“He left an hour ago,” she replied, the line crackling. “He wants to talk to you. He’s completely gutted, Sophie.”
I closed my eyes. “Please don’t tell me you gave him our address.”
“All right. I won’t.”
“Cam!” I dropped my forehead to my knees. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you clearly have feelings for each other,” she replied. “And I want you two to talk things through.”
“I can’t even deal with that right now.” My voice was weak. “Are you not mad at me?”
“Well, I’m not exactly thrilled with the situation,” she admitted after a moment. “But I’m not mad, Soph. With all things considered, you were in a really tight spot, and I do have to shoulder some of the responsibility. I didn’t check in as often as I should have, and it was my job to confirm that the message had gotten across. If I’d done that, this could have perhaps been avoided, and I’m sorry for that. I should have done better.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not entirely our faults, either. I likely would have had to deal with the same obstacles as you, given that I didn’t get the message about the cake. Not quite to the same extent, of course, but it would have been tough enough.”
I swallowed and nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “I bet Anna was furious with me.”
“She wasn’t too pleased with Nancy, either. She actually went to bed shortly after you left because she had a migraine, and Hugo suspended Nancy without pay, pending investigation for misconduct. Something like that.”
“Hugo did?”
“Yes. His dad said it was his call. Then this morning Anna was in a more agreeable mood, and she’s looking over everything right now. I don’t see how she can employ her still, to be honest.”
“I’m sure she’ll find a reason to,” I mumbled. “I’m not answering the door when Hugo gets here.”
“Yes, you are. You have to talk to him.”
“If I’d ignored him to begin with, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Well, sleeping with a client’s son is something I’d avoid, personally,” Camilla said with a teasing note to her voice. “It can get a little bit messy.”
I groaned, rolling over and lying on my side in the foetal position instead. “I’m sorry. I’ve really screwed things up for you.”
“No, you haven’t. Anna has already said there’ll be no repercussions from it, and in fact, she’s going to recommend my company. Apparently, if you can do such a thorough job with absolutely no experience, I must be phenomenal.”
“Wow. That’s the nicest thing she’s ever said about me.”
“She is rather prickly, isn’t she?”
“Careful. She’ll hear you.”
“She’s in the library going over everything. Don’t worry about it.”
I made a little noise.
“Look, it’ll be fine. At least hear Hugo out. There’s clearly something between the two of you, so you owe it to yourself if nothing else. And, Soph, if you really do feel strongly about him, you owe it to him, too.”
She was right.
I knew she was. I had to listen to what he had to say. Everything that had happened, had happened so quickly. I’d always intended to leave, and because of that, we’d never really discussed what would happen when I did.
A terrible oversight, really.
I’d assumed we would discuss it when the time came, but it hadn’t worked out that way. I’d done things backwards, and if he was driving all the way up here, I couldn’t turn him away.
I just didn’t know what I’d do when I saw him, either.