The CEO(26)

‘I found what I was looking for.’

Ava watched as Daphne placed a small red velvet box on the marble bench and gingerly pushed it towards him. ‘I think you should have this.’

Callum wiped his hands on the front of his jeans to brush off the sugar and cinnamon and reached for the box. It was about an inch and a half square with a domed top and the velvet was faded and worn.

Judging by the confused look on his face, Callum had never seen it before. ‘What is it?’

‘Open it,’ Daphne urged through fresh tears.

He popped it open. He looked down at Daphne, half in shock. ‘Bloody hell. It’s my mother’s engagement ring.

Daphne sniffed again and nodded solemnly. ‘Yes, it is.’

Callum turned to Ava and held the box in her direction for her to see. A shimmering emerald ring sat nestled in white satin.

‘I haven’t seen this for … since Mum died,’ he told her. ‘When I was fourteen years old.’

Daphne slipped an arm through Callum’s. ‘I thought one of you boys should have it. Your father, God love him, was a stubborn old …’ She crossed herself and then dropped her eyes. ‘Well, you know more than anyone what he was like. He didn’t want you to have it when you got married. And even when Chris wed that lovely lass last year, he kept it locked up tight in that filing cabinet of his. I never understood it myself, but it wasn’t my place to say. And now,’ Daphne looked up to the ceiling and crossed herself again, ‘now that he’s gone I thought I should right the wrong done to you boys.’

Callum looked at the ring for a moment and when he spoke, he was reflective, quiet, his voice deep.

‘Mum wore this all the time, even in here when she was cooking. Do you remember that Daphne? She almost washed it down the drain when she was making scones once, and we had to get the plumber out. She wore it playing cricket with me, Chris and Cooper. When she was swimming. She hated the idea of putting this in a safe somewhere.’

Ava suddenly felt awkward. Like an interloper on this personal conversation, filled with so many heart-wrenching memories for Callum. His mother sounded like a wonderful woman, someone who would have wanted her ring to be passed down to the woman her son loved.

The old, familiar, humiliating ache flared in her chest once again.

That ring Callum was holding? It broke her heart to realise it was the ring he should have been able to give to his wife.

Lulu.

Callum snapped the box shut and the sound echoed in the huge room, startling Daphne. She fluttered a hand to her chest.

‘Sorry, Daph,’ Callum said, clearing his throat. He slipped the box deep into the front pocket of his jeans and patted it to make sure it was safe. ‘And thank you.’ He hugged the older woman again, long and tender, and damn if it didn’t make Ava want to cry.

*

A few minutes later, after warm goodbyes had been exchanged, Callum and Ava were walking across the parquetry entrance on the way to his car. Callum’s mood had changed since he’d come to be in possession of his mother’s ring. He had closed himself off, a shadow had darkened his face and his mouth was pinched and hard. Watching him as he took the stone steps two by two, Ava put aside her own feelings of regret and embarrassment, to think that all the wealth in the world hadn’t protected him from sadness and loss, from grief, from estrangement from his father, and from growing up without a mother.

‘Callum?’ She’d stopped at the top of the stone steps. He halted, looked back over his shoulder but not at her.

‘Are you all right?’ She took a step towards him, wary.

He didn’t reply.

Another step. ‘Being here must bring back a lot of memories, huh?’

Another step. Now, she was on the final tread and he’d turned around to face her. Their eyes were level and, Ava noticed with a thumping heart, so were their lips.

Callum sucked in a deep breath and gazed at her mouth. She began to shiver in the warm afternoon sun.

‘We should go,’ he said quietly, his deep voice aching with restraint.

‘Of course.’ But before she moved, Ava reached for him, rested her hand gently on his arm. ‘Thank you for showing me The Meadows. I’ll never forget it.’

Callum managed a forced smile. ‘It was my pleasure.’

‘I have the photos to remind me of how beautiful this place is. And don’t worry, I’ll keep them to myself. I’ll keep the Malone family secret.’

He said nothing as his expression grew serious once again.

‘Pinkie swear,’ Ava said and was aware that her own smile had become something sad. ‘I’m brilliant at keeping secrets.’





Chapter Nine