Never Say Never (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 3) (9 page)

He winked at her. “Just wait and see.”

Fifteen or so minutes passed after the train moved away from the station, and as Robin silently watched Uptown Manhattan rush past them, she thought she could guess what Ben was up to. Bronxville was a very charming English-style village located some fifteen miles north of Midtown, and Robin knew Ben wasn’t planning on going there today simply for a guided tour. She sighed, wondering how on earth she was going to get out of it this time.

“You’ve been house-hunting again, haven’t you?” she challenged him.

Ben smiled boyishly. “OK, I admit, I couldn’t resist it. But this one is just perfect, Robin – it’s just half an hour’s train journey from Grand Central, it’s in a really nice area and it’s even got a back garden and a study – a small one, mind you, but –”

“Ben I told you, I don’t want to move. I love the place we’re in now. What is so important about having a house? We don’t need one – we’ve already got a great apartment that anyone would kill for, so why –?”

“Just take a look at it first before you say anything, OK?”

She could sense his irritation but wondered why on earth he kept doing this when he knew how much it annoyed her. “OK.” Robin didn’t have the energy to argue. She would humour him – again – by going through the motions of taking a look at this house, with its lovely garden and its perfect study and all the rest. Then, she would do as she always did and tell him that the apartment they had was perfect, and why would they want to move all the way out here?

Granted the Lower East Side apartment was leased, and she and Ben earned enough to pay a mortgage on a house of their own but …

The object of Ben’s affection was a spacious two-storey house which sat on a corner site with an attractive wooden porch all the way across the front. It had obviously been very well looked after by the previous owner, the two bedrooms were spacious and nicely decorated, and the tiny garden that Ben had been so enthusiastic about was admittedly a welcoming oasis of calm, something that was difficult to find in New York at the best of times.

Despite herself, Robin began to imagine Ben and her sitting out in the garden during the spring and summer, relaxing in the warm evening sun after another tough day in city. For once, she could understand why Ben seemed so anxious to move away from Manhattan, away from the noise, honking horns and hectic lifestyle. Yet the buzz, the constant stream of activity, the traffic, the smells – the fact that the place was so full of life was what Robin had always loved about living in the city.

Still, she thought, looking around the attractive, contemporary and – compared to their apartment – very spacious house, she could actually picture herself living here. The village itself was idyllic – a lovely spot nicely nestled alongside the Bronx river, full of towering lush trees and charming and stately Tudor, Victorian and Colonial houses. It had been a short train journey out, and an even shorter walk from the station. Despite herself, Robin had to admit that this might be one of Ben’s better ideas.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked, although Robin could tell by his expression that he knew she was impressed.

“It’s not bad,” she said, giving nothing away.

“You like it – I knew it.”

“I said it’s not bad.”

“Not bad? Robin, it’s perfect. You saw inside – there’s nothing to be done to it. The studio would be perfect for the work I bring home –” he nudged her, “no more giving out about leaving my drawings all over the place and look,” he indicated out the window, “how could you not want to live in a house with a garden like that?”

She nodded. “I know, but our apartment …”

“You and I both know that we can’t stay there forever. We’re getting older now, Robin, and although we’re not quite geriatrics it would be nice to put down roots somewhere – especially since you’ve made it quite clear that you’re not prepared to do that at home.”

He was right. Goodness knows she had gone on enough about how her life was here now, and that she couldn’t see herself ever wanting to move back to Ireland. Still, buying a house was one thing but buying one with Ben was a different kettle of fish altogether.

She looked at him, her thoughts going a mile a minute. “Look, Ben, I do like the house, it’s just I’m not sure …”

“What aren’t you sure about, Robin? What are you afraid of?”

“I don’t know …”

“Is it me – us? Are you not sure how you feel about us?”

“That’s not it, Ben. You know I love you very much. It’s just – ”

“Just what? Just that you’re still thinking about that idiot, is it?”

“
What
?”

“Are you worried that the same thing will happen again? Because I’m telling you, Robin, that won’t happen. I wouldn’t ever leave you – I wouldn’t hurt you.”

He looked at her, his dark eyes honest and open, and in her heart Robin knew he was right. She did love Ben and she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. The problem was that she had the power to hurt him, and hurt him very much. He might love her now but if he were to –

“Look Robin, we’ve been together a while now, and I do think it’s time we took things to the next level,” Ben said, interrupting her thoughts. “We love one another, we’re committed to one another, and we’re already living together, so why not take the plunge and get a place of our own?”

