“I highly doubt that.”
“Give me a chance. It's the best bet you're ever going to make.”
“My gambling days are over, let me tell you that.”
“With me, you will definitely win.”
“You're ridiculous,” she said. The atmosphere in the car for the rest of the ride was easy and light. I was almost sad when we entered the village that it was over, and we were going to go our separate ways. When we finally came out to the estate, I parked the car outside the house.
“So, what do you reckon? Are you inviting me inside?”
“I am not, and you're not staying here.”
“None of my convincing worked?”
She sighed. “If I was the only one in the situation, if my feelings were the only things I had to consider, then maybe I would be letting you in, but that's not the case. I have to think about Riley. I can't have him getting used to someone, even beginning to love them and then having them walk out of our lives again. Don't forget that he just lost his dad.”
I had also lost a parent as a child, albeit older than Riley was now. My father never brought any women into his life though after my mother passed away, and that was probably for my sake. I couldn’t help feeling slightly impatient though. What was the worst that could happen? It felt like a soft rejection, her using her son to keep her distance. The child needed time since he was probably grieving but who needed more time? Was it him or was it actually her?
“I understand that,” I said, swallowing that little bit of resentment. Eddy didn’t deserve it. I was here because I wanted to be, and I couldn’t rush her into accepting that when she was on a different timeline. “I don't expect to be introduced to your son so soon. I want us to date.”
“Date? Do you even know how to date?”
“I might be out of practice, but I know I can. Are you turning me down?”
“No, but you live in London. Wait, you don’t even live there, you live in New York. You want to date long distance?”
“Who lives in London? New York? Never even been there. I live in the beautiful countryside village of Belshire.”
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, you don't live here, so where do you live?”
“There's got to be a hotel or something close by. I'm sure I saw an inn.”
“So, you're going to stay here so that the two of us can date?”
“That is exactly what I'm going to do. We can see each other every day, or just as often as you feel like seeing me. You have complete control over everything. We can take it as slow as you want.”
“Anything you find here in Belshire is going to be well below the five-star accommodation you're used to. I'm sure there are no stars that exist in Belshire in fact.”
“All I need is a bed and a working toilet.”
“I don't believe you,” she said.
“Believe me, babe. I'm deadly serious. Meet me tomorrow for lunch at the tavern.”
She shook her head giggling. “In advance, I am so sorry for what you're about to face.”
And what was that? What could possibly go wrong? I had spent the night in her abandoned caretaker's cottage and survived that. I'd put myself through much worse for her. The cottage wasn't even half bad, just a little dusty. When the time came that she finally let me move in, we could tear it down and build a new one. Or we could just renovate the current; whatever she wanted. Whatever it took to make sure the estate stopped looking derelict and depressing. It must have been depressing just living there. Russell’s ghost probably banged on the walls at night.
“I can handle it.”
“Sure. Sure. Let's see how long you last.” She got out of the car.
“I'm going to last as long as it takes.”
“If you say so,” she called.
“Wait, Eddy.” I came out of the car and dug in my back pocket for an envelope. She took it looking at me quizzically.