“I didn’t do it alone. Everyone from the dance company contributed. The magicians, Jamie and Sara too... It was everyone.”
“You put it all together, Fleur. None of it would have happened without you.”
Fleur smiled, nestling a little closer to him, their bodie
s swaying to the slow tempo of the music. Rick might not be able to manage the complicated dance steps that he’d seen performed tonight, but Fleur had made it very clear that he was the only one she really wanted to dance with.
“I still feel a bit guilty about Jamie. We couldn’t touch the donations that were given tonight in return for his work, but I had a word with Alex and he offered him an ex gratia payment from clinic funds. Jamie wouldn’t take it, though. I can understand his point of view, but...” Fleur shrugged.
“I can understand it too. And I saw both Pamela and Alex giving his email address to quite a few people. Tonight was a big opportunity for him, and I hope he takes it.”
“I think he will. Sara will make sure of that.”
They lapsed into silence, content just to be together. It was so easy. It felt so right to be with Fleur, and any number of warnings in his head couldn’t keep him from wanting her.
“The bar’s closing soon. You want to take this dance upstairs?” Somewhere that Rick could take it to the only conclusion possible for tonight.
Fleur pulled him down for a kiss. “You lead...”
* * *
Fleur had left her phone switched off while she and Rick spent a lazy morning in bed. When she turned it back on again there was a list of messages and calls to return, and she decided to leave them until after lunch. Then an afternoon walk, around just a few of Boston’s art galleries, claimed her attention. And when they picked Ellie up, she was keen to tell Fleur all about her visit to the Aquarium with her grandparents. The first chance that Fleur had to return some of her messages and texts was in the car on the ferry ride back to the island.
When Rick stopped the car outside her parents’ house, Fleur asked him to come in for a while. Ellie started to tell Fleur’s father all about her visit to Boston, and Fleur led Rick into the kitchen, grateful for the opportunity of speaking to him alone.
“I had a call...”
“Yeah? It sounded like lots of calls.” He grinned.
“This one’s from the director of a theater in New York. He was in Boston with friends, and came along last night. They put on a lot of productions that involve dance and he’d like to talk to me about a job.”
His smile seemed to harden into a rigid counterfeit of itself. “Yeah? That’s great. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is what I wanted.” Fleur looked down at her phone. It felt as if it had betrayed her.
“Hey. What’s the matter?” His finger grazed her jaw.
“I...don’t know if I want to leave now. Maple Island’s starting to feel like home again, and... This is a time for me to take stock, isn’t it? To decide what I really want.”
If Rick asked her to stay, she would stay. She could give this up for him.
He sighed. “Look, Fleur, I won’t pretend that I’m not sorry to see you go. But you always wanted to go back to the theater. You have that chance now. You took what seemed like second best and made it into new possibilities for yourself, and now you have an offer of a new career. You have to go and make a success of it.”
“Like we said? At the clinic?” She’d thought that opinion might have changed now that he wasn’t her doctor anymore. That a lover would think differently.
“What I told you at the clinic wasn’t just part of a treatment plan. It was what I believed.” He reached over, tipping her face toward him. “I told you that when you left you’d run onto that ferry. Don’t let me down now.”
Suddenly, Fleur couldn’t see what Rick wanted anymore. It was as if he’d retreated, and the only way he’d left open to her was forward, away from him.
They’d gone into this relationship on the understanding that it wasn’t for keeps. It wasn’t just about geography, they had different goals in life. Rick and Ellie needed a home. And it was Rick who had helped Fleur to see that she still had things left to achieve. He wasn’t going to let her throw this chance away.
“I’ll call him back, then. Tomorrow...?”
“Yes. Do that.” Rick turned away from her, as if there was no more to be said on the matter. It was almost a relief when he walked out of the kitchen, going back to Ellie to tell her that it was time they went home.
As they stood in the porch, watching Rick and Ellie drive away, her father put his arm around her shoulders. “Okay, honey?”
“Yes.” She would make this work. Rick hadn’t spent all that time and effort teaching her how to do it for nothing. “I’ve got something to tell you and Mom when we get inside. It’s a really exciting opportunity...”