“Is that you making that noise?” he asked. Kate stuttered out a ‘yes’ and he put his arm around her and tucked her against him. “Come here,” he said and held her close until the chattering ceased. He soothed her back and let his breath seep through the layers of wool around Kate’s neck until her mind was spinning and she was losing her grip. Traces of aftershave and washing powder tangled with her senses, hurtling sideways in a whirl of panic and excitement.
“Come on. We’d better get you inside and then back to my place to warm up.”
Niko was pleased to see the pair of them together. “Belissima. My two favourite customers here together. You two are…?” His face lit up expectantly. But Kate shuffled awkwardly as Adam cleared his throat. “No matter; no matter. I will rustle you up something extra special.”
They waited in the warm shop front while their food was being prepared. Their gazes shifting from each other to the ornaments on the wall, neither of them knowing what to say or what to do and then Niko appeared once more, smiling from ear to ear. He held the bag open and then popped another dish on top. “You will like this, I think. You let me know, okay? It’s a new dish I’m trying out.” He handed it over and took the money from Adam. “Remember to tell me what you think. Okay?”
Adam agreed and they said goodbye. “Come on,” he said. “Are you up for a bit of a jog?”
The pair of them sprinted back down to the car and climbed inside. Kate put the bag of food on her lap. “Smells great,” she said. “How far away do you live?”
“Not far,” Adam told her. “Why? Can’t you wait?”
In a little more than five minutes they were pulling up outside a magnificent apartment building.
Adam got out and opened Kate’s door and she passed up the food and climbed out. She looked up at the building, all steel, glass and elegance.
“Wow,” she said.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside before you start shivering again.”
Kate took one more look at the stunning building she was about to enter and then looked back at Adam. He blipped the car and they walked inside.
At the door to his apartment Kate realised Sophie might be worrying about her. “I’d better ring home,” she said. “To say I haven’t been abducted by aliens or anything.”
Adam looked sideways, concern showing in his features. “Is someone at home waiting for you?” he asked.
Kate saw his expression and smiled. “Only Sophie, don’t worry. She works on Ascot Ward?”
“Oh. I thought perhaps…”
Kate shook her head.
Adam opened the door and they walked in.
Kate looked around the tastefully decorated hallway as she took off her coat and Adam slipped out of his. He was wearing an off-white cotton shirt rolled up at the sleeves and dark green combats. It was a surprise to see him out of a suit. It was a far more casual look than Kate was used to and it helped to put her a little more at ease. She tried to remind herself that this was just a friendly matter, that he was showing his gratitude for her help the other day, but it wasn’t working. She had once been a little girl and this was her frog turning into a prince.
“You give Sophie a ring and I’ll just whip around and make sure the place is presentable,” he said, disappearing into the living room as Kate picked out her phone.
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just bumped into someone and I thought I’d better let you know that I’m going to be late.”
“How late?” Sophie asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve got to go. See you.”
Adam appeared at the door. “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” Kate said.
“Great. Then let’s eat.”
She was shown into a living room that could have graced the inside of the best glossy lifestyle magazine. There wasn’t a speck of dust or untidiness anywhere. Kate was impressed. It was a smart bachelor pad, simple and functional, with little in the way of ornaments, or soft furnishings. Adam placed some logs in the fireplace on the wall and lit them and now Kate was doubly impressed.
“I’ve never seen a fire as posh as that before,” she said, walking over to take a closer look.
“It’s only a log burner,” he said. “They’ve just set it inside a wall, that’s all.”
The flames started to build and Kate moved closer until she could feel the warmth coming off them, and she shivered as the heat settled in. Adam noticed and came to stand behind her, rubbing his hands up and down the sides of her arms to warm them and then he fetched a small blanket from another room and wrapped it around her shoulders. His hands rested for a moment around her and then he went back to the table to dish up.
When it was all set out, he walked over and handed Kate a glass of wine. “Ready?”
Kate nodded, wondering just how much she was actually going to be able to eat. But before long they were chatting easily and Kate quite forgot about being nervous. “So, I know you don’t eat your salad and that you like Mediterranean food. You live in a very smart flat and you seem to have every opera CD ever made…”
Adam looked at her quizzically.
“I saw them on your sideboard,” she said.
“Wow, you don’t miss a trick, do you?”
“Oh, and you always have shiny shoes.”
Adam laughed. It was the first time Kate had ever seen him laugh and it was fascinating. He was striking when he was serious but when he laughed, he was… breath-taking. His eyes twinkled in the light of the fire and his whole body was glowing in the soft light of the stylish wall lamps.
“So what else should I know about you, Mr Elliott?”
“Adam.”
Kate sat back in her seat. “Adam.” She tilted her head and nodded. “It suits you.”
“What, better than ‘that obnoxious, pompous prick, Elliott’?” Adam seemed amused, but Kate cringed remembering her hideous display. She thought for a moment to correct the errors Kirsty had made that night, but on reflection decided it would make it little better, and closed her eyes in dismay.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He smiled. “I’m glad you think so. Deed Poll can be so tedious these days.”
