Chapter Thirty-two
Ellie
Saturday 29 February
‘Wow.’ Spencer gave Ellie the once-over then said, ‘You look amazing.’
The grin on his face made it quite clear that he liked the new look. Ellie was wearing a navy skater dress with woolly tights, it was February after all, and a cream sheepskin gilet. She was aiming for stylish, and was glad he thought she was a knockout. One point to her.
It was also a vast improvement on the last time he’d seen her, straight from work, blotchy, tear-stained face, snotty nose and puffy eyes, after she thought Scott had ruined everything for them.
Spencer’s outfit of dark blue jeans and a cream Hollister jumper meant they matched.
‘Twins.’ He grinned.
‘Great minds,’ chuckled Ellie.
‘I thought we’d go down to Leith tonight,’ Spencer said as he handed her a planter filled with snowdrops. They were so sweet and so much prettier and more thoughtful than the stereotypical roses.
‘Thanks. They’re gorgeous. Give me two minutes and I’ll put them inside.’
When she returned, she locked her front door and followed him to his car. ‘Leith sounds good. Where did you have in mind?’
‘Ventura.’ Spencer once again opened her door before getting into his own side. Again, Ellie gave an internal nod to his manners, and she definitely approved of his choice of restaurant, although the Michelin-starred eatery was a bit outside of her price range. As if reading her mind, he said, ‘This is my treat tonight.’ Ellie began to protest, but he silenced her with a ‘You can pay next time– at Gleneagles.’
She laughed at that, the renowned golf resort a little too far away and also a bit out of her budget, even if she did get the new job.
‘OK, you’re on.’ She knew if they had a next date, and she was warming to that idea, it wouldn’t be Gleneagles.
Ellie had a hard time dragging her gaze away from Spencer to the menu to make her choices, and she loved the fact she could see the chefs in the kitchen, which had a large viewing window overlooking the restaurant. Already impressed with the surroundings, she thought if the food was as good as its reputation suggested, she would be in heaven. Although , a little devil voice reminded her, you’re already in heaven, because you’re with Spencer .
‘So, you’re off to Kuala Lumpur next week,’ Ellie said when they’d chosen their starters.
‘Yes, four days. And it’s quite a long flight.’
‘I’ve always wanted to visit the Petronas Towers.’
‘They are pretty special. I love the walkway that separates them.’
‘Yeah, although I’m not sure I could walk across it,’ Ellie admitted.
‘Scared of heights?
‘No, quite the contrary. I like extreme sports, and I love watching the base jumpers jumping from the Petronas Towers, but only the most skilled could do it. Way out of my league, but I would wish I could do it, and I’d be annoyed I couldn’t manage it.’
‘You are a woman full of surprises.’
With a little thrill, Ellie could see that she had intrigued him. ‘I’ve always liked extreme sports. Finding people to do it with is more difficult.’
‘What other extreme sports do you do then?’ Spencer asked.
Ellie counted off on her fingers. ‘White-water rafting, bungee jumping, parasailing, kite-surfing, off-piste skiing.’
‘You’re quite the daredevil.’ The impressed look on Spencer’s face made Ellie laugh. ‘So, who is the usual unlucky victim? Who do you take with you to participate in these “feats”?’
‘Well, none of my friends are into it, so I registered with a club, and about once a month I go and do one of the activities.’
‘And how did you get into it all? Are you an adrenaline junkie?’ Spencer probed, taking his napkin and smoothing it out on his lap.
‘Guilty as charged.’ She grinned. ‘I can’t help it. I just love the feeling, the freedom.’
‘Hmm.’
Ellie could see he didn’t quite get it, but that was OK. She wasn’t expecting him to, nor did she kid herself he would offer to join her.
‘Anyway, enough about me, what else can you tell me about Kuala Lumpur?’
Spencer spent a good ten minutes rhyming off the places he’d been and advising Ellie on where to go, as well as telling her of a few spots he hadn’t yet visited but were on his wish list.
‘I have a Rough Guide for Malaysia. I’ll lend it to you if you like,’ Spencer said as their starters arrived. Ellie had opted for the mackerel, finding the snails and bone marrow a stretch too far even for her adventurous palate. She wasn’t sure if she’d like the texture of snails and decided it was best not to throw up the contents of her dinner later. Spencer, on the other hand, had no such qualms.
