* * *
When she woke she was warm under the quilt that she usually kept folded at the end of her bed and the curtains were closed, sunlight filtering through the cracks on each side of the window. She stretched, rubbing her eyes to focus on the clock on the mantelpiece, and saw a note on the coffee table beside her. Not bothering to get up and open the curtains, she reached for it.
I took your phone.
Yes, she remembered that. She wondered where he’d taken it.
My builder called and I’ve gone to my place for half an hour. If you wake up before I get back I strongly suggest you go back to sleep immediately.
The loop of the ‘J’ at the bottom of the note curled around in what might be a kiss or might just be a flourish. Chloe’s fingers flew to her lips as they started to burn with the memory of his.
She sat up, smoothing her crumpled T-shirt. Maybe she could forget all about the kiss and just pretend it hadn’t happened. She imagined that Jon probably wanted to. A shower and a change of clothes seemed like a good start to make.
She was walking back down the stairs when the front door opened. Jon was back, and suddenly she was wide awake.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Much better, thanks.’ Seeing him again made her body react immediately and her cheeks started to burn.
He was either pretending not to notice how embarrassed she was or he was blind. ‘You’ve only just woken up?’
‘About fifteen minutes ago. Jon...’ She was trembling, hanging onto the bannister, hardly trusting herself to walk down the remaining stairs towards him. His gaze met hers, and in the warmth of his gentle blue eyes it was suddenly possible to say the words.
‘We’re okay, aren’t we?’
He smiled. ‘I’d very much like us to be.’
‘Me too.’ Suddenly everything moved into sharp focus. She didn’t want to lose the friendship they had. Not for the dream of something they couldn’t have.
She walked downstairs, slipping past him and into the sitting room, opening the curtains and folding the quilt that had covered her. When he appeared at the door, she gave him a bright smile.
‘Everything all right at your house?’
‘Fine. They just wanted to make sure they had lights positioned right in the bathroom and along the hall. Hannah called.’
Chloe caught her breath, dropping the quilt onto the sofa. ‘While I was asleep?’
‘Yes, I was on my way back here. I managed to pull over in time to answer it.’
‘What did she say?’ She searched Jon’s face for some clue as to whether this was good news or bad, but there was nothing. It was probably just news, because one call wasn’t going to solve everything.
‘She told me that I should make you stop looking for her. I asked her how she thought I was going to be able to make you do anything you didn’t want to, and she loosened up a bit.’
‘Thanks.’ Chloe imagined that Jon’s warm, easygoing tone was the best way to approach Hannah at the moment. He’d probably done a lot better than she could have.
‘I told her that you loved her, and that the two of you should talk. That you had no expectations and you were willing to listen to whatever she said.’
‘Thank you. That?
?s good.’ Very good. Chloe was willing to listen but she might not have thought to say it. A thought struck her. ‘So how did you leave it? Is she calling back?’
‘No. I’m not having you staring at the phone, waiting for her to call. I told her you’d call her.’
Chloe wouldn’t have dared be so assertive with Hannah. ‘When?’
‘Half past five. That gives you half an hour...’ Chloe grabbed her phone from his hand and he caught her wrist before she could call.
‘No, Chloe. Not like that. Take your time, get your thoughts together and call her in half an hour. You need to do this on your own terms, as well as Hannah’s.’