by Jill Mansell
“I hope so too.” She forced herself to remain outwardly composed. “Hello, Derek. You’re looking well. Sorry about our date.”
“No problem. Your loss.” He slid his arm possessively around his companion’s waist. “I’m glad you jumped off my tandem. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met Andrea, would I? She loves cycling. We’re a perfect match.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you,” Patsy said. It was true, but she was also mortified for herself.
“Thank you. We reap what we sow. Maybe I deserved to meet someone nice…and you didn’t.”
“Definitely.” Patsy nodded. “I think you could be right.”
“Come on.” Andrea gave Derek a nudge. “Let’s go through to the other bar, shall we?” She turned back to Patsy. “Can I just say? You really missed your chance there, but I’m glad you did. He’s one in a million, and he’s all mine.”
“Let’s leave her to her date.” Derek was smug as he cast another ostentatious glance at his watch and made a face. “Ooh dear. That is, if he turns up.”
They made their way through to the conservatory bar at the back of the building, leaving Patsy wreathed in awkwardness. It was like wearing the opposite of an invisibility cloak. Derek and Andrea might have disappeared, but the thirty or forty other customers were still here, casting sly glances in her direction and thinking she deserved to be stood up.
Because Derek was actually looking perfectly normal this evening, what with his trendy, choppy haircut, nice shirt, and well-fitting jeans.
It was hugely tempting to get to her feet and announce, “Look, he turned up for our first date wearing turquoise Lycra leggings, OK? And a cycling helmet.”
But she couldn’t; she just had to sit there and sweat it out. And it was almost eight fifteen now. Why wasn’t Rick here yet?
Time crawled by in that special slow-motion way it had a habit of slipping into when you were most desperate for it to move faster. The doors swung open to admit several more customers, none of them Rick. Quarter past became twenty past, and Patsy experienced the sinking feeling of rejection. Five more minutes, then she’d leave. Maybe three more. She was surrounded by people murmuring to each other, smirking at the nonarrival of her date. If she were to walk out now, they’d all burst out laughing and start discussing her utter humiliation and comeuppance. That would be fun for them, wouldn’t it?
OK, one more minute, then she was off. There’d been no text messages from Rick and no response to the one she’d sent him eight minutes ago. Enough was enough; even the bar staff were covertly watching her now, waiting to see what she’d do next. In fact, it was definitely time to—
“Excuse me. Are you Patsy?”
Patsy swiveled around so fast she almost strained her neck. But it wasn’t him. She’d seen several photos of Rick, and he was tall and thin with short dark hair and a scar through his left eyebrow.
“I’m Patsy.” This one was of medium height and broad-shouldered, with tousled fair hair and blond stubble on his cleft chin. He was wearing a checked shirt and unfortunate burgundy trousers. “Is this about Rick?”
Every eye in the wine bar was upon them; no one was even bothering to pretend not to be eavesdropping.
“Um…yes.” The late arrival looked awkward.
OK, having him hover in front of her table like this was just drawing even more attention. Patsy pointed and said, “Sit down. Is he not coming?”
Although she already knew the answer.
He cautiously sat opposite her as if suspecting the chair seat were scattered with upturned thumb tacks. “I’m sorry. No, he isn’t.”
Chapter 46
“Is it because he’s dead?”
A shake of the head. “No.”
Right. “Is he trapped at the foot of a deep ravine with severe injuries and no way of climbing out?”
“No.”
“That’s a real shame,” Patsy said. “You might like to warn him that he’d do well to avoid going near the edges of any deep ravines for the next few weeks.” Just to give Rick the benefit of the doubt, she said, “OK, is he ill?”
Another weary headshake. “He isn’t ill. He’s just a prize dick.”
Surprise, surprise.
“And you’re…what? His best friend, his brother?” Another prize dick?
