‘Oh God, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?' She must have been looking as horrified as she felt, because Eddie said, ‘Please don't think it! That would be so weird. Listen, I saw the To Let sign up outside when I arrived back this afternoon and asked Dan about it. He told me what was going on. And I called into the estate agent's just before they closed. They trusted me with the key, what with me being a movie star and all.' He smiled, reaching across for Lily's hand. ‘How would you feel if I took a year's lease out on this place, hmm? Does that sound like a pretty good plan to you?'
Lily swallowed and wondered if her heart was visibly hammering against her ribcage. It sounded as if it should be a brilliant plan.
In theory.
Oh help, this was awkward. She was doing her best to look surprised and delighted, but the muscles in her face felt as if they'd forgotten how to do it, and meanwhile the uncomfortable silence was lengthening and Eddie was watching her, reading her face like a book.
He might be many things, but he wasn't stupid.
‘Well there we have it, looks like I've got my answer.' He carefully slid the key back into the pocket of his jeans.
‘Sorry,' said Lily. Oh God, was it worse being rejected when you were a famous film star? And what if she were making the most terrible mistake? Because he was famous, he was a film star, and millions of females would think she'd completely lost her mind. How many ordinary girls turned down an opportunity like this?
‘It's OK. I had my suspicions. I kind of did it to see if I was right.' Eddie paused, then added wryly, ‘And I was.'
‘You're fantastic,' said Lily. ‘It's not you, it's definitely me. I must be mad.'
He half smiled. ‘Goes without saying.'
‘What made you have your suspicions?'
‘The other week when I signed off that text with Love you, it was a genuine mistake and I had to call you and let you know that. I thought you'd be disappointed but trying your best to hide it. You weren't, though.' He was watching her intently. ‘Quite the opposite, in fact. You were relieved.'
This was true. Lily recalled the moment of alarm when she'd first seen the words. Followed by the exquisite feeling of let-off-the-hookness when he'd called to apologise and explain.
She said, ‘I could have been pretending to be relieved.'
‘You weren't, though.'
‘No.'
‘Oh well, at least now we know.'
‘But I do really like you.'
Eddie dipped his head. ‘Thanks. I like you too. Slightly more than you like me, but that's OK.' His tone was rueful. ‘My ego can probably handle it.'
‘What with all the other millions of girls out there, jumping up and down and screaming, Pick me, pick me.'
‘Well, quite. I daresay I'll recover. But it's going to be a struggle to find someone else like you. I know you don't think you're special,' Eddie went on, ‘but you actually are. You're funny and brave and principled and honest. And I really hope we can stay friends.'
Now he was making her feel terrible. In order to hide her guilty face, Lily leaned across and gave him a hug. Against the soft cotton of his expensive pale blue shirt, she breathed in the scent of him and knew it would stay with her for the rest of her life. Her voice muffled, she said, ‘I hope so too.'
They stayed like that for a few seconds more. Finally, realising there was another confession she had to make, Lily pulled back and shook her hair out of her eyes. ‘OK, there's something I need to tell you. And this is your fault, because I wasn't going to, but you just called me principled and honest, so now I have to say it.'
‘Sounds intriguing.' Eddie looked amused. ‘What is it, have you been unfaithful to me?'
He was saying it as a joke, because it was the least likely option he could think of. Feeling sick but knowing she had to go ahead, Lily nodded. ‘Yes.'
‘What?' That made him sit up. ‘Are you serious?'
Hastily she added, ‘Not sex.'
‘Oh, right.' His shoulders relaxed. ‘So … what kind of unfaithful, then?'
‘It was a kiss. A proper kiss. That was all, but it definitely felt like being unfaithful.' She knew she had to explain. ‘I was talking to a friend about the situation with Patsy. They asked me if I'd ever done anything really bad that had made me feel terrible and ashamed of myself. And I couldn't think of anything bad enough. So they thought I should do something … and, well, that's what it was.'
‘Right. So, did it work?'
Lily nodded, her mouth dry. ‘Oh yes, it did.'
‘You really felt terrible,' Eddie prompted.
‘Yes.' Oh God, and now her brain was remembering it all over again …
‘But it made you realise how Patsy had been feeling, and that's how you were able to forgive her.'
Lily nodded again.
Eddie said thoughtfully, ‘I did wonder.'
‘Well anyway, that's it, that was what happened. So now you know. And I'm sorry.'
Another look, followed by a crooked smile. Then Eddie drew her towards him and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
‘No problem. Very honest of you. Look, I'm going to drop you home now and head back to London. But I meant it about us staying friends.' As he started the car again, he gave her arm a squeeze.
‘Good.' Glad he didn't hate her, Lily added, ‘And thanks.'
Back at Goldstone House, she gave him one last hug. ‘Fifty years from now, when you're up on stage collecting your Oscar for lifetime achievement, I'll be the annoying old woman in the nursing home boasting to everyone that one magical summer we had an affair. And nobody will believe me, which will be so annoying.'
‘If that happens, I'll come and visit you,' said Eddie. ‘Then they'll believe it.'
‘I'll hold you to that. Can you bring your Oscar with you?'
‘Of course. And it could have lasted longer than one summer. Your decision, remember. Not mine.'
Lily shrugged and smiled. ‘Oh well.' She'd expected him to ask more questions, but he hadn't. Which was probably a good thing.
‘I'll tell you something, though,' Eddie said as she climbed out of the car. ‘It must have been one hell of a kiss.'
Chapter 48
It wasn't right. Coral had tried so hard to make it work, but it just wasn't happening. Tiny niggling problems, building up over the last few weeks, had become impossible to ignore. In fact you could almost say they'd been multiplying like bacteria.
She stifled a burst of laughter and turned away so Trent wouldn't see. Finding the situation funny really wasn't appropriate under the circumstances. Maybe she was hysterical with relief at having realised that it was OK, she could end this relationship, it was allowed.
Oh, but how many couples could lay the blame for their break-up on a single speck of mould on a sandwich?
‘What are you doing?' Trent's voice was laced with suspicion. ‘Turn round and look at me. Are you laughing?'
Oh dear, he'd seen her shoulders shaking. The game was up.
‘You are laughing,' he announced.
‘Because I can't believe you're making this much fuss about a sandwich.' They'd constructed them earlier this morning, because he'd announced that they were going for an eight-mile walk along the Cotswold Way and would need to take supplies with them. When Coral had suggested stopping at a lovely pub for something to eat and drink, Trent had replied, ‘No, let's not do that, they just rip people off. We'll take our own.'
But the loaf of bread in his kitchen evidently hadn't been the freshest. By the time they'd stopped for lunch, the heat of the day had got to it, and Trent had stared in horror at the blue dot on the outside of his cheese and pickle sandwich. ‘Oh God, I don't believe it! What am I going to do now?'
It had taken Coral a few seconds to realise he wasn't joking. Calmly she had reached across, pinched together her thumb and forefinger, and removed the blue dot. ‘There you go, sorted.'
Which had caused Trent to look at her as if she'd just murdered a kitten. ‘You can't do that!'
‘I just did. What's wrong?'
‘You seriously expect me to eat that sandwich now?'
Was he three years old? Was this one of those hidden-camera TV shows? To humour him, Coral said, ‘You don't have to. Here, I'll have that one and you can have mine.'
‘You'd eat a mouldy sandwich?'
‘It isn't a mouldy sandwich. I've taken the mould off. But even if I hadn't, it wouldn't hurt me. It isn't a decomposing rat.'