Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,89

evidence as she did. Emily smiled. At least she’d managed something successfully, even if she had failed at everything else in her life. She was feeling sorry for herself but couldn’t help it. She also felt like a spare part at a wedding, standing on her own. She glanced around, wondering who she could talk to; someone who wouldn’t look at her with suspicion, trying to work out if she was vicious enough to send out the poison pen letters that had been circulating. Apart from Sally and the couples whose lives had been torn apart by the letters, most of the villagers were here. Some were searching for a sense of solidarity, which had been Emily’s aim once it was growing obvious the village community was becoming fractured. Some of them possibly wanted to catch up on the latest gossip. Fran was here, her eyes seeming to be attached to Tom on strings as they followed his every move. She was drinking a lot. Emily noted her going to the bar for the third time since she’d arrived. The woman’s expression was peeved as she all but glared at Tom, who was deep in conversation with the barmaid from the pub. Emily now knew why Fran might be disenchanted with him, and almost felt sorry for her. Unrequited love was painful. She couldn’t imagine a time when the love she still had for Jake despite everything wouldn’t cause her to hurt unbearably.

Could she risk a small glass of wine herself? she wondered, glancing after Fran and meeting Jake’s gaze as she did. He nodded and smiled uncertainly. Emily managed a small smile back, watching as he attempted to extricate himself from his patient, who was now rolling up his trouser leg, clearly about to show Jake his painful bits. Jake’s expression was one of bemusement as he glanced down at the pale limb the man offered him. Emily might have laughed but for the constriction in her throat.

Minutes later, as the band went off for their break, he walked towards her. ‘Hi,’ he said apprehensively.

‘Evening,’ Emily replied, saddened by the obvious awkwardness between them.

‘Okay?’ he asked her softly, his expression concerned as he searched her face. She looked into his blue eyes, the brown and green flecks making them a myriad of ocean colours: light and sparkling when he was happy, darker when he was troubled, as Emily could see he was now. Hidden depths, she thought distractedly.

Nodding, she glanced down. ‘Coping,’ she said. ‘You?’

‘Reasonable,’ he answered, kneading his neck, a sure sign he was stressed. She would have helped him free the knot in it once, just a short time ago. How had they suddenly become strangers, standing here in front of each other on opposite sides of some invisible fence?

‘Is Millie not with you?’ he asked.

Emily shook her head. ‘She’s at Anna’s. I don’t think this is her thing.’

‘As in actually at Anna’s?’ Jake’s eyes were definitely a shade darker. He was finally admitting she wasn’t wrong about that at least then; that they might have cause to be worried about their daughter.

‘I dropped her off there earlier. I’ve given her money for a taxi home,’ Emily assured him. This wasn’t the place to go into family business.

Jake nodded, clearly relieved.

‘Did Ben get off all right?’ she asked, knowing that their son had been reluctant to ask his father for the use of his car. His was off the road, but as she’d had to use her car today to pick up Edward and Joyce and bring them to the village hall, he had realised he didn’t have much choice. He’d had to visibly to steel himself to talk to Jake on the phone. Emily had been immensely relieved that he had, and that Jake had agreed he could take his car. Ben was going to a party. He had a date, he’d told her. Emily’s relief had been immense. She prayed it would lead to something; that Ben might have found himself a girl his own age and would forget all about his crush on Natasha.

‘He did.’ Jake’s mouth curved into a small smile. ‘I’m glad he asked. At least I was able to do one small thing other than mess up his life. Yours too.’

Emily widened her eyes in surprise. Was he finally going to admit that what was happening between them wasn’t all in her mind?

‘DS Regan called this morning,’ Jake went on, his expression wary. ‘They found the email. On the company server.’

She