She bit her lip when he turned away from her, the tears she’d resisted earlier threatening to spill over now.
But a sound at the door distracted her. She took a step back automatically, felt Aaron approach, placing himself between her and the door. Seconds later, a red-faced man was standing in front of them.
‘Aaron and Rosa Spencer?’
‘Yes,’ Aaron answered.
‘Sergeant Downing.’ He showed them his badge. ‘Liana Spencer—your mother?—called to say that there might be some trouble here. Was she right?’
Rosa heard the hesitation in the man’s voice and for the first time realised how it must look to him. Aaron was wearing a wrinkled shirt and jeans, barefoot, and she wore only his shirt. It looked less like the captive situation he’d thought he’d be stepping into and more like an invasion of privacy.
‘She was right,’ Aaron replied. Cool. Collected. Always. Though he’d stepped in front of her, blocking her from the sergeant’s view. ‘The door was locked. We couldn’t get out.’
‘Not locked.’ Rosa peered from behind Aaron to see the sergeant lift his hand to his chin. ‘It was jammed and I had to use some force, but it opened.’
‘So...no one locked us in?’ Rosa asked softly. Aaron stiffened in front of her.
‘No, ma’am.’
‘And the electricity?’ Aaron asked.
‘We’re working on it.’ Sergeant Downing frowned. ‘Your mother told us she was worried about you and to check. She told me about the spare key she left with the security company down the street.’ He paused. ‘The only reason I knew to check up here—’ his face went red ‘—was because I...er...heard voices.’
Rosa could only imagine what those voices must have sounded like to an outsider.
‘Thank you, Sergeant.’
Aaron didn’t move from where he stood, didn’t offer the hand she knew he would have if he wasn’t still protecting her. Her heart swelled, though she wasn’t sure how. She was certain it had broken.
‘We couldn’t contact you, and with the storm... We thought we’d be stuck here all weekend.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Sergeant Downing replied. ‘Well, then, the rain’s calmed somewhat, but it’s still pretty bad out there so I should be off. There’s bound to be another emergency somewhere. A missing dog or something.’ He winked at them and only then did Rosa noticed the shimmer of raindrops on his coat. ‘You two try to stay out of trouble for the next twenty-four hours.’
‘Twenty-four?’ Rosa spoke again, almost without noticing that she had. ‘Will the storm be continuing until tomorrow?’
‘That’s the expectation, though you know what the weather’s like on this side of the world.’ He paused. ‘I know this is probably a much better place to ride out this weather—and since I’m a police officer I’m supposed to tell you that you should stay inside until it gets better outside—but this weekend is our annual heritage celebration.’
‘In winter?’
‘Yeah,’ Sergeant Downing said with an indulgent smile. ‘We don’t get many visitors this time of year, and our founders rocked up here on the fifteenth of this month, so we celebrate. It’s nothing major—just some food, some wine, some music inside city hall—but we’d love to have you.’
‘We won’t—’
‘Thank you so much, Sergeant Downing,’ Rosa spoke over Aaron. Again, she felt him stiffen. ‘We appreciate the invitation. And your assistance.’
‘It’s fine. And, while I’m here, I’ll write down my number in case things get rough again.’ He took out a notepad and pen and wrote quickly before handing Aaron the paper. ‘Things should be up and running again in a few hours at best—by the end of the day at worst—so you should be able to call. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the city.’
He nodded at them and a few moments later they were alone.
‘I’d better go down and make sure he locks up,’ Aaron said.
‘Do you want to go?’ she asked instead of replying.
‘Do I want to go to the heritage celebration?’ he asked, and then shook his head. ‘I can think of better things to do.’
‘Like spend your time here, alone with me?’
His expression grew stony. ‘You’re more than welcome to go.’
‘How?’
‘Take my car.’
She lifted her brows. ‘So you really won’t go with me?’
‘Rosa, I’ve told you where I stand. You’re on the side that doesn’t allow me to go with you.’
He left the room before she could reply.
* * *
She wasn’t on the top floor when Aaron returned. Which was fine, he told himself, because he was tired of whatever was happening between them.
He wondered if his mother had given any thought to the havoc her plan would wreak. Liana hadn’t known why Rosa had left him—he certainly hadn’t, so she didn’t find out from him, at least. Though now that he knew she’d been in contact with Rosa, perhaps his wife had told Liana why she’d left...
He dismissed it almost instantly. His mother would have told him if she’d known what had happened. It would have been an opportunity to tell him where he’d gone wrong, and she’d never be able to resist that.
He couldn’t describe his relationship with his mother. Liana had kept him at a distance for most of his life. And then she’d got sick and things had changed between them. Probably because he’d been determined to change things between them, and he acknowledged that he’d bridged the gap more than she ever had.
But watching her suffer the way she had... His stomach turned just thinking of it. It had been enough to ignore the fact that she hadn’t wanted the reconciliation as much as he had. It had been enough to move his life to Cape Town until she got better.
