I Know the Truth

by M A Comley

  “I think so. Where does that stem from? Have you always had one?”

  “Sort of. I grew up craving sweet things. Thankfully, I’ve always managed to keep my weight under control.”

  “Do you work out at the gym?”

  “In the gym, to be more accurate. I have one at home. Enough about me, what about you? I want to know everything there is to know.”

  “I’m a boring plain Jane, who goes to work and then straight home most days.”

  “That’s so sad. Out of necessity or choice?”

  Her gaze dropped to her drink. “Necessity really. I love my job, but the pay is abysmal.”

  “Can’t you find anything else more suitable?”

  “I wish I could, but there’s nothing around. That’s enough about me. Is it true what they say about you?”

  “Depends what you’ve managed to find out.”

  “That you’re a socialite. You attend all the best parties in town.”

  “True, guilty as charged, although, every now and then I prefer to have some downtime with my mates, like last night.”

  “During my research, I rarely saw you with a woman on your arm. May I ask why?”

  He laughed and sat back. “Your research, eh? You found me interesting enough to do some digging then, I take it.”

  “Ugh… sorry, now that you mention it, I did sound a tad stalkerish.”

  “Not at all. I’m flattered that you care enough to dig into my past. Actually, I also admire you for having the gumption to do it. There are so many nutters out there roaming the streets these days. I think more girls should take a leaf out of your book.”

  “Phew, okay, thanks for not tearing me to shreds. You haven’t answered my question, though.”

  “Hmm…let me think. The last thing I want to do is come across as a chauvinistic pig, not on our first date anyway.”

  “Go on, you’re not so far.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Okay, here it is, the truth…women tend to bore me.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened, and her cheeks puffed out as she tried her best to hold on to the laugh tickling her throat.

  “I’ve shocked you with that statement, I can tell.”

  She eventually let out the breath and admitted, “Not really, well, maybe a little. I simply wasn’t expecting those words to tumble out of your mouth.”

  He buried his head in his hands and chortled, then he dropped his hands to the table, looked her straight in the eye and said, “The truth is, I’ve never met anyone who has taken my breath away…until last night.”

  “Me? After two meetings, outside the toilet may I add, you can honestly say that?”

  “There are some things in this life that are absolute certainties. One of them is the way both my heart and my head reacted as soon as you walked past my table.”

  “What? So bumping into you outside the toilet the first time wasn’t a coincidence?”

  “Hardly. Don’t think badly of me. As the card with the flowers said, and like I told you last night, you’re beautiful, you take my breath away. If anyone was to ask me to describe my perfect woman, well, it would be you, every damn inch of you.”

  Lucy chewed on her bottom lip. No man had ever spoken to her this way before, ever. She wasn’t sure how she felt after hearing his confession either. Should she be freaked out and run or be flattered and enjoy the ride?

  “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours? Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, not really. I suppose I’m not used to talking to an honest man…” Her mouth clammed shut—she’d said enough.

  “Are you going to enlighten me as to what you mean by that? Or keep me guessing?”

  “Keep you guessing.” She smiled, trying not to make a big deal of the situation.

  “Ah, it’s going to be like that, is it? Well, I suppose one day in the future you’ll trust me enough to share what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, just not right now, eh?”

  “Maybe. I have a few questions I need you to answer.”

  “Need? Ask away, my life is an open book. Most of it can be found on the internet, but carry on.”

  “Personal details,” she mumbled, unsure whether she should go ahead and seek out the answers, especially as this was their first date.

  He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. “Go on then, shoot, and I promise to answer your questions with complete honesty, no matter what you ask.”

  “Fair enough.” She opened her handbag and withdrew a notebook on which she had jotted down several one-line questions during the afternoon, in between pampering herself and throwing together Trisha’s meal.

  “The one thing I’d truly like the answer to, is why you don’t seem to have a girlfriend.”

  “Is it obligatory?”

  “Umm…no, I suppose it isn’t. What I’m getting at is, that you appear to attend all these functions without a lady on your arm.”

  “And? Ah, I get it, what you’re really trying to ask is if I’m gay.”

  She stared at him, her eyes out on stalks, and blustered, “No, I wasn’t saying that at all. I truly wasn’t.”

  He laughed, and she blew out a breath.

  “You’re teasing me.”

  “Sorry, yes. I suppose I’m quite a secretive person. Hmm…I’m not even sure that description is truly accurate enough either. You might find this hard to believe, but there are some pretty bad women out there these days.”

  “There are?” she mocked.

  “Yes, there are, and I seem to attract them with my magnetism.”

  “Oh my God, I’ve heard it all now.” She chuckled and reached for her drink.

  He thumbed over his shoulder and leaned in. “By the way, your friend just left without you realising. Did she do the right thing?”

  Lucy swivelled in her chair to find Trisha’s seat empty. Her cheeks were on fire when she turned back to face him. “I…er…we…umm…”

  “You don’t have to explain. Did you have some kind of code that you would share if you wanted her to rescue you?”

