Page 20 of Love Walked In
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Leo
I blew on my fingers to warm them up, then shoved them in my pockets again as I waited for Mari outside the Ralston Gallery.
Across the street, the trees in Lincoln’s Inn Fields were bare, its lawns sodden, and the day was so murky it felt like the sun hadn’t bothered to rise.
My anticipation at showing Mari some of my favorite paintings was fading, and my mood was starting to echo the gray and mud.
I checked my watch again. Quarter past ten.
I was used to giving fifteen minutes’ grace to anyone trying to travel in London.
Buses could be caught in traffic, Tube trains could be stopped for no reason, someone walking could be waylaid by a chugger wielding a clipboard for direct debit donations, or a tourist asking for directions.
But the Ralston was only twenty minutes’ walk from the shop. Twenty-five, if Mari was pausing to take in the scenery, which she had every right to.
A few minutes passed, and now she was definitely late.
Was she just being kind, when she said she wanted me to show her around?
Maybe she’d rather be doing this with Graham.
The two of them had their little happy conspiracy now, and some small, Gollum-esque part of me wondered if I’d catch them kissing in a corner before too long.
A few tourists climbed up the steps past me on the way into the gallery. My eyes found the toes of my boots, stark black against the pale gray stone of the Ralston Gallery’s front steps. I shivered as an icy wind blew across the pavements, sending a few crumpled brown leaves skittering.
The thought of Mari and Graham kissing made me kick another leaf across the step.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I yanked it out, but the name on the screen wasn’t the one I’d hoped for. “Since when do you ring me?” I asked Vinay.
“Can’t we ring each other when we have exciting news?”
I rubbed my eyes under my glasses. “Of course we can, I’m such a wanker.”
“No, you’re not,” he said easily. “Are you in the middle of something at the shop?”
I stomped my feet, trying to warm myself up a degree. “Er, no. Not at the shop. I’m at the Ralston Gallery, waiting for Mari.”
“Ooh, you’re spending time with her outside of work? Interesting.” Vinay drew out the last word to be five seconds long.
“It’s not like that,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as him. “We work together. Nothing could ever happen.”
A pause. “Did Alexander ever make any rules about fraternizing?”
I stared blankly at the Fields as the realization hit me.
“No, he didn’t.” I pressed my hand to my forehead.
“And Catriona and Graham were together when they both started working at the shop.” Something that was easy to forget with the way they picked fights with each other now.
“But I’m technically her line manager, too. ”
“Didn’t you say she was a consultant? It’s not like she’s really your direct report.”
“She isn’t, quite. She’s the manager of another shop, she’s just helping us for a little while.”
“Well, then. Don’t make it a problem if it’s not a problem,” Vinay said, sounding just a bit smug.
“But that’s my favorite thing to do,” I grumbled. “Enough about me. What’s your news?”
“Sonali’s pregnant with twins. You’re going to be an uncle.”
My mouth opened and I pumped my fist. “Congratulations, mate,” I said, feeling nothing but joy. “I’m delighted for you. I know you both have wanted this forever.”
“Yeah, the third round of IVF was the charm. It’s just… mad. We’ve been holding on to the news for weeks, not certain if it would take, and it finally has.”
“Wonderful,” I exhaled.
“And given that circumstances are about to change in a big way—” He paused, and I straightened up, heard a discordant note in his voice.
“I’d like to earn another commission, given that we have to buy two sets of baby things, not one.
My boss is still wondering about you and your family, if there’s something that would make you more interested in selling. ”
Now I was glad that Mari was late. If Vinay had tried this a few weeks ago, I might have been a bit more open to it. But Mari and I were on the same page, and she was going to fix things, she was going to help resurrect the shop the way Alexander would have wanted.
Her faith bolstered mine.
“I understand, mate,” I said gently. “But my answer’s still the same.”
Vinay’s sigh resonated. “I thought it might be. Just… if you change your mind, will you let me know?”
I told him I would, and we said our goodbyes.
I sighed as I looked around the empty square, hoping for a hint of chestnut hair.
But Mari hadn’t come. Maybe she wanted to keep our relationship strictly professional, especially now that she and Graham were getting close.
Maybe the hints of something more that I’d felt when we’d talked about books, when I’d soothed her when she was ill, had just been my imagination.
I tapped out a text to her, then shouldered my bag and went inside the gallery, ignoring the way my feet dragged, ignoring the empty space in my chest.