Simon nodded. "Yes, I saw it. It's kind of embarrassing really. I did my best to keep it out of the newspaper but there you have it. By tomorrow it'll be old news and nobody will even remember so it's no big deal."
"It's big news for me. It's not everyday I go for a walk in the park with a celebrity," Diane joked.
Simon laughed, "Lucky you, you'll be the first to hear about my new movie, ha ha."
"So, Simon, are you now officially retired or do you have a plan for world domination?"
Simon slowed down to let the dogs sniff a tree. "I'll take some time off to recharge, to see friends and to train for the London marathon, I want to beat my time from last year. After that, I really just need some time to do what I want for a change. The last business was a lot of fun but the long hours had a price. I had no life outside the office, even when I was socializing it was for work. So, a complete change of pace will be good."
Diane listened carefully and noticed Simon's blue eyes for the first time. Every time she met him he seemed more handsome. "I see. Sounds good. That's a lovely dog by the way, he has a beautiful coat."
"Thank you, Chobi's been my best friend for the last 5 years. He is my social life," Simon laughed.
"No time for the ladies?" Diane smiled, eager to know the answer.
Simon shook his head. "Not usually, unfortunately. My last serious relationship was 2 years ago. We rarely saw each other so we agreed to call it a day right after New Year's Day. Nothing like the start of a new year to encourage radical change. I still regret that, she was great but she was as bad as me, always working on something."
"I see, that's a pity. Maybe your hair cut had something to do with it," Diane joked nervously, pleased that Simon was as successfully single as she was.
Simon glared at her and abruptly stopped walking. "What is it with you and my hair?" He snarled. "At the wedding it was my shoes and now it's something else. Are you always so abrasive?" Simon demanded.
Diane took a step back and tensed her face, "I was only joking. Relax, ok? No need to be so defensive."
Simon rolled his eyes and raised his voice. "I'm not on the defensive. It's just not funny. Don't you get it?"
Diane shouted back. "Ok, ok, I won't comment on your appearance again, ever, I promise. Geez, I never expected you to be so touchy. You're like a self-conscious woman."
"Fine! Look I need to get going. Take it easy, bye," Simon tugged on his lead and with Chobi bounded off into the distance. Diane stood there speechless watching them until they disappeared out of sight.
She turned to Twisty, "Uh-oh it looks like I've put my foot in it again," she stroked Twisty's head, "I'm sorry, and you and Chobi were getting on so well. I need to learn to watch the sarcasm, apparently. Ok, let's go home and see what's on TV."
* * *
Sylvia repeated her question, "Diane, what did you say to Simon?" Diane stared at the wall, stared at the ceiling and then back at the phone, "Ok, ok, I heard you the first time. It was nothing, I just said he could do with a better haircut."
"Enough! Listen, Diane, this is the last time I introduce you to someone. Simon is one of the nicest people I know. I already told you that. And, what do you do at the first opportunity? You insult his appearance. You're unbelievable. What is your problem sis'?" Sylvia fumed.
Diane shook her head. "It's not as bad as it sounds, really. I was joking with him. How was I supposed to know he's so sensitive? Give me a break! And anyway, I already told you I don't need any help finding Mr.Right, thank you very much."
"Oh yeah, Diane? That's what you think, young lady."
Diane felt her temper rising and shouted back. "Don't young lady me, Sylvia. I'm still you're older sister and don't forget it. Thanks for your call but I've got things to do, talk to you tomorrow, bye." Diane clicked the phone off and stopped herself from throwing it at the wall. The phone rang again.
"What is it this time, Sylvia. Drop it will you?" Diane shouted.
"Diane? Is that you? It's Simon."
"Oh hello, Simon. Sorry about that, I was just having a screaming row with my sister. Nothing to worry about."
"Oh, sorry to hear that, Diane. I still have shouting matches with my brother from time to time so no need to explain. Hey, the reason I called is because I wanted to apologize for storming off earlier. I guess I got out of the wrong side of bed today."
"Oh no, you have nothing to be sorry about, Simon. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry I was rude to you, again, I promise I'll watch my tongue when, if, we meet again."
"Well, that's why I'm calling, Diane. I would like to meet again. Let's start with a clean slate and meet someplace where we can take our time and talk. I trust Sylvia's judgement and based on what she told me about you I think we'd enjoy getting to know each other better. It looks like we're both fiery people so we just need to factor that in ha ha."
As she listened, Diane had an image of Simon in his tight jogging gear flash into her mind, her heart beat faster and she tried to sound normal. "Oh, that's a surprise. I thought you'd never want to see me again. Ok great. I'd love to see you again."
"Tell you what, Diane. I'll pick you up for dinner at 7 tomorrow evening, how about that?"
"Perfect. I look forward to it, Simon. Thank you so much for calling."
* * *
At 7 p.m. precisely, Simon sat impatiently in his black Aston Martin outside Diane's house. He checked in the rear view mirror for traffic wardens and checked the time again. He shook his head. Maybe he should just drive off. He was fuming.
Diane opened the front door of her house and clicked down the steps in her black evening dress and high heels, only 10 minutes late, and hopped into the car.
"Nice car, Simon, you have good taste," she smiled.
