Page 88 of Romantic Hero
He clomps his way to the door and pauses halfway, crouching down to grab one of Mrs Casablancas’ cushions from the sofa. ‘Look what you’ve done to me, Gertie,’ he mutters irritably. ‘I can no longer sleep without the comfort of a fluffy pillow. And that’s on you.’
As he leaves the room, the sound of his heavy boots thumping up the stairs towards the rooftop, Aled and I stare after him wide-eyed.
‘Wow. That was …’
‘Definitely something,’ Aled says, looking even more awkward now that River has left the room and he is alone with just me, wearing nothing but my bed linen. ‘Blimey.’
‘I’m sorry about that.’ I grimace. ‘There is … quite a lot going on right now. River and I—’
‘Had a disagreement. He told me.’
‘He told you?’
‘He told me lots of things, but only some of them made sense. I’m afraid he really did not react well to the Guinness and Aftershocks. Anyway!’ He slaps his hands decidedly against his thighs. ‘Frida will be wondering where I am. I should bob off back home before she gets worried.’ Standing up from the sofa, he brushes down his brown cord trousers and grabs my crutches from the opposite end of the room, slotting them up against the bookshelf next to the bed. ‘I expect these will make getting to the bathroom a little easier.’
‘Thank you,’ I sigh, giving him a grateful smile. ‘Do you think I should try to go up there?’ I point to the ceiling. ‘Make sure he’s okay?’
‘You know, I’d let him cool off.’ Aled glances upwards. ‘In fact, I’d bet he’s already zonked out.’
‘Yeah, you’re probably right. River is …’ I trail off, not able to find the right word to explain exactly what River is.
‘River is just a cowboy in love,’ Aled finishes, an indulgent expression on his face. ‘Big bruiser like that. It’s quite something to see.’
‘A cowboy in love?’ I blurt back, confused. ‘In love withwho?’
Aled eyes me like I’m the one who just revealed my middle name is Maverick. ‘Well, you, Gertie. You daft duck.’
I blink rapidly, a nervous little laugh popping out against my will. ‘What? When? Why … why would you say something like that? Did he … he didn’t say something did he?What?’
Aled shakes his head. ‘He doesn’t have to. I just spent two hours drinking with the man. The evidence is all there.’ Aled does a little bow of adieu. ‘Anyway. I hope to see you very soon at the library. Perhaps you could do an author event sometime?’
‘Yeah, definitely,’ I say vaguely, waving a goodbye as Aled exits, my entire brain now full of only four words.
A cowboy in love.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Gertie. I hope you don’t mind, but lovely Jim gave me your number. It felt important to let you know that I was fully under the impression that you and Henry were over. I never would have become involved if I’d known that wasn’t the case. I’m so sorry you were hurt that way. That must have felt so shitty. And I’m especially sorry because in the brief time we hung out in Little Crumpet a part of me hoped that we might become friends. Probably not now, I expect?
For the record, I have ended things with Henry. I suspect he is not an entirely good egg. He told me I was high maintenance. He meant it as an insult but to be honest I took it as a compliment. Don’t you think life is too short to accept anything less than what feels exactly right for you? Damn right I’m high maintenance.
Anyhow. You don’t need to hear all this.
On the off-chance that you may want to catch up sometime, this is my number. I’m in Mayfair. You’re in Bloomsbury, right? Practically neighbours.
Be well,
Marisol. X
Text undelivered
The next morning I wake early, sliding my glasses on to find River, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a white western shirt, sitting very still on the sofa, staring at me intensely.
‘Argh!’ I say. ‘It’s giving psycho. Why are you so still?’
‘I think I’m experiencing my first ever hangover,’ River says, face pale and sickly looking. ‘I never felt like this with whisky.’ He looks down at his hands, fiddles with his nails. ‘I … Look, I’m sorry for making an ass of myself.’
I shake my head. ‘I’msorry for not telling you about Cassidy. I thought – still think – it was the right thing to do. This is such an impossible situation.’