  She placed a hand over her eyes and rested her elbow on the table. “You nailed it. I’m so bloody embarrassed.”

  “Why? Look at me, Lucy.”

  She dropped her hand and found the courage to look him in the eye.

  “I’m glad you took the precaution of bringing your friend. Honestly, you can’t be too careful these days, I know that better than most people.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I think this conversation has become too serious too soon, and I’m feeling uncomfortable.”

  “Heck, that wasn’t my intention. If you’d rather call it a night, I wouldn’t mind.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’ve been eager to see you all day.” He cringed once the words had escaped.

  “Let the cat out of the bag, have you?” She giggled.

  “Not really. It must be obvious how I feel about you.”

  “What am I supposed to say to that? We only met last night.”

  “Don’t you believe in love at first sight, Lucy? I must admit, I’ve always thought it was a load of codswallop and never existed…until I laid eyes on you.”

  Lucy stared at him, frozen in time, unable to answer. “But…”

  His hand slid across the table, and his fingers entwined with hers. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way as I do, I’d be crushed if you told me that.”

  “I…in case you can’t tell, I’m lost for words. Yes, there’s an attraction there. I wouldn’t have kissed you last night in front of your friends if there wasn’t.”

  His eyes sparkled, and he grinned. “And what a simply delectable experience that was.”

  “Now I sense you’re mocking me.”

  “I swear I’m not.” He released her hand, sat back again, and his gaze dropped to her notebook. “Go on then, what’s next on your list?”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, regretting bringing her notebook along. She opened her ey
es, flipped the pad shut and placed it back in her handbag. “We don’t need this. We’ll see how the evening pans out and go from there, right?”

  “Only if you promise to revisit those questions another time.”

  “I promise. Tell me about your job?”

  “Only if you want to spend the rest of the evening bored senseless. IT is the most monotonous subject that ever existed.”

  Her eyebrows twisted into a frown. “If you think that, then why do it? You don’t seem the type of man to put up with something you don’t find fulfilling, or have I totally misread you?”

  “No, you’re right. That’s the problem with working for your parents—no, that’s not quite true, it’s not like that at all.”

  “You’re confusing me even more now, which is it?”

  “All right, they set me up in the business years ago. At the time, it was what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good at my work and run a tight ship, however, the work neither inspires me nor blows my socks off. Is any of this making sense?”

  “My heart goes out to you. I know what it’s like to feel in a rut…” Why can’t I keep my big mouth shut?

  “You do? Tell me more.”

  “In time. We’re discussing you at the moment.”

  “Well, that’s put me in my place. I’ll get the truth out of you eventually. I have ways of making people talk.”

  “Is that right?” She sipped her wine and then nodded for him to continue. “Go on. Did you go to university?”

  “I did, and you’ll never guess in a million years what I studied.”

  “Computers…IT…sports science or whatever it’s called?”

  “Nope, none of the above. Hold on to your hat—law.”

  “Wow, and you gave that all up to run a company that bores you? May I ask why?”

  His gaze drifted behind her for a second or two. “Good question. Actually, it isn’t. Do you have any notion how boring the law can be?”

  “Nope, you’ve got me there. So why study it in the first place?”

  “My father wanted me to follow in his shoes; he started out as a barrister.”

  “A barrister as opposed to a barista, yes?”

  He chuckled. “I love your sense of humour already. Do you always make light of situations? Is that how you’ve survived over the years?”

  His question knocked her sideways. Was he digging deep into her soul, or was she guilty of reading more into it?

  “Lucy, are you all right? You’ve gone quiet on me. Did I overstep the mark?”

  “No.” Her abrupt answer appeared to stun him. She sighed. “I didn’t mean to snap.”

  “That’s okay. I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in where it wasn’t wanted. Have you eaten?”

  “I wasn’t sure if your invitation extended to dinner or not.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “No, I haven’t. I nibbled on a piece of pepper while I knocked up a frittata for Trisha.”

  “Do you live together?”

  “She’s asked me to move in with her, and I’m seriously considering it.”

  “May I ask why?”

  She shrugged. “It makes sense for both of us, as money is tight. You mentioned food,” she added quickly, switching the conversation around before it got bogged down again.

  “Come on, I booked us a table in the restaurant.”

  They rose from their seats, and he collected the glasses to take with them.

  “That was pretty presumptuous of you.”

  “Some might call it being thoughtful or eager to please a date,” he countered, beaming.

  The maître d’ was obviously expecting them. He showed them to an intimately lit table at the rear of the large, grand restaurant.

  Once seated, she leaned forward and asked, “Do you come here often?”

  “Every now and again. As you can see, it’s pretty quiet, which appeals to my needs.”

  “Do you usually bring your dates here?”

  “No…well, maybe once, and that was a total disaster. The girl ended up drunk and vomited in the middle of the restaurant. Took me a while to get over the embarrassment and return, I can tell you.”

  “Wow, I bet. Some girls go OTT with their drinking, don’t they?”

