Page 13

A moment later, she was walking outside the pub towards the river, unsure why the temperature had suddenly got so hot.

13

Bourton didn’t really have an unattractive season. Whether the scenery was the medley of oranges and browns of the trees in the late-summer months, or the lush array of wildflowers that appeared during spring. Even dark, rainy days had their allure about them. But as Holly sat on one of the benches, staring out at the water, the scene felt peculiarly dreary.

‘Here you are. I wondered where you got to.’

The voice caused Holly’s pulse to spike, though she tried her best to hide it as she fixed a smile on her face.

‘I guess congratulations are in order,’ she said. ‘Marriage? Wow, it’s a big step.’

Giles grinned. ‘You’re telling me. I’m not sure I ever thought this day would come. May I?’

He gestured to the bench, at which point Holly nodded once and shifted herself to the side so there was room for him to sit.

Silence swirled between them. Holly was used to silences with Giles. They could sit for hours next to one another, sometimes reading books, sometimes watching films, sometimes just driving in the car together with one of them gazing out of the window. But this felt different. This felt like a silence when nobody knew what to say.

‘So…’

‘I want…’

They both spoke simultaneously.

‘Sorry,’ Giles said, ‘you go.’

‘No, you…’

‘No, honestly…’

Holly took a deep breath in. Now that she had been interrupted, she couldn’t actually remember what it was she was going to say. There must have been something she had wanted to tell him, but the words had already escaped her.

‘I was just going to say it’s a lovely ring,’ she said finally. ‘Really beautiful.’

That definitely hadn’t been what she’d intended on saying before, but it seemed like as good a comment as any. Though rather than reacting with a standard, ‘thank you’, as she expected, Giles looked at his lap.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

‘Sorry?’

‘I didn’t think about the engagement and you. How it would affect you.’

‘Affect me?’ Holly said. ‘You getting engaged doesn’t affect me, Giles.’

He clasped his hands together, pressing his thumbs into his palms as he spoke.

‘I mean the engagement itself. You know, because Evan didn’t get to give you his ring and there you are seeing me get down on one knee when that never actually happened for you. I’m sorry, I should’ve thought how painful that must’ve been. I just got caught up in my own thoughts. Typical Giles, I suppose.’ A smile crossed his lips, only to disappear just as quickly as it formed. ‘I get it. I get why you needed to go to the bar. Why you needed to come out for some air. I’m sorry I put you in that position.’

Was that why Holly was feeling so put out? Because she had seen Giles propose to Sienna in a manner she would never experience? A manner that had been snatched from her without warning? Maybe that was it. Maybe that explained the hollowness in her stomach.

‘It’s okay,’ Holly said. ‘Really, I think it’s lovely that you wanted to get us all involved in the day. That made it really special.’

‘Thank you. Even if you don’t mean it. Thank you for pretending for me.’ This time, his smile lasted a fraction longer before once again it faded and a second silence settled. Their gazes drifted out into the water.

‘Do you remember when you pushed me in there?’ Giles said with a gruff chuckle. ‘After you found out what I was doing.’

‘Feels like a lifetime ago,’ Holly replied.

‘Feels like a different life.’