Page 99 of You Were Always the One

Holly’s face is solemn; her dark eyes are luminous. ‘Riggs, I need to ask you something.’

‘Ask anything,’ I say flamboyantly. Holding my breath that it’s what I want to hear.

‘OK.’ She takes a deep breath. ‘Here goes.’ She hesitates, those beautiful eyes blinking into mine. ‘Would you mind if I were to pause us?’

For a moment, I don’t say anything. Then, ‘I can wait,’ I say softly.

She looks troubled. ‘It’s just…’

I place a finger to her lips. ‘You don’t have to explain,’ I say gently.

‘But I do. I need to be with my kids,’ she says. ‘And I think I need to find out who I am – without anyone else.’ Then she kisses me lightly, on the cheek, this time, holding my gaze a moment longer, before she walks away.

I watch her go, feeling my poor long-suffering heart shatter all over again. This isn’t what I want – but a pause isn’t the end, I tell myself. It’s a breathing space. I know also that when broken hearts mend, they grow back stronger – over the last few years, I’ve learned a few things. And in a million years, I would still be waiting for her. You see, that’s the thing about love. Time is irrelevant. Love just is.

And as I said to Holly. I can wait.

TWO YEARS LATER

POSTSCRIPT

HOLLY

So many times, I’ve thought about calling Riggs. But it’s felt important when I’m not with my kids to take some time out to spend alone.

I’m on my way back from a long weekend in Seville – it’s something I do now, when my kids are otherwise occupied or Rita comes to stay. Take solo trips to places I’ve never been before. Of course, I travel with them, too. But I love the sense of freedom that comes from being able to go anywhere I want; of having no one to please but myself.

As I walk through the airport, I see a familiar figure. Then I do a double take. He’s with a woman with long blond hair, a man a little younger than he is. I study them more closely, suddenly incredulous. Surely it can’t be him.

But then he turns and sees me. As he comes towards me, his face lights up. ‘Holls?’ he says.

I smile at him. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’

‘We’ve just come back from Spain,’ he says. ‘Fraser’s first holiday.’ His eyes are filled with love. ‘Emma and Archie went last week. I joined them for the last couple of days.’ He glances towards them, clearly fond of them all. ‘We kind of have this quirky little family thing going on.’

I love the sound of that. And as I know from experience, no families are perfect. ‘That’s so great,’ I say.

Just then, the fair-haired woman comes over. ‘Will you be long? Only Fraser’s getting restless,’ she says.

‘Sure.’ He turns to me. ‘Holls, this is Emma.’

Her eyebrows rise. ‘So you’re Holly. Nice to meet you.’ She glances at Riggs. ‘Rigby? Will you catch us up?’

As she turns and walks away, I turn to Riggs, raising one of my eyebrows. ‘Rigby?’

‘It’s an Emma thing.’ He shakes his head. ‘Apparently Riggs sounds like a colt with an undescended testicle. Or two. I can’t remember.’

Suddenly I’m laughing. Proper, unstoppable belly-laughing, right there in the middle of the airport.

He looks slightly put out. ‘I didn’t think it was that funny.’

‘I promise you, it really is.’ I can’t stop myself laughing again. ‘I read your book,’ I say when my laughter subsides.

‘You did?’ He looks at me uncertainly. ‘What did you think?’

‘I loved it.’ I pause. ‘It’s us, isn’t it? You wrote our story.’

He smiles. ‘I thought we deserved a future – and an explanation. But if I’m honest, it kind of wrote itself.’ He pauses. ‘It’s so nice to see you, Holls.’ There’s so much warmth in his voice. Longing, too. ‘I’ve often wondered how you are.’