by M A Comley
“Are you all right? You seem a bit flustered? I knew I should have gone with you.”
Lucy took the man’s card from her handbag and pushed it across the table towards Trisha. “I just got asked out on a date, I think.”
“What? You think? What do you mean? A company director, oooh…sounds interesting. Point him out to me.”
Lucy glanced over her shoulder but failed to see the handsome stranger. “He was on his way into the loo. I’ll watch out for him.”
“Some girls have all the luck. What did he actually say?”
“You’re spoken for, remember? Anyway, get this…he called me a beautiful woman…”
“Phew, that’s a bloody relief! There’s nothing wrong with his eyesight then.”
Lucy sniggered. “Daft mare. Then he asked me if I’d like to go for a drink with him.”
“Blimey! Just like that? That kind of thing has never happened to me. How do you feel about it? Wait…what was your response first?”
“I said it wasn’t the right time for me.”
“What? Sweetheart…” Trisha leaned forward and lowered her voice. “It’s been five years since… Come on, time is wasting if you want to start a family.”
“How dare you! Bloody cheek, I’m only thirty-two.”
“Ticktock, and yes, your biological clock is crying out to be serviced.”
“You’re warped. You do come out with some strange sayings. There’s nothing wrong with my clock, I’ll have you know.”
“And you know that for definite, do you?”
Lucy took another sip of her drink. “No, but…bloody hell, how did we get on to the subject of my fertility?”
Trisha grinned, her front wonky tooth standing out like a beacon. Her gaze drifted behind Lucy, and she blew out a whistle. “Hot man alert. Is he the one?”
Lucy hesitated for an instant and then swivelled in her seat. Her gaze latched on to his. He smiled broadly and dipped his head as if to acknowledge her. Embarrassed, she turned back to face Trisha. “Yep. What do you think?”
“You want my honest opinion?”
“Of course.”
“I think you’re crazy not to take him up on his offer and even crazier for not getting him in that damn loo and ripping his clothes off. Crikey, you must be well up for it after all these years of celibacy.”
“Seriously? I can’t believe you would openly come out and say that.”
“Why? I’m aware of a girl’s needs. You’re only fooling yourself if you deny your inner passions, love. How did you leave it with him?”
“He gave me his card and told me to ring him. I can’t, Trisha. Unless you’ve experienced…”
Her friend raised her hand to stop her. “I’m mindful of what you went through, but sodding hell, Lucy, time won’t wait around for you. Are you telling me you’re never going to get involved with another man again? Ever?”
“Never say never, as my old mum used to say. God! I have to admit that bumping into him has ignited something I presumed would lay dormant for the rest of my days. Do I take the gamble? What if it goes belly-up, what then? Will my nerves handle it? I’ve been hanging on by a thread all these years, and now this.” Unexpected tears filled her eyes.
Trisha left her seat and knelt on the floor in front of her. “I feel your pain, sweetheart. But there comes a time in this life…well, if you don’t try, then how do you know if you’ll succeed or not? Am I making any sense? Have I had too much prosecco? It feels like my tongue is tying itself into knots. Maybe I’m super-excited for you.”
Lucy heaved out a breath and dared to look over her shoulder again. Matthew was staring back at her and he raised his glass in her direction while the group of friends he was with continued to chat. His attention appeared to be solely on her. In one way, she found that off-putting and, in another, the notion sent a spear of excitement shooting through her veins. Should I give him a chance? What if…? Maybe Trisha is right. How will I know if I don’t take a chance? “I’m not sure.”
Trisha sat back on her chair again. “Well, if I were in your shoes and a hunk like that was after me…it’s a no-brainer.”
“And if you were in my shoes five years ago, how do you think you would’ve handled the situation?” she snapped back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Shit! I was there for you at the end of it all, but life goes on, sweetie. It’s time to put yourself out there again. You have the opportunity handed to you on a plate, take it. If it goes wrong, then…”
“It’s the going wrong part that I’m struggling to get my head around. Yes, I’m attracted to him, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t…”
“Then give him a call. Sooner rather than later I’d advise, before he hooks up with someone else in the meantime.”
“How do I know he’s single and not one of these godawful married men out on the prowl for a mistress to bed now and again?”
Trisha sighed and shrugged. “It’s better than him being gay, which most of the handsome blokes are these days.”
“You’re twisted. You believe a married man on the lookout for a willing mistress is okay, is that what you’re telling me?”
“Okay, maybe that came out wrong. What I meant to say is, both scenarios are far from ideal. Anyway, it’s all pie in the sky, you haven’t got a clue what his background is. Oh, wait, give me that card.”
Lucy pushed it across the table again while Trisha extracted her phone from her handbag. “What are you doing?”
“Googling the bugger. Now then, let’s see what comes up.”
Lucy gasped. “You can’t do that. It’s an invasion of his privacy.”
Trisha shook her head and waved away the suggestion then angled her phone so Lucy could see the results. “Is it heck? Here you go. Wow, what do you know? He’s only one of those socialites.”
“A politician?” Lucy asked, confused.
