Page 50 of The Perfect Blend
Zach’s brow furrowed as he tried to connect the question to Selene’s problem.
“It was in a bunch of debt when I got it, still is,” he said, and I watched Selene’s face carefully, it seemed to give nothing away.
“But,” Zach continued, “the debt is consolidated together and refinanced with better conditions now - it's completely under control. Even if I did nothing to the farm, I can easily cover the interest on the loan in other ways. What’s the problem, Sel?”
“Who owns the debt?” Selene asked, a look I couldn’t quite pinpoint shining in her eyes.
“Mybank.Selene, did they hold the farm over you? Is that why you’ve been so-”
Selene interrupted him with a soft hand on his arm. The look she gave Zach held so much I didn’t understand, so much unpacked emotion that I felt I was intruding on the moment.
“If it’s the bank, it’s fine,” she gave a relieved half laugh. “Oh thank gosh. It’s fine.” She said the last more to herself than anyone else. Zach gave her a look that said he wasn’t done on this topic, but he would let it rest for now.
“So there’s no problem?”
Selene shook her head, the shiny auburn curls bouncing. “No, it’s completely secure.”
“Great!” I said, trying to pull the conversation out of such emotionally charged waters. “So we can go ahead with the project! If that’s something you still want, Zach?” I asked, trying to not wear my heart on my sleeve.
“Absolutely it is, couldn’t do it without you, Robin,” he said, with a wink that sent a small jolt right through my hastily mended once slightly broken heart.
I smiled shyly, before remembering we still had one loose end. I cleared my throat.
“There’s just, ah, the one point of Zoe and my cousin, and now my aunt and uncle and whoever else Sharon’s been gossiping to, thinking you’re an adulterous bastard..”
The actually-not-adulterous man in question groaned. “You’re right. I’m not sure what story to spin to set this straight. What do you think, Sel, any ideas?”
Selene looked like a woman who had been through a lot of emotions in the past fifteen minutes, her eyes looking beyond me to the problems only she could see.
“You know,” she said, in a light voice, “I think you can tell them the truth.”
Zach and I must have been a comedic sight of joint shock because she burst into laughter at our expressions.
“If the farm’s safe, I’m done hiding. I’m not the twenty two year old girl I was when they threatened me, the one with no money, about to start her first job, living in a shared house in London with no clue how to raise a baby. If they want a custody fight they can have one, and theywon’t win.” She looked at Zach. “I’m not keeping Sophia from her Uncle, and I’m not hiding her away down in London anymore. I’m done. If they don’t like it, they’re just going to have to learn to cope.”
A broad beam lit up Zach’s face and he jumped up, dragging Selene up with him and into a bear hug.
“That’s fantastic, Sel. Bloody fantastic! You and Sophia belong up here the same as me.”
I smiled and took a sip of tea, feeling slightly awkward but it was also so nice to witness such a happy resolution. Selene pulled away from Zach, her countenance seemingly ten times lighter than when we had started the conversation. “I’ll go see Sophia and tell her we can come back up whenever. She’ll be over the moon.” As she passed, she gave me a cheeky smile and a wink that filled my cheeks with a slight blush. I’d conveniently forgotten that at the heart of this whole misunderstanding was the romantic relationship between me and Zach. Without the buffering presence of Selene, the air between us seemed thick with things as yet unsaid.
“So…” started Zach.
“So,” I replied, and we shared an awkward laugh.
“This has been a bit of a mess,” said Zach.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, “I shouldn’t have jumped to such conclusions and definitely should have just spoken to you-”
“Robin,” interrupted Zach, “please. I think we can agree mistakes were made on both sides. I don’t want something like this to happen again. I want to work with you, Robin, I want to put together this project, and I want us to make it a great success. For that to work, we’ve got to build up trust and good communication.”
I nodded, elated at the thought of the next stage of our project, while at the same time my thoughts were on making us work romantically, not professionally. “As all good business partners should have,” I responded.
“As all goodpartnersshould have,” he parried, and he stretched out his hand across the table to take mine. I met his eyes and felt the world pause.
“I don’t want to put one part of my life on hold, I don’t want just your business brains and your professional skills, I want you. I want your humour and your kindness, your beauty and your kisses, your cleverness and your compassion. I think we could have something great, Robin, and I want to try and build that with you.”
I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face, and I squeezed his hand. “That sounds like a dream, Zachary Spencer. I want all of you, too.” His answering smile picked up my heart and spun it around, and I tried to take a mental image, to hold onto forever.
