That was true. While I wasn’t entirely comfortable here, the stone walls that were present in the kitchen and here in the library were a lovely mix of greys, browns, and taupe that had clearly stood the test of time.

She sat back with her cup of tea and blew on it, eyeing me.

“What?” I asked, stirring two sugars into my own cup.

“Why were you really so desperate to leave?”

“I already told you; I wasn’t.” I squeezed the teabag against the side of the cup to get the last of the tea out of it, then set it on the saucer on the tray where Gabriella had put hers.

“Miles, you tried to float your Jeep through a miniature lake. Ducks would get lost out there.”

“That’s a slight exaggeration, don’t you think?”

“The floating or the miniature lake thing?”

“Both.”

She shrugged. “It looked fairly accurate from where I was winching your car out in torrential rain.”

Right at that moment, a series of huge bangs rattled the windows, making us both jump.

“It’s hail,” I said. “I guess it’s getting worse.”

“Mm. Things usually do before they get better,” she replied with a pessimistic sigh. “Is it bad that I forgot about the wind and rain because I’m now so used to it?”

“No. If we had power, I’d have probably forgotten about the storm all together.” Mostly. There was no other reason I’d be sitting here, after all. “I hope it doesn’t last much longer.”

“Hm. It will.” She peered into her teacup. “You really don’t want to be here, do you?”

I sighed and set my cup down with a clink. “Gabriella…”

“No, it’s fine. It’s none of my business. Forget I mentioned it.” She put down her tea and undid her plait, letting her damp, wavy hair fall about her shoulders. Her dark hair was thick, and as it settled into place, it formed a protective curtain on the side of her face. She reached for her book, flipping it over so she could continue reading, with her hair obstructing my view of her face.

I watched her for a moment. When she didn’t look back at me, it hit me.

I’d hurt her feelings.

Shit.

I didn’t want to do that. I wasn’t a monster.

“My grandfather lives in the village,” I said quietly after a moment. “He’s one of the reasons I moved here. I was struggling to save enough money to buy a place close enough to work where it wouldn’t take me three hours of driving to get there.”

Honestly, London prices were no joke. It was a miracle I’d saved any money at all, and the only reason I had was because of a house share.

“Property here was a lot cheaper. Grandpa needs a hip replacement, so he helped me get set up with some of his savings. And the old sofa from his garage that’s seen far too many days.”

She tilted her head towards me, and I swore I saw her lips twitch.