‘I have,’ he said, looking pretty pleased about it. ‘I’m off to the States in a couple of weeks. Can’t wait.’
The States. In two weeks. Of course. That was why he was between homes as well. ‘A new job?’
‘A great job. Been looking for a job like this for a long time. Could lead to all sorts of exciting things.’
He was right. You do learn something new every day. Two things, on some days.
I’d finally found a man who did something other than let me down or wind me up. And he was leaving the country. How unlucky could you get?
Chapter 11
There wasn’t much time talk after that. By the time I’d got the champagne ready for the bride and groom (and more water on hand for the bilious bridesmaid) the service was over and it was time for the photos, a lot of which were due to be taken with the Rolls. After that it was a short (and, in my case, very smelly) ride to the reception, but as I’d put the roof down, it was bearable.
We parted at the hotel where the reception was being held, me to return the Rolls to its barn and Matt to get back to his tiling. By this time, the heat had become stickier than ever, and a mass of dark clouds was rolling towards us across the sky.
‘Don’t forget what I said, will you?’ he said as he helped me put the roof up. I was in a hurry to get it done because rain was already starting to fall. It was the sort of rain that comes down in drops the size of sugar lumps, and feels about as heavy. At least it would soon be cooler.
‘About what?’ I asked.
‘You know. About the website.’
I secured the last latch on the Rolls, then followed him across to help him take the ribbons off his car. I looked at him wistfully. I’d done some thinking on the way to the reception, mostly about it being bloody typical that just as I’d begun to feel properly interested in someone, they were zooming off to the other side of the world. Fate could be cruel.
But perhaps fate was right. Wouldn’t do to get hung up over someone when I had so much else going on in my life.
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘That’s kind of you. I won’t.’
He looked at me from across the bonnet. ‘I mean it. If you’d like me to come by some time next week and run through some templates with you before I go – no charge, of course – ’
I started to nod. What would be nicer than to spend more time with him? Even if I wasn’t sure what a template might be. And it was a good idea. I would want a website. I had to move with the times. But the human heart is sometimes cleverer than the head is, and makes you stop and think before you risk getting hurt.
‘Oh, don’t worry,’ I said briskly. ‘That’s still a while away. I haven’t even sold this business yet!’ I undid the last bow at the top of the car door, and began rolling ribbon round my hand. ‘And I wouldn’t want to tempt fate by getting ahead of myself, would I?’
Quite, I thought. Quite. Given that I’d probably never see him again.
He came round to my side of the car with his own roll of ribbon. It was beginning to get spattered with rain. ‘Fair enough,’ he said. He looked disappointed, and I felt guilty again. After all, he didn’t know that I fancied the pants off him. And he was just trying to be helpful. He shrugged. ‘Just a thought.’
‘Thank you.’
‘If you change your mind – ’
I nodded. ‘Thanks. But, well, I’m going to be in college all week, and I’ve got to get Josh off to his father’s. And with my driver still looking so grim, there’s going to be a couple of evening jobs I’m going to have to do, and there’s another wedding at the weekend –’
‘Phew,’ he said. ‘Hold up. I’m getting worn out just listening. Jo, do you ever take a day off?’
‘Not often, at the moment,’ I admitted.
He took my hand in his and put the ribbon in my palm. Then closed his fingers over mine. ‘Well, you should.’
Chapter 12
Most of the time, cleaning cars was my least favourite chore, which wasn’t surprising, given that I’d spent most of my adult life working in a business where cars had to be cleaned as carefully – and almost as often – as teeth. Cleaning cars gave you backache and arm ache and soggy skin, and also broke all your nails.
I’d set aside the following Wednesday afternoon to make some last minute changes to my college project and, if I finished it, go and see a movie with some college friends. But, instead, I was cleaning the Rolls, and, strangely, not minding at all. It was good to be busy. To get out of the house and do something physical.
