Chapter 40

My mum and dad got the train into the city for dinner. I booked us my favourite table at the pub. A familiar setting was needed to try to put us at ease as much as possible. I thought perhaps Mr Matthews preferred a posher dining experience but Noah said it would be fine; he would appreciate the pub's cosy vibes. I really hoped he was right.

I got ready in an agitated state. I really wanted this to go well. I wanted Noah and his father to heal their rift, for Mr Matthews to not be my scary big boss any more but to get to know him as Noah's father, and I really wanted my parents to accept Noah was back in our lives. And I realised that was a hell of a lot of pressure to put on one meal.

I put on my favourite jeans with a black silky blouse, my heels for confidence and my pearl hairband with matching jewellery, and then my parents knocked at the door. ‘I'm so glad you're here,' I said, letting them in to my flat.

‘You look lovely,' Mum said, giving me a kiss. ‘And a little bit nervous,' she added in a low voice.

‘I am,' I admitted. I hugged my dad, who was wearing such a smart shirt and trousers, I was worried for a moment I might cry. ‘But you guys are helping. You both look great,' I said, admiring my mum's black dress too.

‘Not that Noah's father deserves us making the effort,' Dad grunted.

‘Love,' Mum warned him. ‘What did we say on the train down? We are civilised, polite, open-minded people.'

Dad snorted. ‘I will be if they are. If not, then I make no promises. Noah has a lot of making up to do to Stevie and his father sounds like a Mad Men throwback.'

Then I laughed, surprising them both. I wrapped one of my arms through each of them. ‘You two are my favourite couple. If Noah and me are anything like you ten years from now, I will consider myself the luckiest woman.'

‘Oh God, Stevie,' Mum said, letting out a sob and dabbing her eyes.

‘We're only the best because we have the best daughter in the world,' Dad declared. He looked at me. ‘Seriously, love, you're sure about Noah, aren't you?'

I adjusted my expression to match the seriousness of his. ‘Dad, I won't lie and say I'm not still nervous about the future, but I love Noah. I never stopped and nor did he. I think sometimes it's just meant to be but the timing is wrong. We had to be apart so we could find each other now. I know what I want and so does he.'

Dad nodded. ‘Okay then. If that's the case then everything will work out, so there is no need to be nervous. If Noah's father can't see his son has landed so hard on his feet there was an earthquake, then I have no time for the man.'

‘Well said,' my mum agreed.

‘Come on, let's go before you two inflate my ego any further,' I replied. They really were my biggest cheerleaders and I'd never take that for granted. We left my flat and walked to the pub. The moon shone down from the cloudless sky. It was dry but with a sharp chill in the air. London on a Friday was lively and we passed restaurants and bars lit up with lights and merriment and when we walked into my pub, I smiled at the roaring fire and loud chatter inside. It was a welcoming place and with my parents by my side, I hoped that tonight would go well.

I waved to Meg and led my parents to the table I'd reserved for us. They sat beside me, ignoring the shake of my head as they did so. It now looked like we'd be interrogating Noah and his dad but I couldn't name three less intimidating people on the planet than us.

Noah and his father arrived just after we'd sat down and when our eyes met, Noah's face lit up. When he reached me, he leaned in to give me a soft kiss.

‘Hi,' I said as his musky aftershave washed over me.

Noah flashed his dimple. ‘You look lovely.' With his hand on the small of my back, he moved so his dad could get to the table. ‘Dad, these are Stevie's parents – Sean and Sarah.'

I watched Mr Matthews shake their hands and then Noah walked round to kiss my mum on the cheek and shake my father's hand. He said something to him that I couldn't hear and then he and his father sat down opposite us. We ordered first and then made small talk about the weather until our drinks arrived and then Noah leaned on the table and cleared his throat, making us all look at him expectantly.

‘It's really lovely to see you both again,' he said to my parents. ‘I have a confession to make – I almost knocked on your door once. About three years ago.'

‘You did?' Mum asked, confused.

‘You never told me that,' I said in surprise.

‘I don't know if Stevie told you but after I moved to New York, I tried to contact her but I wasn't able to.'

‘I blocked him everywhere,' I said with a shrug.

‘I don't blame her for that at all,' Noah said. His leg touched mine under the table. ‘I felt like we'd never cross paths again. Three years ago, I had to come to London for a conference and I drove to your house. It was the only way I could think that I might be able to get in touch with Stevie. I sat outside for an hour wondering whether to knock on your door or not.

‘I wanted to ask you to tell Stevie I wanted to speak to her but I was worried you'd just shut the door in my face. Then I was worried you wouldn't. And I had no idea if Stevie wanted to see me again or not and I was too scared to find out. I knew I'd made a huge mistake. I just didn't know how to make it right. I know that you might not ever be ready to trust me again but I will keep trying to earn it. Stevie has miraculously given me a second chance and I won't mess it up this time.'

‘Well,' my mum said, looking at him then me. ‘That's all we want. For Stevie to be happy and be with someone who loves and respects her and treats her how she should be treated.' She looked at Noah then his father. ‘We were so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother and wife.'

John Matthews shifted in his seat. ‘Thank you.' He looked at me. ‘Noah's mother told me he'd left someone behind when he moved to be with us. She hoped he'd find you again.'

‘She told you that?' Noah was the surprised one then.

‘She did,' his father confirmed. ‘My wife was everything to me and when she was sick, I didn't handle it well. I handled her, uh, passing even worse.'

‘When you lose someone that special, you don't get to choose how you grieve,' my mum said gently.

‘I think I'm part of the reason Noah stayed away for so long,' Mr Matthews said to me. ‘I'm sorry for that. I think we have a lot of talking to do but I want to tell you, Stevie, I'm sorry for how I spoke to you at work and at Noah's place. Noah is extremely fond of you and I would like us to get to know each other,' he said. It was a little stiff but I could hear the sincerity in his words.

‘I'd like that too,' I said. ‘Listen, life is short. You guys know that better than anyone. We could all beat ourselves up about our past mistakes or we could just draw a line and start again.'

‘Well said, love,' my mum said. She looked at my dad. ‘Sean?'

My dad looked at Noah, then me, then back at Noah. He sighed. ‘We can start again, but know this: if you hurt my daughter again, I will hunt you down.'

Bless my dad. He was about as scary as a koala but Noah nodded solemnly. ‘As you should.'

‘And…' Dad looked at Mr Matthews. ‘I assume there'll be no more talk of firing Stevie after she turned a book that your company had given up on into a number three bestseller.'

I could feel myself turn red. ‘Dad!' I regretted telling my parents what had happened.

But Mr Matthews also nodded. ‘I spoke far too hastily. My board was putting a lot of pressure on us with this takeover but I let them do it. I threw myself into work after my wife… and I focused on the bottom line so much, I lost sight of the values I'd built my company on. Supporting authors. Buying the best stories even if they are tough to market. And encouraging creativity and innovation. I have told the board that the UK team are staying in place and we will review after six months. And I have moved some budget around for you, Stevie, because I think we can push the book to number one, don't you?'

‘I like your ambition,' I agreed. Noah rubbed my leg under the table with his and I smiled across at him. ‘I hope we can buy even more romance books now.'

‘I bet you do.'

Was that a little twinkle in Mr Matthews's eyes?

Our food arrived then and I let out a breath in relief that we'd cleared the air between everyone and that now we could start again.