“Neither. I hardly know him. But he’s spent the whole afternoon drinking at the cricket club. His friends kept reminding him he had a date this evening, but he said he couldn’t be bothered going. And nobody else seemed to care; they were just laughing and making jokes about it. To be honest, that’s what they’re like. But I thought it couldn’t be much fun for you sitting here on your own wondering what was going on, so I asked him where the two of you meant to meet up.”
“Well, that was decent of you.” Unlike bloody Rick. “Sorry, I don’t know your name. But thanks anyway. Bastard. I mean him, not you…”
“I’m Oliver.”
“Right. Patsy. Oh, you already knew that. Sorry again.” Patsy exhaled and shook her head, looking down at her hands to avoid glancing around the room. “Is everyone staring at me?”
“No, of course not.” Pause. “OK, a bit. Oh God, are you going to cry?”
“Definitely not.”
“Well, that’s good.” He sounded relieved. “So…um…I just came to let you know.”
Poor Oliver; he couldn’t wait to get out of here. Patsy nodded. “Of course. Thanks again. I appreciate it. Very kind of—” Oh shit, here came Derek and Andrea, making their way back out. Just as Oliver began to get to his feet, Patsy grabbed his hand and hissed, “Sit.”
Like he was a really naughty dog.
Startled into obedience, Oliver sat back on his chair a split second before Derek looked over and said, “Well, how about that then? Her date finally turned up. Better late than never, eh?”
Thinking fast, Patsy said, “There was an accident on Lansdown Road.”
“Between a minivan and a Vauxhall Corsa. I was lucky she was still here waiting for me.” Oliver smiled across at Patsy. “Sorry again. I hate being late.”
“Well, keep an eye on her,” Derek said. “And if you give her a lift home later, mind she doesn’t jump out the car window when you’re not looking.”
Patsy said, “Don’t worry, I won’t be doing that.”
When the door had closed behind Derek and Andrea, Oliver said, “How was that? Did I do OK?”
“More than OK. You were very good.”
He broke into a grin. “What was that about the car window?”
Patsy hesitated, then realized she might as well tell him; she had no more dignity left to lose. “He was another Internet date. I wasn’t expecting him to turn up on a tandem. He wouldn’t stop talking about bikes, so I jumped off the back and let him cycle off without noticing I’d gone.”
Oliver burst out laughing. “Ha, brilliant. Good for you.”
“Maybe tonight was my payback.” Patsy was rueful, although Rick had evidently been no great loss. Then she noticed the way Oliver was looking at her. “What?”
“I kept getting this feeling I’d seen you somewhere before, but I couldn’t place you. Except now you’ve mentioned the Internet dates, I think I’ve got it.” He stopped, thought for a moment, then wagged an index finger in the air. “OK, did you go on a date a few weeks ago with a guy who interrupted every single thing you tried to say?”
Patsy sat back, stunned. “You mean James? Are you serious? Do you know him too?”
“I don’t know him at all. I was there. You were having dinner at the Greengage in Nailsworth, right? We were at the next table.”
Patsy covered her mouth. She’d been aware of the couple seated a few feet away but hadn’t paid them any attention. She shook her head. “It’s my mission in life to provide entertainment for eavesdroppers.”
�
��Sorry, we couldn’t help it. Each time you opened your mouth to say something, he just talked right over you. About his ex-wife, mostly.”
“He was a nightmare.” Patsy sighed. “I can’t believe you were there.”
“Thank goodness your brother had that accident so you had to rush off.” Oliver’s mouth twitched.
Patsy nodded. “It was good timing.”
He indicated her phone on the table. “Have you arranged for someone to call you again this evening?”
“Well, I have, but I’ll be back home before it happens. Look, thanks again for coming to tell me about Rick.” She picked up her handbag and rummaged for her car keys. “OK, time to make a move. Did you drive here, or can I offer you a lift?”