‘I first got into snails in Spain, in Andalusia, to be precise. You should try one.’ He held one up, but she shook her head.
He could keep his snails. She liked to experiment with food, but she drew the line at snails.
‘How’s the mackerel?’
‘Delicious.’ In reality it was pinker than she would normally have eaten it, but she was generally willing to try something new. ‘So, I take it you’ve been here before?’
‘Yeah, my dad used to bring me here all the time before he passed.’
Ellie’s face fell. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s OK, it was a few years ago now, but he taught me a lot about good food, so it’s quite a passion of mine now.’
At the mention of the word ‘passion’, Ellie blushed, then pretended to cough so he didn’t catch on to why she was turning red.
‘Water?’ Spencer offered her.
Ellie nodded, accepting the glass and taking a sip.
‘So, tell me, what have you been up to since I last saw you?’
Ellie relayed what had been happening at work, with Trish’s mentoring, a few other candidates who had declared for the job, and the fact she was feeling more than a little stressed. She didn’t mention the role was in Manchester. She didn’t want to spoil such a potentially wonderful friendship from blossoming before it even got out of the starting gate.
‘Now there’s a bigger pool of candidates, I’m a bit concerned the promotion may go to someone else.’
‘That’s only natural,’ Spencer said, ‘but these days half the time bosses know who’s getting the job before it’s been advertised.’
‘True. Hopefully this time that will go in my favour.’
The waiters removed their empty plates and replaced them with wagyu beef for Spencer and lobster for Ellie. She was thoroughly enjoying the restaurant experience, but she was enjoying even more being in the company of such an intelligent, interesting, kind and generous man. And he was handsome too, always a bonus.
He stopped her talking about him too much and asked her plenty about herself. He was particularly interested in her love of extreme sports, which although he didn’t share, he found fascinating. His words.
The evening flew past and all too soon they had to leave.
‘Compliments to the chef,’ Spencer told the waitress as he paid by card then discreetly left a generous tip on the counter.
‘Thanks, Mr Delaney.’
Ellie scrunched up her eyebrows. ‘Deference?’
Spencer laughed. ‘Not sure about that. Mutual respect. They give me good service, and I come back time after time.’
Ellie liked the fact he hadn’t said it was because of the huge tip he left. Unpretentious.
As they walked back to the car, Spencer said, ‘I had a really good time, Ellie.’
‘Me too.’
‘I’m so glad we gave this another chance.’
‘So am I.’
What was wrong with her? Why was she monosyllabic all of a sudden? She liked this guy. She really liked this guy. Get it together, Ellie.
‘Spencer, I…’
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Yes?’
Could she do this? Could she be this forward? ‘I-I really like you,’ she stammered.
Spencer seemed to grow even taller, if that were possible. If he’d been a peacock he’d have been primping his feathers.
‘That’s good, because I really like you too.’ His eyes shone, whether with happiness, amusement or lust, she wasn’t sure, but she was hoping it was a mix of all three.
‘Good.’ She stood directly in front of him, her back against the car, and looked up at him, her eyes never leaving his.
He leant down slightly, but it was she who closed the distance between them first. As their lips touched, she wanted to groan. This was how it was meant to feel. It had never even come close with Scott. Not even at the beginning. Every touch of Spencer’s lips sent wonderful messages to her synapses. She heard a moan. She couldn’t tell if it came from Spencer or her. She didn’t care. Their lips touched again, ever so lightly. It was almost torture, but it was exquisite torture and it sent a thousand tingles to every part of her body.
They deepened their kiss until it would have been indecent to continue. When they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily, and Ellie noted Spencer’s eyes were glazed over with lust.
Spencer grinned. ‘I can’t believe I nearly let you go. What an idiot.’
‘True,’ said Ellie, earning a playful punch on the arm from Spencer. ‘I can’t believe you thought I was still with Scott. Didn’t our body language give anything away?’
‘I was a little far away, but it looked like he’d brought you a gift. You were both sending out mixed signals from where I was standing.’
