The Burnout(77)

“It’s never too late,” puts in Finn, and I look at him appreciatively. I don’t know why Adrian and Hayley have got under my skin so much, but I want to help them. Or at least try.

“It’s never too late,” I say robustly, echoing Finn, and Adrian shoots me a resentful glance.

“Are you a pair of bloody counselors?”

“No.” Finn meets my eyes, looking amused. “Very much not.”

At that moment, Hayley’s figure comes into my line of sight. She’s walking down the beach, wearing a navy anorak, about twenty meters away. I lift a hand, wondering what she makes of the sight of Finn and me talking to her husband. Then I glance at Adrian—and that familiar, grumpy attitude has already come over him.

“Are you telling me you’d rather Hayley leaves you than confess one embarrassing misunderstanding?” I say, a bit impatiently. “Really?”

“She won’t leave me,” says Adrian, as though this idea is ludicrous.

“But in the lobby she said, ‘We don’t know if we’re still a couple,’ ” I point out.

“She says stuff like that.” Adrian brushes it off. “She just likes having a go. Wanted a mini-break, needed to find a reason. I’ll get her a present. She’ll calm down.”

Oh my God. Is he dense or in denial or both? For a few moments I agonize about breaking Hayley’s confidence. But then, did she say, This is in strict confidence? No. She didn’t know anything about me and she was blabbing her whole life story.

“Adrian,” I say gently, “she’s phoning her friends for numbers of divorce lawyers.”

The effect on Adrian is staggering. He goes pale. He looks at Finn then back to me. His prickly air has disappeared.

“Divorce lawyers?” he stammers at last.

“Look,” says Finn. “For what it’s worth, here’s my advice. You fix this right now. You go over there.” He points at Hayley, who is now standing at the water’s edge, some distance from us. “You say, ‘I’m so sorry I never did the shelves. I didn’t understand what you meant, and I was too embarrassed to admit it. My bad. I want to make this work. I care about you so much.’ ”

“So deeply,” I suggest.

“Yes.” Finn nods. “Better. Deeply. I’ll go to counseling if you like, but …” He pauses to think. “Now could we walk along the waves while I tell you why I fell in love with you in the first place?”

I stare at Finn, transfixed. His voice is ringing through my soul. I want him to say more. I want him to speak like that to me. I want to pull him down onto the sand and watch the sun dipping below the horizon while he talks to me like that forever.

“You have to be bloody joking.” Adrian’s mutinous voice pulls me out of my reverie. “I’m not saying that.”

“Why not?” Finn retorts.

“Exactly!” I force myself to join in the conversation. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Practice it,” instructs Finn.

“You’re a pair of nutters,” says Adrian—but after a moment, he takes a deep breath. “Sorry I never did the shelves,” he mutters, looking at Hayley’s distant figure. “I didn’t understand what you meant, and I was too embarrassed to admit it.” He pauses, and I see something shift in his face. “My bad. I want to make this work. I care about you so much.” Again he pauses, for longer this time. There’s a kind of agitation in his face. A silent maelstrom. He swallows hard a few times, his eyes locked on Hayley’s unwitting back. “Can we walk along the beach?” he continues, his voice suddenly husky. “Can I tell you why I love you? Because I always have. Since we were eighteen years old and you crashed my bloody car in Morrison’s car park. Ever since then—” He breaks off, breathing hard, and I glance at Finn, my eyes hot.

“Go,” says Finn. “Go.”

Without pausing, Adrian heads across the sand to Hayley, his shoulders set and determined. I watch, breathless, as she turns her head, her body language wretched and defensive. I see her face jolt as he starts speaking. Her eyes widen. Then I turn away, because they should have privacy right now. All my fingers are crossed. Maybe that’ll help things along.

Finn has turned away too, and we begin walking back to the hotel.

“As it turns out, I think he loves her,” says Finn after a few steps.

“Yup.” I nod. “I think he does.”

“You were right,” adds Finn thoughtfully. “You saw it before I did. I just saw fighting, but you picked up on their love.” He smiles at me, his voice warm. “You saw love.”

Stop saying “love” out loud, I tell him silently and furiously. Stop saying “love.” Because every time I hear you say it, I melt, and I mustn’t melt.

“So, what now?” Finn continues in the same warm voice, and just for one stupid, mad moment, I think he’s talking about us.

Oh God, I’ve lost all sense of reality. I need to get my head straight.

“Actually,” I say, “I need to make some calls. So I’ll head back to my room.”

“Oh, OK.” Finn nods. “Well, I’ll catch you later.”

“Sure!” I try to sound casual. “See you then.” I shoot him my best effort at an easy-breezy smile, then quickly turn my steps toward the hotel, almost stumbling in my hurry.