Simon smiled and felt all his anger and tension slip away, "Thank you, it's a present from me to me for selling that company, it's great fun to drive. You look fabulous by the way, oh I see you have your hair up like you had at the wedding, it suits you. You look like royalty."
"Thank you. It looks like this could be a night of compliments," Diane laughed. "So, you still haven't told me where we're going. How about a clue?" She looked over at Simon and was surprised when her heart missed a beat. He did look good, very good in a suit.
"I can't do that. That would be cheating, Diane. Let's just say I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Simon drove across the city and out to Richmond. He sped up the hill and pulled into the driveway of a magnificent country house with views down to the Thames estuary.
"Is this it? Diane asked as she looked around, "Where's the restaurant?"
"Tonight the restaurant is coming to us," Simon smiled. "This is my weekend house. Sylvia told me Divoak is your favorite restaurant so I hired the head chef to prepare a meal for us. He should be ready to serve us, come on, let's go in."
Diane looked over to the entrance of the beautifully restored three story Georgian building. "Really? I love their food, it's incredibly hard to get a reservation, how did you get the chef to come here?"
"That would be telling. Come on, let's eat." Simon took her hand and led the way into the house and out to the terrace where a candle lit dining table had been arranged for them, with a view over the countryside and the river below, snaking away into the distance.
Diane couldn't believe her eyes, it was like she'd stepped into a movie set and she was the star. She looked at Simon as they sat down and saw a sparkle in his eyes. He looked magnificent in his dark navy suit, very handsome indeed. She looked into his blue eyes and smiled, "You look very smart this evening, Simon."
Simon smiled and moved his foot out from under the table to reveal a new pair of dress shoes, "New shoes too," he laughed. "You were right, shoes do make the man, ha ha."
They clinked champagne glasses and started to eat, the modernist cuisine was mouth watering. They chatted happily and Diane started to feel an unfamiliar feeling, she really, really liked Simon. She relaxed and reached out her hand to t
ouch his. "Simon, this food is wonderful, thank you so much for being so thoughtful, you went to a lot of trouble."
Simon held her hand. "You're very welcome. I'm pleased you're enjoying it. I liked you the moment I met you. Your sister warned me that you can be a handful, but she was right, we do have a lot in common. I'm no angel myself, I have a temper so I've learned to accept other peoples' failings, I have enough of mine own."
Diane felt the reassuring warmth of his hand and smiled, "Oh no, it sounds like Sylvia has made me out to be a right maniac. Wait until I talk to her. Well, I'm happy we're still talking. The dogs would never forgive us if we didn't meet for walks again."
"That's right, Diane. We'll be in big trouble if we let them down."
After the waiting staff had cleared the table, Simon smiled and winked, "Diane, there's one other thing, I want to show you something, wait here one minute." Simon disappeared into the house and returned with a small brown leather folder. "Open this."
Diane hesitated, "What is it?"
"Open it, Diane, and you'll find out. Go on."
Diane's hands fumbled with the blue ribbon before opening the folder to reveal two tickets. Tickets for the Russian Ballet. Diane took a deep breath and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh my God, how did you know? I love the ballet and I was dying to see this performance but it was sold out."
Simon's eyes twinkled. "A little fairy whispered in my ear that you'd like to go." He put his arm around Diane's waist and kissed her gently on the cheek. Diane relaxed into his arm and he felt so strong. She knew she was falling for Simon and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"I've wanted to do that since the moment I met you, Diane. You're beautiful. I couldn't believe my luck when I met you. Sylvia had talked about you but she never mentioned you were stunning."
Diane blushed and felt breathless, "That's my sister alright, she always leaves out the good stuff, I'm sure she warned you about my other qualities though."
"Ah, she did actually. Come here a minute," Simon moved closer and kissed Diane firmly on her lips. "I love your softness, you're so feminine. You're wonderful." He put his arms around her and held her close.
Diane stared deep into his blue eyes, "Simon, I think I'm starting to feel different about attending weddings."
"Maybe I am too, Diane, especially after talking to your grandmother."
"Hang on a second, you talked to my gran too? Is this some sort of family conspiracy to get me a man?" Diane laughed.
Simon spoke softly. "Yes, I talked to her. She said something to me that gave me hope. You see, I'd decided to take a break from women after my last few years of dating failure. And when you started getting on my nerves, it was the final straw for me. Then, I remembered what your gran said - she told me the story of how she got to know your granddad, she told me to have high standards not impossible standards.
"Because of that I ignored the small stuff and let myself get to know you better. It's funny, even though you annoyed me, I still wanted to see you again, something just kept sending me back to you."
"Gran has a lot to answer for. That story sounds familiar, very familiar," Diane laughed.
Simon hugged her again and whispered in her ear, "I'm in love with you, Diane." He kissed her passionately and held her close.
Diane turned to look again at his deep blue eyes, she felt his strong arms around her and felt safe and protected. She whispered, "I've not stopped thinking about you since the moment we met. I'm crazy about you."
About the Author
Norah C. Peters has always loved telling stories that make people smile and she especially enjoys writing stories that lift the human spirit and get us in touch again with what really matters in life: love and friendship. When she's not writing she can usually be found losing track of time in the garden with a hot cup of tea close to hand.
A Feeling You Can`t Ignore Page 2
