10

Day 21

Monday March 5

Nigel sat in his office at work. His lectures were being covered for the rest of the semester. His ribs were strapped up, two fingers of his left hand strapped together and his face was more than a little sore. He just prayed the bruising would go down before the wedding. That was if Chloe still wanted to marry him.

She’d sent a text the day after he was beaten to say that Caleb had been picked up by the police, but she hadn’t mentioned him since. It had been almost a week, and although they texted each other two or three times a day, her texts hadn’t mentioned the upcoming wedding once. Or whether Caleb had been responsible.

Nigel reached for his phone, and tapped out another text to her. She’d get it when class finished. He hit send and glanced up as his boss, Toby, tapped on the door. “Come on in, Toby.”

“Are you sure you should be here? You still look like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

“I’m going stir crazy at home. And at least this way I’m catching up with my paperwork. And I’m right handed so writing isn’t a problem. Besides, I look a whole lot better than the people we normally get in here.” He leaned back in his chair. “Are you in a good mood?”

“Why? What have you done?”

“I know it’s short notice, but I’m going to need Easter off. Well, from the day before Palm Sunday. I’m getting married.”

“You dark horse. You kept that quiet.” Toby sat on the edge of the desk. “What’s her name?”

Nigel turned the photo on his desk around. “Chloe.”

“She looks familiar.” Toby clicked his fingers. “The ballerina. She’s really good. I have a DVD of her performing in Swan Lake at home. It’ll be on the Internet probably.”

“I’ll check it out.”

“OK. Now go home. I’ll approve your leave for two weeks honeymoon, but you take the rest of the week as sick leave.”

Not going to argue, Nigel rang James to pick him up. Archie had driven his car home, but as there was no way he could drive one handed, he was reliant on James to take him everywhere.

Once home, he sat with the laptop and searched for Chloe Wilkes and Swan Lake. He found the whole performance and settled back to watch it. He was mesmerized by the way she moved and danced. She literally became the swan. She didn’t just perform, she put her heart and soul into it and he had to wipe tears from his eyes on more than one occasion.

His phone rang. Annoyance ran through him as he paused the film. “Hello.”

“Is this a bad time to call?” Chloe’s voice jarred through him. “I got your text and thought I’d call rather than type out a really, long, involved reply.”

He softened his tone. “No. I was just watching you on the computer. I found Swan Lake on the Internet.”

She chuckled. “You must be sick.”

“In the head,” he agreed. “This bloke you’re dancing with. Is he…?”

“My ex? Yeah.”

“You shouldn’t have given up because of him. You’re really good.”

“I’m happy teaching. Actually, that’s why I’m ringing. I found someone to take over here. She started today and I leave on Friday. She might even buy it from me if she enjoys it.”

“That’s good.” Nigel stared at the frozen image on the computer. Chloe stood en pointe, her arms extended above her head.

“Can I come and see you on Saturday?”

His heart leapt. She wanted to come and see him. More than that, she’d found someone to take over her school. “Sure. That would be good.”

“I’ll need you to pick me up from the station. My car’s gone in for repairs. I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

“I can do that. Stay for the weekend. Archie wants to meet you anyway.”

“OK. Well, my train gets in at ten-thirty. I’ll see you then. And no doubt I’ll text you before then as well. It’s just I need to talk to you properly and the phone isn’t the way to do it.” She paused. “Gotta go. See you soon.”

The phone went dead and Nigel sighed, his joy deflating. She sounded off. Was she changing her mind?

The problem was part of him had begun to care for her. This was turning into more than a simple business arrangement. His phone beeped and he picked it up.

Don’t stress too much over me coming up. No flags needed, or red carpet. I just want to make sure you’re all right for myself as well as have a proper conversation.