I was cleaning the Rolls because Rhys’s son Tom was unwell. He’d been tucked up in bed with a tummy bug since the weekend. Hmm, I thought. It must be spreading. I must keep my distance if I saw him. I’d had quite enough sick for one week.
Tom was supposed to have been cleaning the car because Josh was away doing work experience, and had opted, very sensibly, to do it with his dad. Why slog in a shop or an office in Cardiff if you could wangle a week at your dad’s place in Spain?
I was pleased for him. He didn’t see enough of his father. But I missed him. Must get out more, I thought. Must get the Rolls cleaned and go out with my mates. Must, in short, get a life. Jan was right. For far too long I’d been using work to hide myself away from the world. Time to get out there and join it again. It might be years before another man like Matt came along – but I’d hate to miss him if he did.
What I did almost miss was the sound of my phone. I’d left it in my bag in the Fiesta, and what with my singing – I always sang when cleaning cars – I didn’t hear it in time to find it before it stopped. Luckily, however, it started again.
I found it and answered. Perhaps it was Josh, calling to let me know how he was getting on. But it wasn’t. It was Matt. The hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle.
‘You sound puffed out,’ he remarked. ‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’
I dropped the sponge into the bucket and wiped my other hand on my jeans. ‘Not really,’ I said, feeling a small flight of butterflies dance in my stomach. ‘Nothing I’m in a rush to get back to, at any rate.’
Oh, my, I thought. Too late. I’m quoting him now. Boy, I really had got it bad.
‘Good,’ he said firmly. ‘And I’m glad I’ve caught you, because I wanted a word. I’m the one in need of a favour now.’
‘Oh,’ I said, leaning back against the car. ‘Okay. Right.’
‘It’s just that I’m leaving for the States next week and I wanted to do something for my brother and sister-in-law before I go. As a thank you for putting up with me these past few weeks.’
I wasn’t sure where this was going, but then, he was going, so it didn’t matter, did it? ‘Oh, right,’ I said again. ‘Yes. Yes, you would do.’
‘And of course I didn’t know what, exactly. But then I had a brainwave. It’s their anniversary at the weekend, you see. Twenty-fifth.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘So I thought of you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, you.’
‘Why me?’
‘Have a guess.’
I couldn’t think. ‘I don’t know.’
‘You know what? I think you are better out of that business. I thought I’d arrange them a Day To Remember, of course!’
Why hadn’t that occurred to me? Probably because my mind was somewhere else altogether. ‘Oh, right,’ I said. ‘Of course. Silly me. Good idea.’
‘So. Can you do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘Make yourself available at the weekend.’
‘Um…well… I don’t know. When, exactly? I have another wedding on Saturday –’
‘Sunday, then,’ he said. ‘I was thinking Sunday would be best, actually. So are you free on Sunday? I know it’s short notice, but if you haven’t got anything else on…’
Bang went yet another day off. But then, he had done me a pretty big favour. Mustn’t forget that. And it was nice to talk to him again. Tingle-at-the-back-of-the-neck nice. I pushed the thought away. ‘N
o, no,’ I said. ‘Sunday’s fine. Within reason. What sort of thing did you have in mind for them?’
‘Not sure about the details yet, but something nice. Something special.’
‘An evening do of some sort? Theatre? Only I can’t be out late because my son’s coming home then. Though I could certainly take them somewhere. No prob –’
‘Oh, no. I wasn’t thinking that. An evening hardly counts as a Day To Remember, does it? No, I was thinking an outing of some sort. Tell you what, how about we work on setting off some time in the morning?’
‘We? You mean you’re planning to go with them?’
‘God, no. Wouldn’t be much of an anniversary do with me tagging along, would it? No, no. I was just thinking about timings.’
‘Of course. Well, you can let me know about that once you’ve decided what they’re going to be doing, can’t you? And how long you’re going to want me and so on, yes?’
‘No, no. No need. Tell you what, how about eleven?’
‘Okay. Eleven at your – sorry, their house. With the Rolls?’