“A socialite, not socialist, numpty. He goes to major social events, the type only the rich and famous people attend.”
Lucy stared at Trisha, her mouth dropping open. She gulped and closed it again, sharpish. “Blimey! I’m glad I rejected him then. I’d be well out of my depth.”
“Nonsense. He’s the type of guy who probably has women fawning all over him. I bet he wasn’t even on the lookout for a female companion when he bumped into you. Let’s see what else it says about him. Oh my…”
“What? Stop bloody teasing and just tell me.” She surprised herself at how eager she was to learn more about the man who had taken her breath away, who was continuing to have that effect on her, even though he was sitting on the other side of the bar.
“His father is one of the top judges in the UK.”
She slumped back in her chair as if someone had just shot her with a crossbow and arrow. “Bang goes any chance of me getting involved, if that’s the case.”
“You what? Why should that affect your decision?”
Lucy heaved out a shuddering breath and rolled her eyes. “Think about it…”
Trisha growled. “Crap…I’m such a dunderhead at times. What was I thinking?”
“Put the phone away. Your job is done now.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, there’s no way I could ever get involved with Mr Matthew Wallender, either in this world or the next.”
Trisha tutted and slotted her phone back in her bag. “I have one thing left to say on the subject.”
“Go on, surprise me.”
“You’re wrong. The least you could do is go on one date with him and see how things turn out. After that, then you can make a proper decision, not before.”
“Get you. What about gut instinct? Doesn’t that factor into the equation?”
“Not really. Not when you’ve come into contact with him in person. It’s not as if he’s reached out to you online. Now that’s a reason to be cautious, right there.”
Several different scenarios played out in her mind during the course of the evening, the m
ain one being whether she should take the plunge or not. She even shot Matthew a few secret glances and caught him looking her way as well. Confused, she continued her evening with Trisha and tried to force the issue out of her mind.
“So,” Trisha began, her words slurring a little after downing her third glass of prosecco. “Why don’t we give it a shot? You move in with me, leave that shithole of a house you rent at an ex…exnorburant price.”
“You mean exorbitant, right?”
Trisha waved her hand in front of her, going a little cross-eyed at the same time. “Whatever. I knew what I meant, stop taking the piss out of me.”
“I wasn’t. Look, we should discuss this when you’re sober. I wouldn’t want you making any promises you’d feel awkward keeping in the cold light of day.”
“You do talk a lot of twiggle.”
“That would be twaddle.”
“Yeah, that as well.”
“Okay, here’s the thing. If I agreed to move in with you, how would that leave things with Neil? I can’t see him taking too kindly to me invading his privacy with you.”
“Nonsense. Leave him to me. As long as I keep him well-serviced, then he has no need to complain. Anyway, he doesn’t live with me, he has his own gaff, so most of the time it would just be the two of us. Go on, give it a trial at least.”
“And what if we fall out? Where will that leave me?”
“Rentals are two a penny around our neck of the woods, but we won’t fall out because I lurve you like a sister.”
“And siblings rarely fall out, right?”
Trisha screwed up her nose and poked her tongue out. “All right, I hear you, neither of us know what it’s like to have a sibling.”
“Exactly. Let me think it over. Can we talk about the nitty-gritty, the rent?”
“What are you paying now?”
“It’s horrendous—nine hundred plus the bills.”
Trisha let out a low whistle. “Bloody Nora! That’s absurd, no wonder you don’t have any spare cash to your name. What about half that, four hundred and fifty, and half the bills? You’ll be quids in, we both will. How about it?”
Lucy chewed on her lip for a few minutes, sorely tempted to say yes. “I have to nip to the loo again. Let me think about it overnight at least, and I’ll ring you in a few days. I’ll be right back.”
“You do that. Umm…behave yourself. Don’t go coming back here with yet another business card and the promise of another date. I’ll get jealous if you do.”
“No fear of that happening. Go easy on that stuff until I return, you hear me?”
“Afraid I’ll drink your share?” Trisha laughed, raising her glass.
Lucy wound her way through the throng of customers. The noise level had risen to rowdy now that people had downed several drinks. Without realising she was doing it, she darted her eyes around, searching for Matthew. His friends were still at the table, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank a little for some unknown reason. She pushed open the ladies’ and joined yet another queue, then went through the same procedure of washing her hands, drying them and taking an extra towel to open the door. She was just tucking the paper into her bag when a voice startled her.
“Hello again. We must stop meeting like this.”
“Oh gosh, you scared the shit out of me. Yes, we must, especially as we always seem to bump into each other outside the ladies’. Is there anything you’d care to confess?”
His eyes sparkled with amusement, matching the broad smile that lit up his face. “I love a lady with a sense of humour. Are you sure I can’t tempt you on that date?”
“Sense of humour, me? That’s got to be a first. I’m still contemplating your offer. If you keep hounding me, you’ll only put me off.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, that’s the last thing I want. I’m delighted to hear that you’re thinking over my proposition. I suppose I should be grateful for that, at least. What did you find out about me?”