Oliver glanced at her almost-empty glass of orange juice. “Or…I don’t have to leave. We could stay here and have a drink. If you wanted to, that is. I mean, I’m in no hurry. Although maybe you are. God, sorry, as if you haven’t had a bad enough start to the evening…”
“Where’s your wife?” Patsy’s tone was cool. “Or your girlfriend? The one you were with at the restaurant the other week.”
He slowly nodded. “Oh, her. Were we holding hands, snuggling up together? Kissing?”
“I didn’t really notice. I don’t think so.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.” Oliver made a face. “Because I don’t have a wife or a girlfriend. That was Nadine,” he said. “She’s my sister.”
* * *
For the next hour, the conversation zigzagged in all directions. When he asked about her family, Patsy found herself telling him about Dan’s career as a pilot and his lifelong love of flying.
“You see? That’s a cool thing to do. Guess what form of transport my younger brother’s obsessed with? OK, you won’t guess, so I’ll tell you.” Oliver shook his head in despair. “Steam trains. He can’t get enough of them. Seriously, he’s even dragged me along with him to a couple of shows.”
Ding went Patsy’s brain, sparked by the memory of Tess in the salon offering to have a word with her husband about getting her fixed up with one of his fellow steam-train enthusiasts. She smiled inwardly at her mental image of the men with their flat caps and untrimmed beards.
OK, probably best not to relate that tale to Oliver.
But twenty minutes later, when he happened to mention that one of his friends from work lived in Chipping Norton, Patsy said, “Oh, I love that place. The little theater just off the main street is so brilliant. My friend Finola lives there too, and we always go along to their Christmas shows.”
“Finola?” Oliver sat up. “Married to Colin? Colin is the friend I work with! They had this amazing barbecue the other week… It was the best night ever. I’ve never laughed so much in my life.”
The little hairs had risen on the back of Patsy’s neck. That had been the evening she’d had her disastrous date in the Star with penny-pinching Marcus. And she’d dithered about whether or not to bother driving over to Chipping Norton afterward but had ended up deciding against it.
If she had gone along, she would have met Oliver…
“I was invited to Finola and Colin’s barbecue too,” she said.
“You weren’t there, though.” Oliver shook his head. “If you had been, I’d have definitely noticed you.”
She’d even wondered if it could have turned out to be one of those potentially life-changing Sliding Doors moments. How spooky was that? She smiled and shrugged. “You’re right. I didn’t go.”
At eleven o’clock, the manager of the bar called last orders, just as Oliver was telling Patsy the story of how he’d lost his keys last year, on Christmas Eve.
“…and it had just turned midnight, so of course it cost a fortune to call out a locksmith.” He laughed at the memory. “Not the best start to Christmas, or to my birthday.”
“Your birthday’s on Christmas Day? Oh wow,” Patsy marveled. “That must be weird. Is it weird?”
Oliver shrugged easily. “I’m kind of used to it by now. When’s yours?”
“Um…July.”
“Ah, you were a summer baby. When in July?”
Whoops, a bit embarrassing. “Second half.”
Oliver beamed. “Same as my sister. What date?”
“The twenty-fourth. So when you and your sister were young, did she lord it over you because—”
“Hang on,” Oliver interrupted. “The twenty-fourth?”
Patsy nodded and felt herself reddening.
“Of July?”
She nodded again.
“But…that’s today,” said Oliver.
“I know.” She felt inexplicably ashamed.
“Oh, Patsy.” He gazed into her eyes. “I’m sorry. You should have said.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She broke into a smile. “There might have been a bit of a dodgy dip in the middle, but the rest of it’s been great.”
At that moment the manager clanged the bell and called out, “Time! Time now at the bar.”
“Wait!” Oliver jumped to his feet and rushed over. Evidently having sweet-talked the manager, he returned triumphantly bearing two glasses and one mini bottle of Prosecco.
“Here we go. Better late than never.” He divided the sparkling wine between them. “Cheers. Happy birthday.”
Their glasses clinked together. Patsy said, “Thank you.”
“Rick missed a trick.” Oliver’s eyes glinted with mischief. “The dick.”