‘Oh, they definitely weren’t mixed from my side. I told him not to bother me again. And he had brought me a gift. White Company, too, if you please. I thought about keeping it, since his gifts were always uninspired. Sorry, probably shouldn’t diss an ex this early with someone new. Anyway, I changed my mind and told the receptionist to keep it. Didn’t want any reminders of him around.’
‘So, I’m your someone new, am I?’ Spencer grinned.
‘Oh, I think so. I mean you’re a bit rough around the edges, but I’m sure I could whip you into shape.’
She cringed inwardly and moved a couple of strands of hair out of her face in a bid to play for time. Her attempt at humour had probably set off another image in Spencer’s mind. It certainly had in hers. She glanced at him and he was visibly shaking with laughter.
‘That didn’t quite come out how you meant it, did it?’
Ellie grinned. ‘Not exactly.’
He held the lapels of her coat together as if to ward off the cold. ‘Could we meet up when I get back from Kuala Lumpur?’
‘I’d like that. Maybe we could go rock climbing.’
Spencer blanched then laughed and gently hit her on the arm. ‘Stop winding me up. I nearly fell for that.’
‘What?’ asked Ellie, pretending confusion. ‘Fell for what?’
‘We’re not going rock climbing on a date.’
‘Why not?’
Now he looked wrong-footed. Ha. He clearly didn’t know if she was joking or not.
‘Yeah, right, like I’d do that to you!’ Now it was her turn to give him a playful pat on the arm.
‘Phew! Don’t do that. You had me going there.’ He held his hand over his heart and Ellie couldn’t help noting the long, well-cared for fingernails, the strong hands. Her mind wondered what those strong hands could do with her. Oh God, she had it bad. She tore her thoughts away from Spencer’s strong hands to focus.
‘Of course I wouldn’t take you rock climbing on a fourth date.’
‘Thank goodness for that.’ Spencer opened the car door for her.
‘I keep that in reserve for the tenth.’
Spencer turned and shot her a look. ‘There’s a new bouldering place nearby. Will that do?’
Ellie laughed for a full minute. Wuss.
On the drive back to Ellie’s, they chatted about music and books, architecture and sport, and it was more like a continuation of their date than a journey. Or a journey of discovery of each other. What was she like? Everything was a metaphor these days. She needed to snap out of it.
Spencer stopped the car outside Ellie’s. As before, he came round her side and opened the car door for her. She didn’t want to act out the clichéd romcom moment of fiddling with her keys, so she simply said, ‘Thanks for tonight.’
‘No problem.’ Spencer must have sensed he wasn’t being invited up as he leant in and kissed her, the type of instinctive kiss she’d hoped to receive from him, where she wanted nothing more than to drag him inside her flat and have him stay until morning, but she kept her resolve.
When they broke away his eyes were full of regret. ‘I guess I’ll just have to wait for Gleneagles,’ he said as he walked away, throwing her a cheeky grin over his shoulder as he did so. Heartened by his parting comment, Ellie watched him go. Try as she might not to, she was falling for him and hard.
As he reached his car, she called after him, ‘You might want to check your pockets.’
His brow furrowed. ‘Why, have you pickpocketed me? Seriously, the luck I have with dates these days.’
‘No, quite the opposite.’ She stood, her arms wrapped around herself, warding off the chill February night air. Could it really be the first day of spring tomorrow? Hopefully the new season heralded new beginnings for her, with Spencer.
Spencer felt in the pockets of his overcoat, his lips curving into a smile as he found what she’d left for him.
Slowly, he withdrew it from his pocket and held it up. ‘A key?’
She nodded.
‘Your front door key?’
She nodded again.
‘Are you inviting me up?’
She tilted her head to one side as if considering this idea. ‘I guess I must be,’ then she shrieked as he sprinted towards her and lifted her off the ground, swinging her round and round until she felt the breath leave her body.
Finally, he set her down and she regained her composure, brushing her curls back from her face as she took a deep breath in.
‘Shall we?’ Spencer said, key poised in the lock.
Tentatively, she took his outstretched hand. ‘Oh, I think we should.’
As the door swung open, she said, ‘I’ll race you,’ and as they darted up the stairs, Ellie felt younger and lighter than she’d done in years.