Chapter 39

“You brought this on yourself, you know. You should have treated her right.”

When he woke the next morning, Will expected the first thing he saw to be the peacefully sleeping face of the woman he loved. But there was an empty space next to him where Amy should have been. For a second, he panicked. Where was she? Had she left in the night? Had she had her moment of happiness and now returned to her abusive husband like an addict returning to drugs?

Or was it all a dream? Had he not attended the reunion at all and never rekindled his relationship with the woman from his past?

Then he caught the scent of cooking bacon wafting up the stairs and relaxed. He got out of bed, took a T-shirt and pair of shorts from his chest of drawers, put them on, and padded downstairs. Amy stood at the hob turning the bacon over, wearing the plain white, heavy cotton shirt that was too big for her. In a second pan, two eggs sizzled and cracked.

“Nice shirt.”

“Well, last time I wore it you did say it looked better on me than on you.”

“And it does.” He sat at the breakfast bar and watched as she lightly buttered four slices of bread and poured some tomato ketchup onto them. Bacon slices and eggs were next to make two delicious looking breakfast sandwiches.

“Thanks,” he said.

She shrugged. “My pleasure. Even if I can’t pay my way, this is the least I can do.” She poured two cups of fresh coffee then sat opposite him and they tucked in.

“What do you want to do today?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Hang around here while you’re at work I guess.”

“I’m not going in today. Or tomorrow.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you think? I want to spend some time with you.”

“But ... Can you do that? At such short notice?”

“Is there any point in being the boss if I can’t?”

“True, I suppose.” She sipped her coffee then said, “So what do you want to do?”

He stood, retrieved his wallet from the sideboard in the lounge and returned with a single piece of plastic. He handed the credit card to Amy.

“What?”

“You didn’t exactly bring a large wardrobe with you from Lizzie’s. I thought we could go shopping and extend it.”

She stared at him and he tried to read her thoughts. Eventually, she said, “This is really, very, very sweet, William, but I can’t.”

“Why not? I’ve told you, I can look after you. I can—”

“I just can’t. I appreciate the gesture, I really, really do. But I can’t. It wouldn’t be right. Besides, I already have a wardrobe.”

“But it’s—”

“At home. My former home, I mean. But it’s still mine. And it’s not just clothes. Jewellery, perfumes. My car.”

“So you want to go and get them?”

She bit her bottom lip, a sure sign she was nervous. “I do and I don’t. Do you see what I mean? Look, William, I’ve been weak, so very, very weak, for so long. I should never have let things get to this point. I should have left him years ago. Lizzie’s been trying to get me to move in with her for ages. And honestly, I don’t think I’d have left him this time if you hadn’t brought me here the other night. You’ve been so strong for me, William. You didn’t have to. You could have said, What the hell am I getting into, and walked away. But you didn’t. You were strong for me when I needed you to be. But now I need to be strong. I need to show him I’m not scared. I need to show him I mean it. That this is my decision, not yours.