Page 135 of Tears of Gold

A gentle squeeze on my elbow makes me turn. “You ready to head home, sunshine? I’ve got a car waiting.”

I smile into the blues and then squeeze Dylan’s shoulder. “You’ve got this, Dylan.”

“Hmph.”

I link my fingers in Eli’s but then lean down to Dylan’s ear. “I could never see the images either. It just means we see things our own way.”

“Ready?” Eli’s eyes are bright.

“Take me home, co-star.”

Eli taps on the glass and asks the driver to pull over on Old Brompton Road.

“Why are we stopping here?”

“Figured we could pick up some groceries.”

I shrug. Sure, whatever. I mean this morning I thought he was going to work as a lawyer, but instead we’ve spent the day in front of TV camera crews together. I think anything goes right now.

We pop into M&S and buy some Tapas bits and salad. “You’ve been very quiet,” he says as I investigate the bag of salad for any dodgy leaves. From out of the corner of my eyes I can see two women about my age staring at us. It’s something I’ve always been used to. My ink is a magnet for inquisitive stares. This is different though. They are looking at me because they know who I am. My exposure from H.U.G. has been wide, and the promo for the TV show has been building momentum, especially as the show has been a backer for the charity.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me what you were doing.”

His face falls.

“Eli, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you were there; it was unexpectedly perfect.”

“Let’s pay for the shopping and walk and talk.”

Walk and talk. Isn’t that what he said all those months ago when he turned up at my small little apartment with Danish’s in a bag and the perfect cup of coffee?

We walk hand in hand but neither of us speaks, people rush by us as we meander along, but if anyone is looking at us, I don’t bother to notice.

“So, artist, hey?” I can’t bear the silence any longer.

He shrugs but that dimple lifts his cheek. “Better than lawyer, although technically I’m still practising.”

“Why are you still practising?” I cast him a look from under my lashes, trying to read his emotions.

“Just in case we need it,” he clips. What he means is if I need it when it comes to putting Aiden away. I let it go. He wants to protect me, it’s an inbuilt need within him. Sometimes it could be seen as a flaw, but I have to see it as something that won’t change.

“You asked me a question ages ago.” He leads us through the cast iron gates of the small park area wedged between the Georgian townhouses and guides me towards a wooden park bench.

“I’ve asked many questions.”

“That you have. Once though you asked me who I was. Which Eli was standing in front of you.”

I nod. “The you of the Faircloughs, the man in the suit; or the you of your heart, the man in sliders with the soul of an artist.”

His fingers link with mine, his thumb pushing at my engagement ring, twisting it across my skin. “I’ve never known. All my life and I’ve never really known. I’ve always wanted to protect everyone. Tabitha, Peter. I guess you, too.” His blues stare straight into my soul. “But I never knew who I was. When Peter died,” he tails off a little and swallows hard. I squeeze his fingers tight. “When Peter had the damn cheek to leave me with the awful mess that is our family, I panicked. I didn’t want to be heir. I didn’t want to be the front of a family who hides behind a façade while living with secrets and lies.”

“But you are still heir, Eli. And now you have put yourself on television as an artist. Do you even know who you are?”

For a moment his face is solemn, the shadows chasing in his eyes make my heart ache. “No. No I don’t. But I know you.” I start to shake my head, but he reaches his hand and cups it around my cheek. “Faith, you don’t understand. You’ve changed all of us. You breezed into our lives one sunny afternoon and swept us all up. After Pete died, I refused to do all his engagements, refused to bow down to what I was told to do. Yet that week we were apart, you stepped right up. You fought harder than I ever have. It made me realise that I’ve been walking around all these years with a chip on my shoulder, pissed off I couldn’t be who I wanted. But really I didn’t even know who that was.”

“Who do you want to be?”

A smile grows on his face, beautiful and everything I’ve been in love with all these months. “I want to be your husband. I trust you to know you will lead all of us in the right direction. With you by my side then the Faircloughs won’t have to live behind a façade. We can be anything we want to be.”