Maybe it was time to face the truth—that his mother still didn’t want the relationship he’d tried to forge with her. Perhaps, this weekend, she’d wanted him to face the fact that the end of his marriage had been his fault. Or perhaps she’d been trying to fix it. Which, if that was true, would have been ironic since he’d been cleaning up her mistakes his entire life.
I’m not your mother, Aaron. You don’t have to take responsibility for me. Or for something that you didn’t cause.
He sat down heavily on the couch, clutching the glass of rum he’d poured for himself, Rosa’s words echoing in his head. Maybe he was conflating the two issues. Rosa and his mother were nothing alike. And Rosa was right. She had a mind of her own. And she’d never expected him to clean up after her. She’d always taken responsibility for what she’d done, even if what she’d done had been spur-of-the-moment.
‘Aaron?’
When he looked up Rosa was hovering in the doorway, wearing fitted jeans and his shirt, which she’d paired with ankle boots. ‘Where’d you get the clothes?’
‘I found some things I left behind the last time we were here.’ She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Was she remembering how different things had been the last time they were there? ‘The shoes are your mother’s.’
‘No top?’
Her cheeks turned pink. ‘No.’
He frowned at her reaction, but didn’t ask her about it.
‘I’m going to go into town. Are you—’ She broke off, cleared her throat. ‘You’re sure you don’t want to come along?’ He shook his head. ‘Okay. Right. Fine.’ She paused. ‘Well, I’ll try to find somewhere else to stay then.’ Her gaze met his. ‘Since there’s a line in the sand now.’ She stepped back and then nodded. ‘Take care of yourself, Aaron. I’ll make sure your car gets back to you in one piece.’
And then she was gone. Seconds later he heard the garage door opening and then closing again. He didn’t move. Just kept wondering if this really would be the last time he’d see his wife.
If it was, it would be his fault. He’d been the one who’d
drawn a line in the sand. Who’d given them sides to stand on. He was the one who’d told her that she needed to decide between saving or ending their marriage.
Really, it had been selfish. Because he’d hoped that his ultimatum would force her into letting him in. She had—a little. She’d told him about her mother’s illness, how she’d thought she was becoming like her mother when she’d found that lump.
But it was so obvious that she wasn’t like her mother.
Why hadn’t she believed him?
And what had she meant when she’d said she shouldn’t be in a relationship with anyone?
Clearly, she’d been right when she’d told him he didn’t get it. He didn’t. He didn’t understand how she could claim that marrying him had and hadn’t been a mistake. He didn’t know how she could say she didn’t blame him and yet not want to be with him.
It was hopelessly messy. He hated it. Hated how much it reflected the messiness of his mother’s life.
With a sigh, he went downstairs to try to find the suitcase he’d brought with him when he’d thought he’d be staying at the house for the weekend. He found it in the room he and Rosa had shared when they’d been there last. He ignored the memories that threatened and was on his way to the shower so he could change when he glanced into the closet Rosa had used the last time they’d been there.
She was right. There were extra clothes of hers there. Including three or four long-sleeved tops, any of which she could have worn out that night.
So why had she worn his shirt?
CHAPTER TEN
ROSA PULLED IN to the city hall’s car park with a sigh of relief. Sergeant Downing hadn’t been joking when he’d said it was still pretty bad outside. She’d driven forty the entire way, praying that she wouldn’t bump into anything since the visibility was so bad.
Which was probably for the best. She didn’t want to be reminded of all the things she and Aaron had done together on the island in happier times.
Things hadn’t ended particularly well between them now, but she hoped that he’d realise her leaving hadn’t been his fault. Though she didn’t think that was the case. She’d botched the explanation. Partly because she couldn’t say that she was a hypochondriac. Not out loud. She could barely think it. The other part was because she didn’t think he’d respond well to her saying she’d done it for his own good.
So, really, she’d given him all that she could.
Her fingers shook as she unbuttoned Aaron’s shirt. It was pathetic, lying to him about why she was wearing it. Especially since he could so easily figure out that it was a lie. But she didn’t care.
The shirt would remind her of the last day they’d spent together. Even if it wasn’t exactly his, she could still smell him on it. Remnants of sleeping together the previous night, which proved that he’d held her while they’d slept.
She pulled it off, held it to her chest for a moment, and then folded it neatly and set it on the passenger seat. Then she pulled at the long-sleeved top she’d put on under Aaron’s shirt and hurried into the hall, her handbag the only protection she had against the rain.
She worried she’d made a mistake when she walked in and saw only unfamiliar faces, though that feeling in itself was familiar. It had accompanied all of her spur-of-the-moment decisions. And when Sergeant Downing had told her about this event, right after she and Aaron had had such an immense argument, it had seemed like the perfect escape.
And since that was what she did—ran, escaped—she’d come.
She shook the water off her clutch and then walked further into the room as though she belonged.
‘Ms Spencer?’
She whirled around, felt a genuine smile on her lips when she saw Sergeant Downing. ‘I hope you meant it when you invited me.’
