“Okay.”
Carmen made herself a coffee and returned to her desk. She hadn’t totally lied to Monica; she was tired. Exhausted, actually. But at least Annabella had been dealt with and wouldn’t be heard from again. And Carmen had decided to stick to the plan and change the business around. It would be far too easy to use work as an excuse to escape from what had happened with Ash, but Carmen knew her tiredness today wasn’t just about the argument—break-up?—with Ash. The last fifteen years had been one hell of a ride, and she did need to slow down a tad now.
Her phone pinged with a text message. Her hopes rose that it was Ash but dimmed when she saw it was Felicity.
Fancy a drink around 5? Short notice, I know, but I’m in the area for a dress fitting this afternoon x
She hadn’t told Felicity about the evening before. While a part of her had wondered if getting it all off her chest with her best friend would help, she had simply been too tired when she’d finally returned home from the pub.
After packing up her desk just before five, she said her goodbyes to her rather surprised team and headed out. The bar Felicity suggested was only a five-minute walk from the office, which she was grateful for. She found her friend at a table near the window.
“Hello, darling.” Felicity stood to greet her and held out her arms for their usual quick hug and cheek kissing.
To Carmen’s horror, she found herself clinging to Felicity, fighting back tears.
“Carmen? What’s happened? Are you okay?” Felicity eased back a little and looked at her. “My God, you look dreadful!”
“Thanks.” Carmen chuckled, but it lacked mirth. “I feel it.”
“Sit down.” Felicity pulled out Carmen’s chair and poured her a glass of wine from the bottle sitting in a cooler on the table. “Are you ill? Did something else awful happen?”
“The latter.” Carmen sipped from her wine and composed herself before launching into the tale.
Once Carmen sank back in her chair, words exhausted, Felicity said, “I…I don’t quite know what to say. You definitely said all the right things.” She shook her head. “Imagine getting so stuck on one idea that you let it rule you all these years later. I mean, just because one woman did that to her. And don’t get me wrong, I do sympathise with her; that must have been painful. But really.”
“I know. That’s the most frustrating thing about it. She’s so level-headed about so many other things, so calm and understanding, yet this one thing she can’t seem to leave behind.”
“Will you contact her?”
“No.” Carmen toyed with her glass. “As much as she means to me already, I won’t run the risk of being put in that same situation again. She needs to work this through for herself and come to me when she has.”
“What…” Felicity cleared her throat. “What if she doesn’t?”
Carmen stared at her. It was an awful thought. If Ash couldn’t work past this and gave up on them… “I would be devastated,” she whispered. “She makes me so happy in so many ways, and I know we could only have more if she would give us a chance. If she can’t…” She swallowed. “Then I suppose I have to respect her decision, as much as it would hurt me.”
“Well, I think she would be an utter fool if she did walk away.”
Carmen couldn’t disagree. In only a few weeks, she and Ash had shared so much. Why would Ash want to throw that all away?
Ash’s head still ached from a lack of sleep when she opened the studio at eleven on Saturday morning. The clanging of the shutters as they rolled up made her wince.
Coffee helped. A little. Thank God her first booked appointment wasn’t until half past noon, and for the first time ever she prayed there’d be no walk-ins until then. When the door opened only ten minutes later, her heart sank, and it sank even further when she saw who’d stepped into the studio.
Felicity.
Oh, great.
“Good morning.” Felicity spoke politely, but her posture was rigid, and the tightness around her mouth made Ash nervous.
“Hey.” Ash’s voice croaked, and she cleared her throat.
Felicity closed the door behind her and stepped further into the room. “Can we talk?”
Ash rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m kind of not really in the mood, so—”
“Excellent, I’ll start.” Felicity pinned her with a fierce look. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Felicity—”
“I can honestly say I’ve never seen Carmen so upset. She won’t thank me for being here, but I care too much for her to let you do this to her.” Felicity stalked closer. “Don’t you realise what you’re losing if you let your insecurity, however justified you feel it is, end things between you? Carmen is the most loyal, the most honest, and the most caring woman I’ve ever known. My God, her friendship has been everything to me these past twenty years or so, and I cannot imagine a better person to have by my side.”
Ash folded her arms across her chest. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand all too well. You got scared; that much was obvious from the story Carmen told me last night.” She tilted her head. “Fear is sometimes a good thing. It protects us, keeps us wary when we should be. But trust me on this, with Carmen you do not need to fear. Not in the slightest.”
“This is very hard for me,” Ash said after a moment. “I know you want to stick up for Carmen, and that’s great. I’m genuinely happy she has you in her corner. But you don’t seem prepared to take my feelings into account.” She stared at the woman before her. “You’ve known Carmen over twenty years. Good for you. I’ve known her only a few months and—”
“And