“I’m glad he did,” said Patsy. Ooh, daring.
Oliver looked pleased. “I’m glad too.”
By eleven thirty, the staff was busy tidying up, and it was time to leave the almost-empty bar. When Oliver excused himself to visit the men’s room, Patsy found herself approached by the female half of the only other remaining customers. In her fifties and well dressed, she teetered over on high heels.
“Hello, hello! Sorry, I’m a wee bit tipsy, but can I just say we’ve been here all evening and we heard what happened. This one seems really nice, though. I know looks-wise he’s no Ryan Reynolds, but you can’t have everything, can you? I mean, not saying he’s ugly; he’s just a bit ordinary, but that’s OK! And you can always smarten him up, can’t you? The important thing is that he sounds like a really nice guy, and the two of you are getting on together so well.”
“Um…he’s behind you,” said Patsy.
“I am.” Oliver, back from the restroom, nodded in sympathy.
The woman’s husband reached for his wife’s hand. “Sorry, is she burbling again? Once she starts, she can’t stop. Just ignore her. She doesn’t mean any harm.”
“It’s fine,” said Oliver. “I agree with everything she says.”
Had there ever been such an amazing, unexpected evening? Patsy caught his eye and felt something inside her click into place, like the very last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. She smiled. “So do I.”
Chapter 47
Lily had delivered a Victorian marble fireplace and a stone birdbath to a customer in Stow-on-the-Wold. Arriving back in Stanton Langley at six o’clock, she saw Eddie and Dan sitting together at one of the tables outside the Star.
Her heart leaped at the sight of them as their heads turned in her direction. She parked the van and jumped out, and Dan said, “I’ll leave you two to your reunion. Bye.”
It was still a novelty to see him walking normally, without limping or using the aluminum crutch for support. For a couple of seconds, Lily watched him heading for the car he was now able to drive again. Next week, he had his appointment with the aviation medical examiner and an hours-long session booked on the simulator to establish his proficiency and physical fitness before he could return to work.
Then Eddie said, “Hey, come here. You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you,” and drew her toward him for a kiss.
Typically, at this precise moment three teena
ge boys on bicycles pedaled past, emitting ear-piercing wolf whistles along with a cry of “Go on, give ’er one!”
It was hard to kiss romantically when you were snorting with laughter.
“Sorry,” Lily said. “Bloody hecklers.”
“I don’t believe it.” Staring after them, Eddie said, “The kid on the left? That’s the one I gave all those signed photos to. Little shit.”
It was Tim, or Tom, younger brother of Jess, the waitress at the Valentine. Luckily, Eddie was amused rather than outraged. Lily said, “That was my fault. He did sell them on eBay.”
“I didn’t doubt it for a minute.” Eddie smiled down at her, his hands resting on her bare shoulders. “Anyway, I really have missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. How’s it going with the screenplay?” She knew the struggle he’d been having with it for the last couple of weeks.
“Don’t ask. The harder I try, the more the words refuse to come out and the worse it gets. Come on, let’s go.” He was leading her toward his car now, parked just down the street.
“Where are you taking me?” Lily asked as he accelerated away from the curb.
“Shhh, it’s a surprise.”
She assumed he’d booked a room at the Valentine, but before they reached the hotel, he pulled up outside Weaver’s Cottage.
He pointed to the To Let sign planted in the front yard. “You know, I really thought Declan might decide to keep it for himself.”
“I wondered about that too,” Lily said. “He put so much effort into it. Still, I suppose that’s his job. Anyway, he came down for a quick visit yesterday to let me know he’s decided to rent it out. He couldn’t stay, though; he’s snowed under with work at the moment.”
“How is he? Well?”
Lily hesitated. “I think so.”
Eddie said, “Do you think he misses Gail?”
“He hasn’t seemed very happy recently.” Lily paused, then nodded. “I think maybe he does miss her. A lot.”
