Luke smiled at her. ‘Hi.’
‘What’s this?’ Crossing the living room, she picked up one of the printed sheets.
‘That’s Tess. It was her idea to put up a few photos of herself, then people would know what she looked like. So I took some of her this afternoon.’
Christina eyed the end result. ‘Hmm. Thought she’d be prettier. I mean, I suppose she’s not bad, if you like that sort of thing. Not exactly stunning, though.’
‘She’s a very nice person,’ said Luke.
‘You’re looking forward to working with her, aren’t you?’ There was a slight edge to Christina’s voice.
‘I am.’ Luke nodded, outwardly calm. Inside his brain, however, a switch had been flicked, the decision made. The time had come; he simply couldn’t do this any more. Once his mind was made up, that was it. ‘OK, we need to talk.’
‘About what?’
He looked at her steadily. ‘Come on, you know the answer to that. This isn’t working out, is it?’
She froze. ‘Is it her? Tess?’
‘No. Absolutely not. And it’s not your fault either. It’s no one’s fault,’ said Luke. ‘We tried our best, but it isn’t happening. Be honest, you know it as well as I do.’
All the tension slid from Christina’s shoulders and she nodded slowly. ‘Oh God, I suppose you’re right.’
‘Sorry,’ said Luke. He meant it, too; since getting back together, they’d both been doing their level best to pretend that everything was fine, but the basic central premise – the bit where genuine love was called for – simply wasn’t there. They’d hoped they might be able to recreate it, but it hadn’t happened.
‘It’s all right. I thought I was making such a grand romantic gesture, turning up at Marilyn’s party that night.’ Christina’s slim fingers fiddled with the rolled hem of her pistachio silk scarf. ‘I think I thought it would make you love me more. But all it did was railroad you into going along with the whole thing. You didn’t want everyone to see me make a big fool of myself, so you pretended to be happy about it.’
‘That’s not true.’ Luke shook his head. ‘Don’t put yourself down. I didn’t pretend to be happy. I genuinely thought it might work. We both gave it our best shot.’
‘But it wasn’t enough,’ said Christina. There was sadness in her voice, but also acceptance.
‘No,’ he reluctantly agreed. ‘It wasn’t.’
‘Shame.’ She managed a brief smile. ‘Oh well, at least we tried. Shall I tell you what’s ironic?’
‘Go on.’
‘Last time you finished with me, it was partly because you didn’t like my beautiful snakes.’ Christina glanced at Daley, still lying happily against Luke’s chest. ‘And this time I’m pretty sure you stuck it out a bit longer than you wanted because you like my beautiful dog so much.’
She was pretty much spot on; he knew he was going to miss Daley more than he’d miss Christina.
‘You don’t need to say anything,’ she continued wryly. ‘Look at the way you greet him when we turn up. Then look at the way you greet me.’
Feeling bad, Luke apologised again. But in truth, the overwhelming sensation was one of relief. He’d said it at last; the deed was done.
‘Never mind, can’t be helped. I noticed you’ve been a bit more distant over the last few weeks.’ Christina’s sleek hair fell forward as she took another look at the photo in her hand. ‘Sure it isn’t her?’
The early evening sun was streaming in through the windows, reflecting off the glossy photographic paper that bore the image of Dr Tess Hannigan with her frizzy hair, beaming smile and plump pink cheeks.
‘I promise you it isn’t,’ said Luke.
Silence, followed by one last disparaging glance at the photo.
‘Well, good,’ said Christina. ‘Because she’s definitely not your type.’
Chapter 51
If Luke had imagined he’d need to make a welcoming speech and introduce Dr Tess Hannigan to the villagers who’d come along to this evening’s get-together at the pub, he’d been wrong. Tess had stood up on the stage and made her own speech, welcoming herself to Carranford and expressing her joy at being here. She’d then gone around and started introducing herself to everyone present, pausing to chat to each person in turn. It had been a triumphant PR exercise; within minutes even the most dubious potential patient had been visibly charmed and won over.
Approaching the bar for a refill, Luke found himself next to Hallie. ‘Well?’ He indicated Tess at the other end of the room. ‘What’s the verdict?’