‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Well, it’s the bloody truth! If you don’t believe me there’s nothing more to be said and we may as well end our relationship here and now!’ Jane snapped.

Nick was taken aback. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘Well, you have. If you want this relationship to work, we need to trust each other.’

‘I know. I’ve been a complete and utter idiot.’

‘Yes, you have, by jumping to the wrong conclusions. If I’d told you about Father Floridia, then I suppose none of this would have happened. I wondered why you were being so off with me on the phone.’

‘My head was all over the place. To be honest, seeing you with another man was like a flashback to some really bad memories which made me panic and overreact.’

‘What were they?’ Jane asked, knowing it was to do with his wife.

‘I’m divorced. I was married for two weeks then my wife ran off with my best man. I’d never suspected for one minute she’d been having an affair with him. At the time I felt so humiliated, I became depressed and didn’t go out socially for a long time.’

‘That’s awful. Why on earth did she go through with the wedding?’

‘She said she was confused and didn’t know what to do. She thought she still loved me but realised, after the wedding, she didn’t. The truth is, Brenda didn’t give a toss about me before or after the wedding. What also hurt was a friend of mine suspected the affair but didn’t have the guts to tell me. I know if I’d been in his position, I would have said something.’

‘I’m so sorry, Nick . . . you didn’t deserve to be treated like that.’

‘I shouldn’t have doubted you, Jane. Stupidly, I thought the priest must be your boyfriend. I even wondered if you were using me to find out more about the building site and convent. Can we put this behind us and move on . . . or would you rather I just left?’

Jane knew she ought to be honest, but couldn’t bring herself to tell Nick she had initially considered going out with him to learn more about his father. ‘I understand now why you reacted like you did. If I’d been in your shoes, I’d probably have felt the same.’ She reached out, took hold of his hand, and drew him closer. ‘I want to move on in our relationship, Nick Durham. So you can leave . . . but not until the morning.’

Chapter Twenty-Six

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

When Jane woke, Nick wasn’t there. She was anxious, until she saw the note he’d left on the pillow.