  “I take it you’re not one of those people?”

  “Nope, can’t afford it most of the time. Last night was the first time I’d been out socially with Trisha in a couple of months.”

  “Why? Apart from the money aspect. You can still go out socially, even when funds are low.”

  “You’ve got me on that one. Can we look at the menu? Now you’ve mentioned food, my tummy is complaining.”

  He handed her a menu and kept one for himself.

  “What do you recommend?” she asked, overawed by the amount of delicious dishes on offer.

  “How does steak sound to you?”

  “Expensive,” she replied quickly.

  “This is on me. I would never expect someone else to pay, especially when I’ve invited them out on a date.”

  “In that case, yes, that would be lovely.” In truth, she hadn’t had the luxury of sampling a piece of steak in years, not since…

  “Two fillet steaks it is then.” He motioned for the waiter to take their order. Once the waiter had left, he turned his full attention on Lucy once more. “So, where were we? Ah yes, I was about to ask you what your background was.”

  “My work background?”

  “Whichever you wish to supply. I’m fed up of talking about myself, never have liked it.”

  “I think your life is super-exciting compared to mine.”

  “I won’t know unless you tell me. Let’s start with your first job after you left school, or did you go on to university?”

  “I didn’t, again, it cost too much. My dad always used to say those with a degree had very little, or no, common sense.”

  He laughed. “I like the sound of your father. He’s not wrong with his assessment, judging by some of the candidates I’ve interviewed for roles at my place. Of course, there will always be the odd exception to the rule.” He smirked.

  She tried to smile, but mentioning her father had cast a shadow over her.

  “Hey, what’s up? Did I say something wrong?”

  “My fault entirely. I shouldn’t have mentioned Dad.”

  “Why? Is there a deep, dark family secret looming there?”

  Sudden tears misted her eyes, and she glanced away from him, hoping he wouldn’t detect her change in mood, although she feared it was far too late for that.

  “Hey, it wasn’t my intention to upset you. Are you all right?”

  She summoned up a weak smile and excused herself. “I think I need to powder my nose.”

  He rose from his chair, gentleman that he was, and nodded.

  Lucy’s emotions were in turmoil. She hadn’t thought about her parents in a while, not really. She missed them deeply. Their death had come as a shock, one that she’d read about in a newspaper article two years before. She was riddled with guilt for cutting them out of her life. It had been a necessity, though. One of her biggest regrets to this day. She had attended their funeral heavily disguised, ensuring none of her extended family would recognise her. She’d been about to speak to a few of them during the service, to try to ease their grief, but who knew where blowing her cover would have led?

  Now she had yet another dilemma to contend with, more lies she was going to be forced to keep from a man she feared she’d already lost her heart to, no matter how much she was trying to deny it. She wiped away the tears, repaired her smudged makeup the best she could and then returned to the table.

  Matthew was there, watching out for her, an expression of concern covering his handsome features which only made her feel worse. He rose to his feet and pulled her chair out for her.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled behind her.

  She waited until he was seated again and reached across the table for his hand. “Don’t apolo
gise, you weren’t to know.”

  “I shouldn’t have made light of something I know nothing about. Are you going to tell me what happened?”

  She took a sip from her glass, which had been topped up in her absence. “My parents are no longer around.”

  “Damn, me and my big mouth. I can’t apologise enough.”

  “It’s forgotten about. I thought I was over it. I guess my emotions got the better of me. I should be the one apologising for spoiling the evening.”

  “You’ve done no such thing. Human emotions, and not being afraid to show them, can be an endearing feature. When you say they’re no longer around, you don’t mean they’re dead, do you?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes. Can we not talk about it? Oh, look, I think our meals have arrived.”

  “I’ll back off, if that’s what you want. My condolences.”

  She smiled weakly and stared down at the food as it was placed in front of her. The smell was utterly irresistible. She was thankful her emotions hadn’t put an end to her appetite. Moments earlier, she’d been relishing the prospect of eating her first steak in over five years.

  Matthew paused and raised his glass. He chinked it against hers. “To the future.”

  “Dare I say it, to us?”

  He sniggered. “I was going to say the same but didn’t want to come across as either assertive or overbearing.”

  “You’re not, anything but. Thank you for being so kind and considerate and not pushing the issue.”

  “One day I hope you’ll trust me enough with your deepest secrets.”

  “Only if the deed is reciprocated. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to tuck in as I hate letting my dinners go cold.”

  “Go for it,” he replied, smirking.

  She savoured every mouthful. It was by far the best steak she’d ever had the pleasure of eating. After placing her cutlery down, she slid the plate to the outside of the table and placed her hands over her bulging stomach. “My, I don’t think I’ve eaten as much as that in years. I’ll have to starve myself the rest of the week, the number of calories I just shoved down my throat.”

  “Nonsense. Do you work out?”

  “I used to. I’ve kinda got out of the habit now. You mentioned you have a gym, yes?”

  “That’s right. It gets lonely, though. I’m always on the lookout for a gym buddy.”