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“She did. All things considered, I wish she’d turned me down. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. She never loved me the way I loved her.”

Kitty turned away to look out of her window. And her fingers stilled in Wendy’s fur. “So, what happened?”

“I missed her launch party. I got called out to an emergency when nobody else was available. I sent her a message to let her know, but I didn’t hear back.”

“Was she angry?” Kitty asked.

Josh loosened his aching fingers from the steering wheel, stretching out their knuckles. “Not exactly angry. More vindictive or opportunistic. I guess with the cash in the bank, she felt at liberty to go home with someone else. I’m sure I don’t need to fill in the details.”

Kitty’s head swung around to look at Josh, her brows knitted together.

“Because you missed one night?”

“It was more than that. I think the reality of being married to a workaholic had well and truly sunk in by then. I wasn’t much fun to be with, and Tabitha wanted to have fun.”

Josh breathed out. It was done. He’d told the story that he’d only confessed to two other people. His sister and Jonty. But opening up the wound hadn’t hurt so much this time.

“She used you,” Kitty said. “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry, Josh.”

“I was, too,” he said. “I never found out who it was. Nobody seemed to know, and Tab certainly wouldn’t tell me. Still won’t. Anyway, we split. She skipped town and launched a successful fashion label. End of a very long story.” Josh ended his words with a smile. An attempt to get Kitty to drop the subject. To see he was okay and move on.

“But you still talk?” she persisted.

“She’s one of my oldest friends. Ultimately, I still love her in that way.”

“And Patricia?”

Josh gave a wry smile. “Still heavily invested. She wanted hearts and roses and a comfortable life in the countryside for her daughter. She views any woman who comes within ten metres of me as a threat to her dream of a reunion. You happened to fall foul of that today.”

“That’s ridiculous,” scoffed Kitty.

There was a deep furrow in her brow, and her hand was now knotted into Wendy’s fur. Josh had hoped that giving her the whole story would clear the air. Lighten the atmosphere. Her face didn’t look at all lightened.

“It is, and I didn't mean to tell you everything, but you did ask for the long story.”

Kitty’s frown lifted. “Don’t worry, I’ll send you a bill for my time.” The second she’d spoken the words, her mouth dropped open, and she turned to face him, eyes wide. “I am so sorry. That was terrible of me. I have a habit of reverting to humour at the worst times.

Josh’s chest lurched.Great. He’d dumped his sorry story onher,adding a big dollop of misery, and she was the one apologising. He took his hand off the steering wheel and moved it down to cover hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“It’s fine. I know how ridiculous it all sounds.”

Kitty’s body froze, the tension in her fingers like steel against his skin. Silence ballooned between them, and Josh held his breath. What the fuck had he done that for? He’d squeezed her hand like a kindly uncle comforting a child. Now she reallywouldthink he was pathetic.

Kitty looked down at his hand lying on hers, and Josh removed it, bunching it into a fist at his thigh. Kitty’s shoulders dropped, and she looked out the bug-splattered windscreen. “On the bright side. At least you escaped Patricia’s clutches. She’d be the mother-in-law from hell.”

Josh chuckled, grateful for the light relief. “Oh, she’s still trying.”

He looked over at Kitty. She wasn’t tugging at the door lock, trying to get out of the car. She didn’t look panicked, and she wasn’t quietly texting an SOS to Julia. Perhaps he’d gotten away with his clumsy attempt at touching her.

Apart from the game of Twister, when he’d tickled her, he hadn’t been brave enough. He’d wanted to touch her, to feel her skin against his fingertips from the minute she’d smiled at him at the pub. And he’d thought about it, alone at night, a lot.

Josh slowed down as he came to the turning for the next appointment. With a grimace, he pulled into the gate and drove up the driveway.

32

JOSH

After treatinga sick alpaca and getting peed on for his troubles, Josh headed back to the truck. Kitty had elected to stay with Wendy under the shade of a large oak tree. She’d bailed after he told her alpacas spat. She joked she’d had enough excitement for one day. Still, Josh worried his confessions about Tabitha had put a downer on her mood, and he couldn’t shake the sick feeling in his stomach.