“I’m-” Kate began to apologise, but Adam just waved it away.
“Would you like some more to eat?”
“No, thanks. I’m full,” she said.
“More wine?”
“I’d better not. I’ve got to drive home later. So have you for that matter,” she said. “You promised to drive me back to my car, remember?”
“You don’t have to go,” Adam offered.
Kate’s eyes almost popped out of her head as her smile fell away. What was he saying?
“I mean, I’ve got a spare room you could borrow,” he said quickly. “I could drive you back to your car in the morning. If you like?”
Kate was confused, unable to process all the implications of that last suggestion in her present state.
“It would be such a shame to waste such a good bottle of wine,” he added.
“But I haven’t got anything with me,” Kate said.
“What do you need?”
Kate racked her brain. “A toothbrush,” she said.
“I have a spare.”
“Hairbrush.”
“I can manage a comb?”
“Spare underwear?”
Adam winced. “Ah. You’ve got me there.” He thought for a moment and then came up with an idea. “I’ve got it. You can have the spare toothbrush and I’ll lend you a T-shirt to sleep in and we’ll put the clothes you’re in now through the wash overnight.” He sat back then, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
Kate smiled as she looked at him. “So that’s how you’ve ended up as a consultant.”
“By washing women’s clothing overnight?” Adam asked.
Kate laughed. “No, by solving tricky problems.”
He laughed and then his face turned more serious a
gain. “So it’s sorted then? You’ll stay?”
Kate’s heart stilled and from somewhere inside her a voice said, “Okay,” and it was settled.
Adam stood and started to clear away the plates and Kate decided to follow him into the kitchen, a pristine, gleaming, culinary heaven. “I’ll wash if you dry?” she said.
Adam thought for a second and nudged shut the dishwasher in front of him. “Excellent.”
Soapy fingers touched a few times while plates were being passed from one to the other and Kate was rapidly dissolving into a bag of nerves wondering where all this was leading. Adam was going to see her wearing just one of his T-shirts. Thank God she had shaved her legs that morning.
“So what’s the big deal with opera?” she asked him, trying to turn the spotlight on to him for a change.
“Would you like to hear some?” he asked. “Then you can judge for yourself.”
“Okay,” Kate said.
They wiped their hands on a dry cloth and then walked back into the living room.
“Is there some opera you’d like in particular?” he asked as he picked out a disc to place into the music system.
“I can’t say I’ve tried any; you’d better choose. I’m more of an R&B girl myself.”
“Really?” Adam sounded surprised. “Well, we’ll have to do something about that. See if you like it. If you don’t, we can turn it off, or find something else. There’s plenty of other stuff to choose from.”
And then the most stirring music Kate had ever heard drifted out of the walls and carried her away. Adam watched as she listened to the music right the way through an entire track without a word being said. Kate was enthralled. As the track came to an end, Adam topped up her wine glass. “Is your Kate short for Katherine?” he asked.
“Yes,” she told him.
“I like that. Katherine.”
Kate had always hated her parents calling her by her full name, but now, from Adam’s lips, it sounded beautiful.
The next track started up and Kate listened again. Flames flickered on the far side of the room and the good food and red wine had warmed her through, or was that being alone with Adam?
Kate looked up into seductive blue-grey eyes and smiled and Adam put down their wine. He held her gaze, unswerving. His body moved purposefully toward her as she waited, pulse racing for him to make his move. Strong, gentle hands reached to cup her face and he leaned slowly down and kissed her.
Being in such close proximity to Adam Elliott was intoxicating. It was a drug Kate did not feel inclined to give up and she sank into the kiss without reservation. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her against him as she slid her fingers up his back, so hot and firm beneath his cotton shirt, and pulled him closer. Adam’s kiss became deeper and more intense and Kate was overwhelmed by the desire igniting inside her. Sparks shot through every corner of her body. Her limbs were turning to cooked spaghetti and she was rapidly losing her grip. Adam’s frame supported her with the strength of one hand and his other caressed the delicate skin at the side of her neck.
Her taste of heaven lasted until the end of the track and as the music faded away, Adam ended the kiss and looked at Kate through those deep dark eyes of his. “You are so beautiful, Katherine,” he said. “I have wanted to do that ever since the first day you hauled me out on Ascot Ward. You were such a force to be reckoned with. I was quite in awe of you.”
“But I was… hideous. I was so angry with you.”
“I know. You were magnificent.”
“I was a trembling wreck,” she told him.
“You were beautiful,” he said and he kissed her again making her blush even deeper than before.
Kate shook her head. “I’d just come back from my granddad’s funeral that day. We were very close. Only granddaughter.” She looked up. “I really thought you hated me.”
“Not at all. I… I’ve just had a lot of things on my mind recently. I’m sorry I took so long. And now I feel really bad. You had just lost your granddad and I laid into you. What a bastard I must have seemed.” Adam looked around the room. “Come on, sit down, you’ve been on your feet all day. You must be tired out.”