“I suppose …” She knew it wasn’t fair to keep him hanging on like this and, yes, she did love him as much as … well, as much she could love anyone. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should just make the commitment, get the mortgage and buy a place. Ben had certainly proved that he loved
her
, despite the frustrations and inconvenience that went with her allergy. She knew that there weren’t –
hadn’t
– been many men that could put up with that and all its associated inconvenience.

“OK,” she said, feeling a burst of adrenaline – for once, not from a syringe – but as a result of a natural high. Positive and negative emotions rushed through her all at once, but she tried to concentrate on the positive. “Let’s do it. Let’s get a place of our own – let’s buy this house.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?” he asked, coming forward to give her a hug, a huge grin on his face. “Are you absolutely positive?”

“I’m absolutely positive,” she repeated, before she could change her mind again.

Ben was already tapping numbers into his phone. “I’d better tell the realtor we’ll take it, otherwise a place like this will be snapped up in no time.”

But later on the way back on the train listening to Ben’s excited chatter, Robin couldn’t help having second thoughts about what they had just done. She’d just made a decision to commit herself to this man for a long time – a very long time. And although she loved him dearly, Robin wondered how on earth she was going to tell Ben that buying a house together was the closest thing to full commitment she could ever give him.

Anything beyond that was impossible.

O
livia was late
, unbelievably late. She was on duty at the Animal Centre in little under an hour, she still had to drop Ellie off at her grandmother’s, and it seemed as though the world was conspiring against letting her out of the house. Her daughter wasn’t any help either. She had picked today of all days to be contrary, and was at that very moment standing in the middle of the hallway in a pair of pyjama bottoms.

“Ellie – what are you doing?” Olivia asked.

“Don’t want to go to Grannie’s,” her daughter said sulkily. “Don’t want to go with you – want to stay here on mine own.”

“Honey, you know you can’t stay here on your own without Mommy. Anyway, don’t you want to see Granny? She’ll be very disappointed – she might cry.”

Ellie giggled. “Grannies don’t cry,” she said, and Olivia thought that if Ellie’s humour lifted that easily she might just get away in time. At the best of times, her daughter was as stubborn as a mule and if she didn’t want to go, then she bloody well didn’t want to go. Sometimes she was so like Peter it hurt.

“She would cry,” Olivia continued, “and she’d cry even more if she saw you wearing your pyjamas instead of those nice jeans she bought you, remember? The ones she got you for your birthday with the pink flowers on them?” She crossed her fingers behind her back, and then exhaled a sigh of relief when Ellie turned and started up the stairs – hopefully now willing to change.

Ten minutes later, they were finally ready to leave. But the gods definitely weren’t with her today, Olivia thought, furiously searching for her car keys. Blast and damn it, she said silently to herself as she opened cupboards and drawers, lifted newspapers and magazines, until finally she spied the elusive keys sticking out from under a pile of newly dried washing.

“OK, let’s go,” she said, buttoning Ellie’s jacket and heading outside.

Then, Olivia’s face fell. A Land Rover, probably belonging to someone visiting next door had partly blocked her entrance. In fairness, there was room for her to reverse out, but she would have to be painstakingly careful. Great, more time lost!

She settled Ellie in her car seat and proceeded to inch her way past the other car’s tailgate. It was a bit nerve-wracking though, because she was reversing blind out onto the road and couldn’t see if there was anything else coming. She couldn’t take any chances either with Ellie in the back.

Olivia’s was the last in the row of semi-detached houses on Cherrywood Green, and her gateway was at the corner of the entrance – a corner that cars entering the estate tended to take very quickly. She prayed that at this hour of the morning, things would be that bit quieter.

Beep! Beep!

Olivia jumped. So much for it being quiet, she thought, moving the car forward and craning her neck behind to try and see what was happening. Some drivers just wouldn’t give an inch, would they? And because she couldn’t see a thing over that monstrous Land Rover, she was
never
going to get out of here.

She was just about to release the handbrake and try again when, in her driver’s wing-mirror, she saw someone – a man – who appeared to be waving her on. Well, thank goodness for that, she thought – must be the Land Rover owner. But why the hell didn’t he move the bloody thing?

Soon, thanks to her saviour and much to her relief, she was safely out on the road. She looked across at the man, and was about to wave her thanks and move off, when suddenly surprised recognition dawned – and not just for Olivia. The man, the ‘text man’ as Leah laughingly called him, looked equally surprised to see her.

“Oh! Hello again,” Olivia said, winding down her window as he approached.

“Hello again, yourself,” he said, his dark eyes as warm and lively as she remembered. “You live in Lakeview too?”

