‘I guess.’ He took a deep breath. ‘It’s weird, being back. And it must be so hard for you—imagining Dad’s going to walk in any second now.’
‘I’ve had time to get used to it. Which isn’t a criticism,’ Rosie said. ‘And I know your dad used to give you a hard time.’
‘I let him down by not following in his footsteps.’
‘You would have let me down if you’d done that,’ Rosie said. ‘You needed to live your own life, not relive your dad’s for him. And actually he was really proud of you. I know he probably never told you, but I used to hear him talking about you to his friends. “My son, the scientist. He’s going to change the world.”’
‘Seriously?’ Brad couldn’t quite square this with his memories. All the criticisms, all the witticisms, all the little digs.
‘Seriously. But telling you himself would have meant admitting he was wrong, and your dad didn’t do that.’ Rosie raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were heading the same way, but I’m glad you’re not. I hear you’ve seen Abby.’
The grapevine hadn’t taken long to get the news to her, he thought. ‘And had a fight with her—and bought her flowers to apologise,’ he said ruefully.
‘But you’re going to have a truce for Ruby’s wedding?’
‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Nothing and nobody is going to spoil my twin’s special day.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Ruby said, walking into the hall from the kitchen. ‘Welcome home. It’s good to see you here instead of having to trudge all the way to London.’
‘You mean the place where you get free accommodation and dinner, and plenty of time to spend at exhibitions,’ Brad retorted. ‘Not to mention theatre tickets.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ But her smile was slightly wobbly.
‘I was never going to let you down,’ Brad said. ‘And I’ve been to the church. I’ve been to see Dad. I put flowers on his grave.’
‘That’s a lot of ghosts to face in one day,’ Rosie said softly. ‘I think you need some lunch.’
‘The bread’s home-made,’ Ruby said. ‘Though I guess we should have got you a fatted calf.’
‘Except you would have made friends with it, called it “Fluffy” even if it was a fully-grown bad-tempered bull, and it would have had a regular supply of best bovine treats,’ Brad said with a grin.
Ruby punched his arm. ‘Not only do you look like Dad, you sound like him. He would’ve been so pleased.’
‘I’m not sure whether that’s a compliment or not,’ Brad said. ‘And I wasn’t the one who kept trying to tempt you away from being a vegetarian by cooking bacon sandwiches every single day.’
‘Just as well, or we would’ve had to call the fire brigade,’ Ruby said.
And this time, when he smiled, it didn’t feel forced.
‘So you and Abby—you’re OK?’ Ruby asked.
‘We’re OK. Really.’
‘Only I heard—’
‘They’re fine,’ Rosie said, and hugged her daughter. ‘Come on, lunch. It’s good to have both my babies home.’ At the look on their faces, she laughed. ‘You might be twenty-seven, but I can assure you that you’re still my babies. You always will be.’
‘It’s good to be home,’ Brad said. And this time he really meant it.
CHAPTER FOUR
CREAM ROSES.
Brad had bought her cream roses.
Had he remembered that had been her wedding bouquet, Abigail wondered, a posy of half a dozen cream roses they’d bought last-minute at the local florist? Or had he just decided that roses were the best flowers to make an apology and those were the first ones he’d seen?
She raked a shaking hand through her hair. It might not have been the best idea to agree to have dinner with Brad tonight.
Then again, he’d said he wanted a truce for Ruby’s sake, and they needed to talk.
But seeing him again had stirred up all kinds of emotions she’d thought she’d buried a long time ago. She’d told herself that she was over her ex and could move on. The problem was, Bradley Powell was still the most attractive man she’d ever met—those dark, dark eyes; the dark hair that she knew curled outrageously when it was wet; that sense of brooding about him. She’d never felt that same spark with anyone else she’d dated. She knew she hadn’t been fair to the few men who’d asked her out; she really shouldn’t have compared them to her first love, because how could they ever match up to him?