He laughed. ‘You make it sound like something from a game of Cluedo. But, no. That won’t work. I’ll have to come to you first.’
‘Why?’
‘With the present. And…um…the balloons.’
‘Balloons?’
‘Yes. That’ll work. I’ll come to you, and we can go and sort the car out and then we can both go round and fetch them and then you can take them off for their surprise.’
‘Um…right.’
‘Whatever that turns out to be. But that’s sorted then, is it? That I come to you at, let me see… ten?’
‘If you say so.’
‘Excellent. Then I’ll see you on Sunday.’
‘Did you want ribbons?’
‘Ribbons?’
‘For the Rolls. Only I’m low on supplies, so if you wanted a certain colour –’
‘No, no,’ he said. ‘Don’t you worry about that. You can leave all the details to me.’
Chapter 13
Why was it, I wondered, as I ironed my blouse on Sunday morning, that the sun always shone on days I was working, and hid behind the clouds whenever I got a day off?
Not that it mattered. It felt such a long time since I’d had a day to myself that if I got one I wouldn’t care about the weather. Probably spend most of it catching up on sleep.
No time to rest now, though. Time was getting on. Matt would be here with his balloons in twenty minutes. Wouldn’t look right to answer the door in my shorts. This, after all, was work.
When the doorbell rang five minutes later, I thought it must be my next door neighbour. He often stopped by on his way to church, to see if I wanted a Sunday paper from the shops on his way home. And I was still in my shorts.
‘Surprise!!’
I didn’t know who was saying this to me because their head was completely hidden by the largest bunch of sweet peas I had ever seen. There must have been hundreds, in shades of white and pink and lilac. Their scent was so powerful it almost knocked me off my feet.
The head appeared to one side. ‘Oh, it’s you, Matt!’
‘The very same.’
‘Gosh, you’re early!’ I took a step back and ushered him past me and inside. He was wearing shorts, too. The surfing shorts he’d had on when I’d first met him. Obviously a day off for him, at least. Either that, or a tiling and grouting day. The scent of the sweet peas filled the hall.
I felt flustered. ‘I’m not ready yet. Er…as you can see. But I’ll be as quick as I can.’
He stood there beaming at me, looking gorgeous, and I eyed the flowers carefully, trying to get my mind back in business-mode. ‘Are those in any water?’ I asked him. ‘Because if they’re not, they ought to be. They won’t last the day otherwise.’
He inspected the bottom of the bouquet. ‘Um, let me see. I think so.’ He jiggled it about. ‘Yes. Hear that? Sploshing. So, yes, I think they are.’
I took a look myself. ‘Yes, you’re right. That’s okay then.’ I began walking towards the kitchen to get my blouse. He followed. ‘You’ll have to give me ten minutes,’ I said as we got there, ‘to get changed into my uniform and sort my hair out and so on. If you want to make yourself a coffee, that’s fine. The kettle’s over there, and… What? What’s so funny?’
He was standing in the middle of the kitchen and grinning. The same grin he’d been wearing the previous Saturday. ‘What?’ I said again. ‘What is it?’
He looked me up and down. I must have looked a fright. Hair all over the place, raggedy vest, faded shorts, and my favourite pair of flip flops, which were very, very old. I felt my cheeks begin to redden.
‘You look perfect,’ he said.
I blinked at him. ‘What?’
‘More than perfect. I know you can’t strictly be more than perfect, but let’s not be picky.’ He was still holding the flowers, and he suddenly seemed to notice. ‘And that blush,’ he announced, ‘goes very well with these.’
He held them out to me now.
‘You mean those are for me?’
‘Of course they’re for you. My, you’re slow on the uptake.’
I took them from him and our eyes met as I did so. My heart started thumping. Hearts might be clever but they’re also unruly. I looked away. I hadn’t felt this way in such a long time, and the feeling was so strong I didn’t know what to do. My mouth was dry so I licked my lips. ‘But what about your sister-in-law?’
