York, and he’d mentioned going back to visit him again.
It was tough knowing that Wyatt had cut her off and yet let others in, but wasn’t that how life went? She hadn’t expected her ex to be a monk, to stay home and never venture out or meet other people. He’d always been a very sociable person, and she’d seen the photos of him online on nights out, nights that were part of his job, but often seemed more like social gatherings.He was often linked to other women via tags on photos and comments below them. These had left a sour taste in her mouth, but she forced herself to look at the photos so she could accept it was over between them. After all, ten years had passed, and Wyatt had not turned up on her doorstep in a ‘Pretty Woman’ moment carrying a rose and begging her to take him back. That only happened in movies and books, and she was a pragmatist; she had been forced to become one and had weaned herself off her youthful innocence as a hopeless romantic.
Edith stared up at the ceiling, tracing the ornate plaster with tired eyes. Apart from the low drone of the air conditioning and the sound of a door closing along the hallway, the room was quiet. The ache behind her temples pulsed, reminding her of the champagne she’d drunk and the emotional strain of the day.
Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply and let her muscles relax onto the crisp white cover of the duvet. Until today, she’d been coping, living her life as an independent career woman in charge of her own business, content with her lot and counting her blessings instead of her losses. But being near Wyatt, hearing the rumble of his laughter, seeing the flash of his perfectly straight white teeth as he smiled then encountering his scent made her chest tighten.
There was still something there as much as she might wish otherwise. Like a gossamer-thin thread, there was a link between the past and the present, and while it may be fragile, it still held. Would that thread break when they spent more time together, something that was inevitable now that he was the best man and she was the wedding planner, or would it grow stronger and develop into a sticky web? A web she could get caught in if not careful. A web she could lose herself in and become as tangled up and confused as she’d been all those years ago.
As the afternoon light faded outside the window and the hum of the city deepened, she wondered how Wyatt was feeling right now. Did he think of her and how things had been, or had she faded into a distant memory as his life in New York had glittered around him like diamond dust?
Being near the man she’d loved again brought back the kind of ache Edith thought she’d outgrown. Back at university, he’d been the first person to make her feel truly seen. He’d asked about her dreams, noted just about everything she said, and looked at her as though she was someone worth knowing. For a girl raised by a mother who measured love in packed lunches and clean uniforms, that kind of attention had felt intoxicating. It was no wonder she’d trusted him with everything she had.
At some point she must have dozed off because she jumped up at the sound of her name and gentle knocking.
‘Hello. Sorry to wake you,’ Thora said, grimacing in the doorway. ‘I had a nap too, but then Finn woke me up and said we needed to get ready to hit the town. He said meet in the bar downstairs in thirty minutes. That OK?’
Longing to cry off and crawl back into bed, Edith shook off the drowsiness. ‘Of course. I’ll get ready and meet you down there.’
‘Great! See you soon!’
Edith closed the door and leant against it. It was time to drink some water, make a coffee and shake her tail because she was here as a friend and as a professional. No one else knew about her and Wyatt, and that was the way she wanted to keep it. A secret, if kept well, could harm no one, and she couldn’t face it getting out. Besides which, she didn’t come to London often, and she wanted to make the most of being here.
She hopped back in the shower to wake herself up, then got ready quickly to join the others. At least Wyatt wouldn’t be there because he’d told them at lunch that he was attending some event at a club this evening. She could relax and enjoy the company of her friends and hopefully have a good old dance, because there was nothing like dancing to shake off the stresses and strains of life.
There was nothing like dancing to silence the ache of a heart determined to remember.
8
EDITH
Finn led them to a tucked-away bar in Soho. It didn’t look like much from outside but when they walked through the door, Edith could see why he had chosen it for their evening.
‘This is lovely,’ she said, admiring the exposed brickwork, long gleaming bar, hanging copper lights and greenery. It was like walking into a greenhouse with soft music playing and plenty of alcohol available, which made a relaxing combination. ‘Shall we get a table first or go to the bar?’
Finn gave a small shrug. ‘I’m not sure…’
‘Oh… I thought this was your idea.’ Edith scanned his face.
‘Actually, Wyatt told us to meet him here,’ Titus said. ‘And there he is.’
Edith bit her bottom lip hard as dismay filled her. So she wasn’t about to have a relaxing time with her friends. Instead, her ex would be here too, which meant she would be on high alert all evening. She could, she thought, cry off with a migraine or period pain or any kind of pain just to get away from Wyatt.
Pain in the arse, more like!
But then she caught sight of him at the other end of the bar and her heart skipped a beat. In a plain white shirt, navy trousers, and shiny shoes, he was gorgeous. Tall and broad-shouldered, he moved towards them with a smooth, confident grace. She’d forgotten about how he moved, like he owned every room he walked into. It had always reassured her he was the man for her and that she would never tire of being with him. She’d had boyfriends before him, but none of them had made her think they could be keepers. Something about them had always seemed lacking, not right, irritating. But Wyatt, with his deep voice and warm American accent, his easy smile, and sense of humour that could make her laugh until she peed a little bit, had seemed perfect. With his neat dark haircut and those honey-warm eyes, his kindness and intelligence, and the ease with which he’d reach out to do what he could to help others, Wyatt was the man she’d always wanted. The way he had always seemed to know exactly what she needed and how to give it to her had made her count her lucky stars. And all of those things had made losing him even harder and left her unable to trust another man and, even worse, unable to trust herself and her own judgement. Edith had thought she knew Wyatt and it turned out she hadn’t known him at all.
So when his smile fell upon her now, it didn’t warm her the way it used to. Instead, a shiver ran down her spine. She frowned at him, clenched her fists and averted her gaze.
‘Evening!’ Wyatt said, as if oblivious to her snub. ‘How are we all?’
There were greetings and hugs, and Edith stepped back to avoid getting caught up in one. He must have sensed her reluctancebecause he gave Thora a quick peck on each cheek and then simply directed a nod in Edith’s direction.