Too? Olivia repeated silently. Surely he couldn’t be one of her neighbours? She would have noticed if someone that cute had been living in the vicinity and, if she hadn’t, then Maeve McGrath from down the road certainly would have. Her gossipy sixty-odd- year-old neighbour had some kind of radar for spotting attractive, male neighbours that might be suitable for ‘misfortunate’ and manless Olivia.

He must have just moved in.

“Yes, this is my house, and if it weren’t for that army tank there,” she added wryly, “I’d be out of the driveway and gone in no time.”

“I was on my back from the shop and I saw you struggling, so I said I’d give a hand. I had no idea it was you though,” he said with a grin.

“Thanks, I could have been there for ages.”

“Hey, speaking of struggling – did your friend pass her driving test that time?”

Olivia shook her head ruefully. “No, poor Leah. She had a terrible time that day, so there would have been no celebrations anyway.”

“That’s a pity. But, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve been extra careful with my text messages since. No more making arrangements with complete strangers.”

“Me too.” Olivia blushed slightly at the memory.

“That was mad, wasn’t it?” he said, shaking his head. “Two eejits sitting in a pub waiting for one another and neither of us had a clue.” He laughed. “And your face when I answered the phone – it was an absolute picture!”

“Would you blame me?” Olivia laughed too. “For a second there I thought I had been set up by one of those hidden camera shows or something.”

“Mommy, I want to see Granny!” Ellie wailed. Strapped into her car seat, which she hated, she was getting impatient.

Matt peered into the car, having spotted her for the first time. “Hello,” he said, easily. “What’s your name? Oh, don’t tell me,” he added before Ellie could answer. “I bet it’s something like Barbie, ‘cos you’re very pretty and have lovely blonde hair – just like Barbie.”

Ellie giggled. “I’m not Barbie,” she said, delighted at being described as pretty. “I’m Ellie.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ellie.” Matt reached in to shake her hand and Olivia nearly fell off the seat when Ellie offered her own little hand in return. Not at all used to men other than those in her family, she often viewed them with suspicion. Olivia had had one or two dates since Peter, but none of them had gone any further than just that – a date. Probably because Ellie had caused such a ruckus and behaved like the child from hell when they called beforehand, she thought wryly.

But Matt was obviously well used to, and very comfortable with children, and just then Olivia remembered him mentioning before that he had a young son. Which of course meant that …

“Matt, breakfast!” a woman called faintly from the door of one of the houses across the green and confirmed Olivia’s slightly deflating conclusion that, of course, Matt was married. No wonder Maeve’s radar hadn’t detected him – there was no point. But if he lived across the green, he hadn’t lived there that long otherwise Olivia would definitely have noticed him before now. Obviously one of many new Lakeview ‘blow-ins’, she thought using the locals’ own description for anyone who wasn’t originally from the area.

Matt turned towards his wife and put a hand up in the air as if to signal he was on his way. Then, he turned to Olivia and grimaced. “I’d better go,” he said. “Catherine can be dangerous with a frying pan.”

Olivia smiled at him. “Thanks again for helping us out.”

“No problem.” He stood back as she went to move away. “Nice seeing you again,”

“You too,” Olivia said, moving away from the kerb.

“Bye, Barb– I mean, Ellie!” Matt gave her a little wink and, thrilled, Ellie waved happily at him.

Driving along, and casting a quick glance at Matt’s departing figure in her rear-view mirror, Olivia couldn’t help thinking that it was a very rare man who could put a beaming smile on the faces of both Gallagher women.

A
cross the green
, Catherine stood at the doorway and watched Matt fawning all over that woman. Who the hell was
she
? she wondered, her stomach plummeting as she began to feel an all-too-familiar suspicious niggle. And why on earth was Matt being so friendly towards her?

She couldn’t believe it when she’d looked out the window a few minutes earlier and had seen him leaning casually against some strange woman’s car, chatting and joking as if he’d known her forever. How
did
he know her? He couldn’t have got to know the Lakeview residents already, could he? She knew he loved going to that coffee shop, the Heartbreak Café down town, whereas Catherine wasn’t crazy about it, as everyone seemed way too friendly and interested in your business. Especially that attractive waitress, Nina Hughes.

Was it like in the apartment building in Dublin, where Matt seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone on the same floor – including the brunette who lived down the hall?

No, Catherine didn’t like this at all. She’d thought that moving away from the city and to a nice quiet village like Lakeview would be ideal. Ideal for getting Matt to settle down, and concentrate less on work and more on Adam and family life – concentrate on the important things.

The last thing she needed, she thought – as Matt approached the house – was the love of her life concentrating on smiley neighbours from across the green.