‘Of course,’ he replied with a smile. He was handsome, she noticed for the first time. He had short curls on his head, dimples on either side of his mouth that became more pronounced when he smiled. If she hadn’t been so entirely enthralled by her husband, she might have been interested.
‘This place is pretty big for such a small town.’
‘Yeah.’ He stuffed his hands into his pockets, looked around. ‘It’s meant to hold the entire town. We’re about six thousand, so it has to be pretty big.’
‘It’s lovely,’ she said, taking in the hall.
It was decorated informally, with stands throughout the room that held food and other goodies. A makeshift bar stood against the wall on one side. There was an elevated platform on the other side, where children chased each other and screamed, and parents soothed and chatted in groups.
The windows were high—almost at the roof—and were spattered with rain, though they provided enough light for the room that the fairy lights that had been haphazardly draped throughout weren’t entirely necessary.
‘You have generators here?’
‘Yep.’ He lifted his shoulders. ‘City hall is also the designated safe venue for disasters.’ He gave her a chagrined smile. ‘Small town.’
‘Oh, no, I love it. Apart, you know, from the fact that I was locked in a room with my husband for a day because we couldn’t make any calls.’
He laughed. ‘Speaking of your husband...’
‘He’s not coming,’ she said, her body stiffening. ‘He’s tired, and me being out the house is giving him the chance to...rest.’
He studied her but only nodded. ‘Shall we get something to drink?’
Relieved, she said, ‘Sure.’
She followed him to the bar but, when she saw that there was a hot drinks stand right next to it, pivoted and ordered a hot chocolate instead of the alcohol she’d first wanted. Sergeant Downing seemed well-liked by the town—certainly well known, though in a town of six thousand that was expected—and when he began to introduce her as ‘Ms Spencer’ she automatically corrected him.
‘It’s Rosa,’ she said while she took the hand of the elderly woman who’d handed her the drink.
‘That’s a lovely name,’ the elderly woman—Doreen—said.
‘Thank you. I was actually named after my mom’s favourite flower. It’s a tradition in our family. For the daughters, at least.’
‘How lovely.’ Doreen beamed. ‘It’s almost like our Charles over here.’
Rosa glanced over just in time to see Sergeant Downing wince. She cocked an eyebrow. ‘Charles?’
‘He was named after his mother’s favourite royal,’ Doreen offered enthusiastically.
Both her eyebrows rose.
‘My mother’s always been unique,’ Sergeant Downing told her grimly. ‘Thanks for that, Doreen.’
‘It’s a pleasure.’
Rosa laughed. ‘Thanks for the hot chocolate, Charles.’
‘Charlie,’ he replied with a smile. ‘You’re welcome.’
The whole encounter made some of the sadness that inevitably came when she spoke about her mother ease. Which was strange, considering that she barely spoke about her mother outside of her family. Hell, she barely spoke about her mother in her family.
Her father and brothers’ lives had pretty much gone on as usual after her mother had died. They lived in Mossel Bay, a small town on the Garden Route in the Western Cape. She’d grown up there, and had then gone to Cape Town when she’d started college. And then, when she’d dropped out, she’d started working for a commercial chain as an intern, before working up to a junior and then senior designer, with help from Liana’s connections.
She’d only gone home a couple of times since she’d left for college. The first to pick her mother up and take her to Cape Town so that she could help take care of her as she went through her treatment. Her father and brothers would visit once a month, sometimes twice, which was hopelessly too few times, and yet every time she’d told them that they’d told her they had their own lives to live.
And so
that had been that. Even after her mother had died, and Rosa had gone home to pack up her mother’s things, it had been Aaron who had been by her side, helping her through it all.
Her brothers hadn’t been interested. Her older brother had just started his own business and was more interested in Aaron’s legal advice than their mother’s belongings. And her younger brother had just got married to someone Rosa had only met once, and he’d been no help whatsoever.
And as for her father... Well, he’d been living a life separate from his wife for a long time by then. Now, of course, he was living with the title of ‘widower’ and enjoying the attention.
No, Rosa thought again. She hadn’t been able to talk about her mother in the longest time. She hadn’t wanted to bring it up with Aaron because... Well, because she hadn’t wanted to remind him of how terrible their experience with cancer had been.
It had been long after his mother had gone into remission and her mother had passed away that Aaron had relaxed. She’d only then realised how negatively he’d been affected by it all. He’d finally started eating properly. He’d smiled more. He wouldn’t toss and turn as much at night.
She hadn’t wanted him to slip back into the person he’d been before. Hadn’t wanted that for herself either. So she’d left. Protected him from going back. And felt herself revert as she did. She’d been foolish to believe it was possible for her to do otherwise when her life was still shadowed by what she’d gone through with her mother.
‘Rosa?’
She blinked and then offered a smile to Charlie when she saw his questioning look. ‘Sorry. It’s been a rough morning. What did I miss?’
He gave her a sympathetic look. ‘I don’t think I’m going to be making your day any easier, I’m afraid.’ He hesitated. ‘Your husband managed to get hold of me just now. He says he has your phone, and asked whether I could pick it up for you.’
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