Her gaze dropped. Shit! How had he figured out we were looking him up on Google? Probably because we kept glancing in his direction at the time! Amateur sleuths always mess up in the grand scheme of things.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, trying to sound as natural as possible.
He winked at her. “Your secret is safe with me. It was pretty damn obvious what you two were up to. Now, if you’d come out on that date with me, I would openly tell you the truth. You shouldn’t believe everything you read on Google. Sometimes it can be worse than The Sun for its lack of factual content, I can assure you.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, like a caught-out teenager.
He lifted her chin with his finger, leaned forward and brushed her lips with his.
Shocked, she took a step back. “Please, don’t do that.”
He appeared put out by her words, as if he wasn’t used to being rejected by a woman, or was she misreading the signs?
“I apologise. I didn’t mean to cause you any offence. I’d better get back to my friends.” He hurried out of the door before she had a chance to say anything else.
What had she done? Why had she reacted that way? She turned around and headed back into the toilet to survey the damage. Her cheeks were redder than a stop light, and her heart fluttered wildly. That one kiss had done so much harm, and yet it had excited her beyond words. Her confusion mounted. She wanted to take flight, and yet there was a part of her desperate to remain, to see if he tried anything again. But why? Five years of solitude she’d put up with. No thoughts of ever being with anyone else, and now this. What was her body telling her? That it needed the attention? This man’s attention in particular? Should she listen to it or run for shelter?
In the end, she decided to return to Trisha, keeping her gaze focused on the way ahead, trying hard not to search for Matthew during her journey. Trisha was wide-eyed as she sat down.
“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked.
“Matthew came over to speak to me. He just left; I was about to come and search for you.”
“Shit! What did he say?”
“That he’d done something stupid and that he was ashamed. He passed on his apology and asked for your forgiveness. Bloody hell, Luc, what did he do? Do we need to call the police? You look…well, dumfounded. Did he hurt you? Tell me he didn’t, I don’t want to believe that of him.”
Lucy covered her face with her hands to hide the sudden tears that stung her eyes.
Trisha touched her hand and pleaded with her, “Sweetheart, tell me, don’t shut me out.”
In a whisper, she revealed, “He kissed me.”
“Wowzer…what the fuck?”
“That’s precisely how I reacted. Shit, I went over the top, I know I did.”
“When a stranger kisses you, I think you’re entitled to some sort of reaction.”
“I can’t believe he would come over here and speak with you. What’s that all about?”
“He seemed mortified to me. Why don’t you have it out with him?”
“What, now?”
“Now’s as good a time as any. Go on, march over there and give him what for. Make sure you show him up in front of his friends.”
“Tit for tat? He involved you so I should involve them? Is that truly the answer?”
“Aww…ignore me, it’s the drink talking. I can’t believe he kissed you. Come on, spill, what was it like?”
Lucy shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.” She discreetly glanced over her shoulder, only to find Matthew staring at her. Self-consciously, she turned away again. “Shit! Why me? Why did he have to pick on me?”
“I can’t answer that until you describe the type of kiss he gave you.”
“What difference should that make?”
“Whoa! Are you kidding me? Girl, five years of not having a man around has seriously addled your brain. Was it a full-on kiss? A peck on the cheek or the forehead? Did it involve tongues?”
“You’re sick. It was a slight brush o
f his lips against mine…”
“And? What aren’t you telling me? Holy crap! You liked it, didn’t you?”
Lucy scratched the back of her neck and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “The truth? It floored me. I didn’t know how to react.”
“So, what did you do? Return the kiss?”
“I took a step back. He looked offended, and things went downhill from there.”
“Jesus, you and I need to sit down and have a proper chat about the chase, love.”
“The Chase? What the hell has a TV programme got to do with this?”
Trisha bashed her forehead with her clenched fist. “Shit! Why did I frigging do that? My head has had enough and is pounding as it is. Not the TV show, the chase, as in, ‘courting’.”
Lucy laughed. “Is that word still doing the rounds after all these years?”
“You’re hopeless. I still maintain you should go over there and make a show of him. What’s stopping you?”
“Doh! The fact I feel out of my depth, unsure how to react, as in, I’ve been wrapped up in my own little world for a long time now. I have no idea how to speak to men any more, let alone how to play the game of chase with one as fit as him.”
Trisha pointed at her. “And there it is, you’ve finally admitted you’re attracted to him.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. He’s definitely sparked something within me, but at the moment, I’m unsure what that is. The truth is, I’m scared.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you’re bound to be. We all are when we’ve been out in the wilderness for so long, like you have. It’s time to saddle up your horse again, love, and dive in, see where it gets you.”
“You think?”
“No doubt about it. I’d give him a call tomorrow. What harm would it do to go out with him on one date? On one proviso.”
Lucy frowned. “What’s that?”
“That I hear all the juicy details.”
They both laughed, and Lucy’s gaze was pulled in Matthew’s direction once again. He was staring right at her.
She rose from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”
“Blimey, there must be something seriously wrong with your bladder, girlfriend.”
