Wish You Were Here – Part 4

Robin felt an unpleasant tingling in her toes, and the butterflies in her tummy started flapping frantically. ‘OK,’ she said slowly. ‘He’s given you a concrete figure?’

Will nodded. ‘And it’s … ridiculous, the amount he’s willing to pay.’

‘So you’re going to take it?’ It came out as a whisper.

Will closed his eyes, ran his hands over Darcy’s ears. ‘No. I mean, not yet. I haven’t finished sorting out Tabitha’s things, and I’ve told Tim that I won’t even consider it until that’s done. I’m not accepting his offer of help, either. It’s something I need to do alone, for my aunt’s sake. But he took me to his office and showed me the plans – he’s already done a lot of the groundwork. He’s a very confident guy.’ She heard the bitterness in his voice at these last words, her shoulders sagging at the inevitability of it all.

‘So once you’re done, you’re going to sell?’

He stared at the sea for so long, she thought he hadn’t heard. When he turned towards her, his eyes were on fire, as if they’d absorbed the sun’s heat. ‘I don’t know,’ he murmured. His gaze held hers and then travelled down to her lips, to her hands resting in her lap, then back up. ‘I haven’t been here long, and I – I’m not sure if I can make this my home. Some of it’s been so hard, so challenging, and some of it …’ His brows lowered in a flicker of a frown. ‘Some of it has felt too good to be true.’

‘It doesn’t have to be,’ she said quietly. ‘It can be your reality. Life is good here.’

‘I’m not talking about this,’ he said, indicating the shimmering water.

Robin held her breath, but Will didn’t elaborate. She could sense his conflict, knew that he was holding back, despite the charge between them, so overwhelming she could hardly think straight. She clasped her hands on her knees, and tried her best to sound nonchalant. ‘You don’t have your own home now, since moving out of Downe Hall, do you?’