Chapter Sixty-Eight

2019

Lizzie

Tiredness came in waves over her. It’d been a long, stressful and emotionally charged day. All she wanted was to eat, shower and sink into her large, soft bed. But Gwen’s opening statement as she entered the reception brought those wishes crashing down.

‘You’ve got a visitor,’ she said with an exaggerated wink.

‘Really? Are you sure it’s for me?’ Lizzie’s voice sounded as exasperated as she felt.

‘Oh, yes. He definitely belongs to you,’ she said brightly. ‘I showed him into the lounge. I’ll bring you some tea.’ She disappeared, leaving Lizzie to plaster a smile on her face before entering the door leading to the lounge.

‘Dom!’

Dom grinned as he bounded up to her, looking like an excited puppy who’d not seen his master for a week. ‘Hey, beautiful. God, I’ve missed you,’ he said, squeezing the life from her and kissing her hard. She was part annoyed he’d turned up unannounced and part relieved he seemed to be okay with her – their last conversation hadn’t been good and had ended abruptly, negatively.

‘I’ve missed you, too. You didn’t mention you were travelling down, though.’

‘I thought I’d surprise you.’ His smile faltered.

He’d certainly managed that. And although Lizzie was really pleased to see him, the timing wasn’t the best, and she was afraid of the real reason behind his shock visit. It wasn’t like him to turn up whilst she was on a job; this must be because of what he’d said. Because of what he’d found out. Lizzie was too tired for this kind of confrontation.

‘Congratulations.’ She forced a smile. ‘You’ve definitely succeeded!’

‘Yeah, well, try not to look too ecstatic.’

Thankfully, Gwen chose this time to bring in a tray of tea. ‘Here you go, my lovelies. Now, I assume you’ll both be wanting some supper?’

Lizzie hesitated a moment too long. Dom jumped in, thanking Gwen and accepting the offer of food.

‘That’s grand. I’ll come back shortly with the options.’

There was an uneasy silence once Gwen had left the room. Lizzie had to break it, before it broke her.

‘So, what did you want to talk to me about?’ Lizzie sat down in the wing-backed armchair, purposely avoiding the sofa.

‘You said you wanted to talk to me. That you had things to tell me but wanted to do it face-to-face, so here I am.’ He cautiously moved towards Lizzie, and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his.

Lizzie’s muscles tensed; her hands felt clammy in his cool ones. ‘It could’ve waited until my return.’

‘But I didn’t know when that would be. And to be honest, I didn’t think it could wait.’ His face took on a worried look. ‘Not after I found this.’ He pulled one hand away, reaching it into his pocket.

Lizzie knew what he’d have in his hand without needing to look. Her pulse skipped. She was going to have to have this conversation now whether it was good timing or not.