‘Marie?’ He shook his head. ‘Not into flowers. Gets asthma if you so much as put her outside.’
Oh,’ I said, pushing my nose deep into the blooms, and not knowing what to say next. Except for thank you. So I said that.
‘You’re welcome,’ he said. ‘I’m glad you like them.’
‘I love them. They’re my favourites.’
‘I know,’ he said.
‘How?’
‘How do you think?’ He grinned some more. ‘Let’s call it an educated guess.’
I put the flowers carefully on the table. ‘But I still have to get ready,’ I said, remembering what I was supposed to be doing. ‘Time’s getting on.’
He crossed the space between us. ‘I told you, you don’t need to. You look perfect as you are.’
‘Your brother might not think so.’
‘My brother won’t be seeing you.’
‘What?’
‘Because we’re not going to my brother’s.’
I blinked. The tingle in the back of my neck was starting up again. ‘We?’
‘As in you and I. Seems to me you almost never make any time for yourself. Not willingly, anyway. So I thought I’d do something about it. Trick you into it, in fact. I’m going to take you out for a Day To Remember. Well, I hope I am. If you agree, that is.’ He placed his hands on his hips. ‘In fact, I’m not leaving till you do. ’
I was so stunned I forgot about forgetting all about him. How could I when he was standing just inches from my nose? He was close enough to touch. Close enough to remind me that it had been a very long time since the closeness of a male person had had such a powerful effect on me. I’d also forgotten how scary that feeling was.
I tried to pull myself together. ‘But what about their anniversary?’
‘Oh, that’s not till next month. And it’s already sorted. Got them two tickets for the cricket. Much more their thing.’ He held up some fingers. ‘Well, three, in fact. I got one for myself while I was at it.’
It took several seconds for this to sink in. But then it did. ‘For yourself? But won’t you be in America?’
He shook his head. ‘Not unless I lose my ticket home. Or get attacked by a swarm of Yankee killer bees and get banged up in hospital or something.’
‘But your new job –’
‘What about it? Be long finished by then.’
‘Finished? But –’
‘How long do you think it takes to set up a website? I know it’s going to be a pretty big website, but –’
He looked surprised. ‘Course it isn’t. Doesn’t work like that.’
‘It doesn’t?’
He shook his head. ‘I work for myself, same as you do. You do weddings – and flowers – and I do websites. Once you’ve done one you go off and do another one. That’s how it works.’
‘I never realised…’
‘So I’ll be in the States three, four weeks at the most.’ He laughed. ‘I’m not emigrating or anything!’
Chapter 14
I was smiling inside so much by now that it couldn’t help but show on my face. How stupid could a girl be?
Too stupid for words. But Matt didn’t need to know that. ‘Oh, I see,’ I said, trying to look like it didn’t much matter either way. ‘I just assumed you were, well, moving out, moving on…’
‘Oh, I am doing that,’ he said. ‘I’m in the middle of buying a flat down in Cardiff Bay.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’ He was still standing much too close for comfort. I took half a step back so I could breathe a little easier. He looked into my eyes. ‘Which means I won’t be far away. Which means that if I can prise you out of here sometime today and show you a good enough time, I’m hoping there’ll be a chance we can do it all again.’ He took half a step forward again as he said this. ‘If you want to, that is.’
I stayed still this time, because I quite forgot to move. Our eyes met again. His were brown. Melted-chocolate brown. But it was me that was melting. ‘What sort of good time?’ I asked him.
He lifted his hands and began touching his fingers. ‘Got the river, got the swans, got the blanket, got the wine. Got the strawberries and bees even, and that’s despite the risk to my health. And –’ he looked out of the window – ‘pretty sure I’ve got the sun sparkling on the water as well. Still working on the fisherman. Have to keep our fingers crossed about him, I guess.’
‘Wow,’ I said. I meant it. I could live without the fisherman. No-one had ever done anything like this for me before. I was stunned. And completely stuck for words.
A Day to Remember Page 5