Kate sat down on the dark brown leather settee and Adam settled a short distance away. He reached out his hand and touched Kate’s hair. “Even when you’ve done a full day at work your hair still looks perfect. How on earth do you manage it?” he asked.
“Hundreds of pins,” Kate said. “I pin it up so tight it wouldn’t dare come loose.”
“Ah, a control freak. I see what I’m up against now.”
“Afraid so. But then I doubt you’re too happy when things don’t go the way you want them to either?”
Adam chuckled. “No. Maybe not. So we’re as bad as each other, is that what you’re trying to say?”
“It would appear so.”
Adam ran a finger down the edge of her cheek searing the skin where it touched, opera played softly in the background, and Kate finally felt like she had come home.
“Why did you tell me you were married the other day?” Kate asked after a couple of minutes summoning up the courage.
Adam let his hand drop away from her face. He took a deep breath and looked down at his fingers. “I was married once, but not anymore. I just sometimes have difficulty coming to terms with that fact. Not that she’s gone, you understand, I know that, but that I’m no longer married. It’s not easy learning to move on from a love that was so new and untainted by life.”
“What happened?” Kate asked him. “If you don’t mind talking about it.”
Adam looked at her for a long moment. “Her name was Alison. We met in our house year when we were first qualified. She was wonderful: beautiful, clever, caring. You’d have liked her. We got married a year later and we were just thinking about starting a family… and then she died.”
“Oh God,” Kate whispered.
“She was in a car crash. It was late at night and I was on call.” He stopped to compose his thoughts. “She hadn’t wanted to go out that night, but I made her. I thought she would like it once she got there. She did so loved to dance, Ali, and she had found a friend to drive her. She never made it home.”
Kate reached out a hand and touched his knee. Nothing she could say would make it any better.
“I tried to get there. But she was at another hospital and by the time I got someone to cover for me, she was already gone.” Adam’s gaze dropped to the settee beneath him. “I sat beside her on ITU, watching the machines keeping her alive, but in the end…”
Kate squeezed his hand and he looked up. What could she say?
“I’m sorry, but you deserved to know.” He took another deep breath and let it out.
“How long ago did she die?” Kate asked him.
“A couple of years ago.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. Still, life goes on, as they say.” He got up to fetch another bottle of wine and changed the music and when he returned, he had lost his shadow. “So tell me about your love life then, Kate, and please try and make it more entertaining.”
“Oh, Lord. Mine’s far less moving and sadly not even entertaining,” she said. “Unless you count the time I went out with a policeman I met in A&E, only to find out later he was really a male stripper. No, I’ve not been half so lucky in finding love.” And she squeezed his hand and smiled fondly.
When she could suppress her yawns no longer, Kate looked up at the display on the music centre and realised it was past two in the morning. “I’m really sorry,” she said arching her back as she yawned. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to get some sleep soon. I’m done in.”
Adam checked his watch and apologised for keeping her talking so late. He got up from where he was sitting and held out his hand. “Come on sleepy head,” he said.
Kate followed him into the little corridor off the living room. “Your room,” he said as he pushed open the door on the right. It was an immaculately decorated guest room in
shades of terracotta and soft cream. “It should have everything you need in there and your bathroom is just through that door,” he said, pointing to a door on the far side of the room. “My room is down there,” and he nodded to the end of the corridor. “If there’s anything you need, just give me a shout.”
Kate stepped inside.
“Is it all right?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s gorgeous. I’m just a little afraid of getting lost in here.” She held up a finger to point to her hair. “You might never find me again with this hair.”
“Oh, I would always find you, Kate,” he said and Kate’s heart raced. “Besides, I love your hair. I won’t hear a word said against it. I’ll just get you something to sleep in.” A minute later he was back at her door with a large blue T-shirt. “There you go. Now I will definitely be able to find you in the morning. I’ll wait out here. You go and try it on. See if it will do.”
Kate shut the door and looked around. She had a double bed made up in the centre of the back wall with a bedside table on either side. To the right was a dressing table below the window and on the left sat an easy chair and the door to the bathroom. She quickly undressed and pulled on the T-shirt. It was vast on her, stretching half way down to her knees and to her elbows on either side. Kate was relieved. She slipped off her tights and knickers and bundled them up inside her uniform and then taking a deep breath, she walked back outside into the corridor.
Rather self-conscious of how little she had on, she bobbed a small curtsy.
“Perfect,” he said. “Shall I take those for you?”
“No,” she snapped, flushing slightly. “I can do it.” As if she was going to let him touch any of her dirty washing on a first date! Was this a date? She still wasn’t sure. “Just point me in the right direction.”
Adam took her to a door behind the kitchen that looked like a cupboard. Inside was a tiny laundry. She put her bundle in the drum and threw in a capsule and then Adam set it to run.
“Right, all sorted.” He looked at his watch. “It’s twenty past two and you’re shattered. You’d better get yourself to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” Closing the door on the steady hum of the machine, they walked back to their rooms.
By My Side Page 11
