Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts by Talli Roland

Author:Talli Roland [Roland, Talli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Short Stories & Anthologies, Short Stories, Romance, Contemporary, Holidays, Romantic Comedy, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), Contemporary Fiction, Single Authors
Amazon: B006LLBWFE
Publisher: Notting Hill Press
Published: 2011-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

‘Everything looks great,’ I said to Heath the next evening, taking in the long-stemmed glasses and bottles of champagne chilling on white-draped tables. Despite the season, the only sign of Christmas was a few sprigs of mistletoe and holly I’d managed to smuggle in. It wasn’t festive, but the museum was definitely ready to face the public.

Dressed in a dark suit with an expensive-looking silk tie, Heath looked pretty great, too, although I managed to keep that thought to myself. We’d spent all day checking and double-checking the exhibits, liaising with the caterers, and making sure everything tonight went according to plan – and we’d barely spoken, besides the obligatory business exchanges. I longed to claw off the mask and uncover the Heath I’d seen behind it, but he was keeping me firmly at arm’s length. Not that I could blame him.

Now, it was almost seven o’clock, and I’d changed into my best party dress, a deep pink crushed-velvet number that hugged my body before falling in soft lines to just above my knee. Whenever I’d worn it, Gareth had always said I looked like a Titian painting. My heart twisted when I thought of him. In my many emails, I’d told him the big opening was today, harbouring hope he’d at least respond to wish me good luck. But when I’d checked this morning, there’d been nothing. Not even penis spam!

Lying in bed last night with Beano curled around my head like a kitty hat, Heath’s words had echoed in my mind. Some things can’t be fixed. Were Gareth and I one of those things? Did I really want a happy ending with him, or did I just want a happy ending? Maybe not everything could have a positive resolution. Maybe some things, like Heath and his mum, were just too far apart. Finally, after tossing and turning for hours, I’d managed to drop off to sleep around three.

Thank goodness I’d plastered on loads of concealer to hide the bags under my eyes, I thought, peering into an old, cracked mirror in the hallway. Heath appeared in the reflection behind me, and I swung around, cheeks flushing as I met his steady gaze.

‘Ten to seven. Almost time.’

I nodded. ‘Um, Heath? I’m, you know, really sorry about yesterday.’ I was desperate to clear the air before the night began.

Heath sighed, and his eyes softened. ‘I know you are, Rose, and I know you were only trying to help. Hell, you did help with the planning issue. I can’t believe you actually went to see my mother, though.’ He shook his head. ‘You really did want us to play happy families, didn’t you?’

Relief flooded through me that he was returning to the man I’d come to know, not that horribly stiff Robot Heath. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said again.

He reached out and touched my arm. ‘I know. Look, just . . .’ Heath broke off, an embarrassed expression on his face.

‘What?’

‘Thank you for caring that much,’ he said. ‘I was furious at what you’d done, but it’s been ages since someone tried to do something like that for me .

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