‘Thanks, but no thanks.’
‘Because of her?’ Margaret said petulantly.
‘Because I don’t want you. End of story. Now go and say your goodbyes to my mother like a dutiful goddaughter. I’ve told Rosie and Geoff to take their leave too. You may not have noticed, but mother is getting older and a weekend like this shows it up, not that she’d ever admit it.’
‘I’m always around when you grow tired of little Miss Perfect. You only have to pick up the phone and call and I’ll drop everything.’
‘Margaret, you always drop everything when a man calls.’ It was said drily, the double meaning clear, and Cory waited to see how the redhead would respond.
Surprisingly there was a reluctant giggle before Margaret murmured, ‘You’re a wicked man, Nick Morgan, but irresistible. I shall live in hope.’
She couldn’t hear Nick’s reply to this because they were moving away, presumably going into the garden. Cory stood quite still. He didn’t want Margaret, at least she knew that now, but from all that had been said the redhead was his type of woman. Two of a kind, Margaret had said. The kind who didn’t want emotional commitment or monogamy.
Her heart was thumping madly and she put her hand to her breast. But she had known Nick was like that all along, so why did she feel so devastated now? Just because he had let her into his life to some extent, had been tender, understanding, it didn’t mean he had changed his views about anything. He wasn’t a cruel or manipulative man like William had been; of course he would be gentle and sympathetic to the woman he was seeing.
She stood for a few minutes more, knowing she had to get a handle on how she was feeling before she joined the others. Then, when she really couldn’t delay any longer, she lifted her head and marched out into the garden.
‘Hi.’ Nick rose immediately as she walked through the French doors on to the patio. He sent the Jack Russell a warning glance which made the little dog slink away under Catherine’s chair. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you were all right,’ he said, reaching her in three long strides.
She smiled up at him, into the blue, blue eyes that had the power to make her dream impossible dreams and long for what she could never have and hadn’t even known she wanted before she met him. Because with Nick she wanted it all. Commitment, marriage, babies, for ever. But it wasn’t going to be. ‘As you can see, I’m fine,’ she said softly, loving him and knowing she had to leave him.
When she had heard Margaret confirming all her worst fears she knew she had been fooling herself. She wouldn’t be able to continue seeing Nick, sleep with him, stay at his house and he at hers, and then be able to get on with her life when it finished. It would break her. This way it would be crucifying, she knew that, but at least it would end cleanly and without dragging on and turning into something which ultimately would be distasteful to him and shameful for her. She didn’t want him to remember her begging him not to leave her and falling to pieces, and she would if she let this continue.
Rosie and her family took their leave shortly afterwards along with Margaret, the latter kissing Catherine’s cheek, giving Nick a swift but full kiss on the lips before he could object, and smiling a tight, hard little smile at Cory.
Cory didn’t smile back. ‘Goodbye, Margaret,’ she said politely, keeping her gaze steady and cool. After a moment or two Margaret tossed her head, muttering something about it having been nice to have met her, and without further ado left.
Cory glanced around at the remains of the barbecue and the general mess. Then she looked at Nick’s mother. Catherine did look tired. ‘Why don’t I make you a nice cup of tea and then Nick and I will clean up a bit while you put your feet up?’ she suggested quietly.
Catherine protested a little but not too much, which spoke volumes. Once she had fed all the dogs and cats—a major feat in itself as several were on special diets and two of the cats were diabetic—she went into the sitting room with her tea and Cory and Nick got to work.
Once they had loaded the dishwasher with the first lot of dirty dishes and utensils they set about restoring order in the garden. By the time they had cleaned the gas barbecue, sluiced down the tables and one or two of the chairs which were sticky with lemonade spilt by the children and put all the toys in the small outhouse Catherine used for that purpose, the second dishwasher load was purring away.
While Nick washed all the animals’ bowls in the deep stone sink in the utility room and put them away, Cory whipped over the surfaces in the kitchen and tidied up.
‘We make a good team.’ Everything finished, Nick came through to the kitchen and put his arms round her, nuzzling his face into her neck as she stood looking out of the kitchen window into the gathering twilight. A blackbird was singing at the bottom of the garden, and where the barbecue had stood before they’d wheeled it into the outhouse a flock of starlings were squabbling over tasty morsels. Nick was used to Sundays like this, times when all the family joined together and just enjoyed being with each other. Cory felt unbearably sad.
She turned into him, laying her head against his throat for a moment but not saying anything, and his arms tightened around her. They stood together in the quiet of the
old house for some time before Cory stirred, her voice husky as she said, ‘We ought to go and leave your mother in peace.’ It was strange, but in all their passionate times she had never felt so close to him as she had for the last few minutes.
Catherine was dozing as they entered the sitting room, an array of dogs at her feet and a cat snoozing in her lap. ‘Don’t get up,’ Cory said, smiling. ‘We’ll see ourselves out.’ She bent over the back of the sofa and kissed the older woman’s cheek.
‘You’ll come again soon?’ Catherine asked. ‘Just the two of you for dinner so we can get to talk a little. The family en masse always turns into something like a chimpanzees’ tea party.’
Cory kept the smile in place with some effort as the sadness increased. She would have liked to come again and get to know this woman whom she felt instinctively she could have loved. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I’ve so enjoyed today.’ And she had, in a way.
Once they were in the car and on their way to Nick’s house to pick up their things, Nick said warmly, ‘That was nice of you, to suggest we stay and clear up. I appreciate it.’
‘It’s all right.’ A terrible consuming emptiness was filling her. He had said he wanted to talk and she knew what he would say. He wanted to know how she felt about them as a couple, where she saw them going, what she envisaged happening between them in the next weeks and months. And that was fair enough. He had a right to expect some answers from her after all these weeks.
‘Is anything wrong, Cory?’ He flashed her a concerned glance but she didn’t respond for a moment. ‘Cory?’
‘You…you said you wanted to talk about things earlier,’ she said flatly.
‘What? Oh, yes.’ His brow furrowed slightly. ‘But it doesn’t have to be today. We’re later leaving Mum’s than I expected and we’ve got the drive back to London. We can talk tomorrow.’
‘I’d rather it be tonight.’