Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
H er name was Abbey Fortune, if you could believe that. Spencer was all too familiar as to how easy it was to be misled by people’s profiles on dating sites. And to mislead.
He once went out with a girl called Abbey, back in his early twenties. It hadn’t ended well. She was the sister of his mate, Dan, from university; that was how they’d met. For reasons best known to himself, maybe not even that, Dan had taken his sister to the summer graduation ball and proceeded to try and offload her onto any bloke who was willing. Okay, that wasn’t strictly fair. Not at the time, anyway. The girl was attractive, if a tad on the weighty side, and vivacious. She didn’t need her brother’s help to get off with anyone. The whole thing had become a joke, and the more they drank, Abbey included, the funnier it became.
Spencer himself had gone to the party alone. He’d found Abbey in his arms almost by accident, having been physically shoved at him by a roaring drunk Dan. Abbey had been pretty much out of it too. Lagging a little behind in the alcohol stakes, Spencer had virtually carried Abbey outside and kissed her thoroughly amongst the bushes. He hadn’t tried anything more, not that night; he was never that unscrupulous. In fact, he’d never rushed a woman into bed. He’d realised early on that pressurising them didn’t usually work in his favour. He’d been especially – endlessly – patient with Laura Engleby. He prided himself on his restraint there, even though she’d held him at arm’s length, literally, for ages. Waiting until she was ready had paid off in the end, though. Oh yes.
He and Dan’s sister, Abbey, had dated on and off, and one thing had led to another until Spencer had grown so used to having the undulations of her body wedged hotly against him in his narrow single bed that on the nights she wasn’t there, he found it impossible to sleep.
But after a few months of casual bliss, Abbey made it clear she wanted commitment from him, something he’d avoided like the plague and he hadn’t been about to change his ways. That was when it had all started to go wrong. She kept turning up at places where he’d be when they hadn’t arranged to see one another. She posted silly cards and gifts through his letterbox. She took to ringing him late at night, when he suspected she was either drunk or high, possibly both, rambling on about how perfect they were for each other, if he would only give in to it.
The girl had a personality fault, that was the problem. Eventually, with one or two other girls in his sights, Spencer had faced her and told her exactly what she could do with the attention she foisted on him in several, well-chosen and less than polite words. Miraculously, she hadn’t bothered him again.
And now, here he sat in the best bistro in Cliffhaven – not that there was much competition – waiting for another Abbey while he reminisced, none too fondly, about the first one.
The match on the dating site had come as a surprise; he’d forgotten he was still signed up. It was only in a bored moment during a meeting that he’d idly logged on and seen Abbey Fortune’s message. It was recent, too. Very recent. Maybe he was the one with the personality fault, he’d been thinking, as he seriously considered responding. Even as his finger hovered over the screen, he wondered what on earth he thought he was doing. He’d astonished himself by how easily he’d pushed Laura Engleby to the back of his mind. But then, he’d always been expert at compartmentalising.
Spencer, or Marcus, as he was tonight, providing he remembered, excused himself on the grounds that he was a normal, red-blooded male with an innate sense of curiosity. A man who liked to keep his options open. Anyway, it was fine because tonight was just a bit of fun. It would be his and Abbey’s only date. Or, if they really clicked, he might see her a few more times, then that would be it. Spencer’s ambitions as regards the spectacularly eligible Mrs Engleby must not be compromised – he wasn’t that stupid.
Abbey Fortune had suggested the venue. She lived in Cliffhaven, apparently, so he couldn’t argue with that. The small seaside town wasn’t a million miles from Charnley Acre so there was a small element of risk of them being spotted by a busybody from the village. But it added an edge to proceedings, a pleasant little frisson. If you didn’t live dangerously now and again, what was the point?
Spencer’s train of thought hit the buffers as the door of the bistro opened for the umpteenth time. The other times, when he’d thought his date had arrived, it turned out not to be so, as any likely female had been either among a group or had a man trailing behind. Again, he was disappointed as a woman, looking promisingly like the picture on the dating site, entered and immediately waved towards a table where a man sat, alone. A man who wasn’t Spencer. Or Marcus.
Spencer gazed out of the window at the blackened line where sea met sky and yawned behind his hand. Abbey was late by a good twenty minutes. Five, ten, even fifteen minutes, were minor aberrations. Twenty minutes was pushing it. He’d been stood up, that was becoming clear. He’d ordered a glass of Merlot when he’d arrived. The waiter had brought a small dish of nuts and olives to go with it, and two menus. Well, they wouldn’t be needing those. Spencer drank some of his wine, intending to down the rest, pay up and slip out without drawing attention to himself. His rogue date with Abbey Fortune wasn’t meant to be. Just as well, probably.
He’d finished his wine and was signalling to the waiter for the bill when the bistro door opened again, letting in a wash of freezing cold air. Anxious to be out of there and have done with the whole farcical episode, he looked across without much hope, and even less interest. The woman standing alone and eyeing him across the room looked a little older than the one in the photo; her hair was lighter in colour, and styled differently. Okay, so she’d used a not-quite-recent picture, or even somebody else’s picture. Everyone did it; he didn’t blame her for that. But her face was still familiar. Too familiar.
Emily – Laura’s best friend! Thank God Abbey hadn’t turned up. Fortunately, the waiter appeared with the bill. Spencer tapped his card on the little machine as, behind the waiter’s back, he saw Emily weaving her way between the tables towards him. He arranged his features into a stiff smile. He’d have a little chat, tell her he’d had a business meeting and the guy had already left. Then he’d wish her a pleasant evening and be on his way. No harm done. Again, Spencer thanked his good luck at being stood up and resolved that if he ever did this again, he’d make sure he was miles away from his home turf.
‘Don’t go,’ Emily said, offering a brittle smile, pulling out the chair opposite and lowering herself into it as Spencer made to stand up. ‘I’m a touch late. Sorry about that.’
Late ? What did she mean? Spencer’s brain went into a tailspin as it tried to work out what was going on. And then he remembered: his ‘date’ had made the reservation herself. He’d been pleased she’d offered to do that as it saved him the bother. She’d booked in the name of Jennings. He’d given the name out of habit as he’d arrived. Abbey, or rather, Emily, had known exactly whom she was meeting. Why hadn’t he cottoned on before that this was a set-up?
Another thought was kindled and caught fire. Was this Laura’s doing? Had she and Emily cooked up this little scheme between them? The back of his neck was hot, his palms felt suddenly clammy. He decided to brazen it out, make out he had no idea what she was talking about. Emily, meanwhile, was looking at him expectantly, her hands steepled in front of her mouth.
He chuckled, widened his smile. He even included a little wink, pretending he thought this was some sort of joke. ‘I’m sure you’re not that late for whoever you’re meeting, Emily. If he hasn’t waited, he doesn’t deserve you. Normally, I’d be happy to entertain you but I’ve got somewhere to be.’ He stood up, glancing futilely at his wrist where his watch would be, if he’d put it on.
Her face changed. ‘Sit down, Spencer. Oops, sorry. Marcus .’
He sat. She gave him no choice. He felt the gaze of the waiter upon him, as well as the couple at the next table. Well, he’d be out of here in a minute, if he had anything to do with it.
It was no use pretending any longer. ‘Look, Emily. I don’t know what you thought you’d achieve by doing… this. One thing I do know, nothing good can come of it. Nothing good at all. Think about it. And now I’m leaving and I suggest you do the same.’
He intended to stand up but he suddenly felt a heaviness in his legs and lower body. He stayed in his seat. His heart raced. He felt shaken, and his weakness made him angry. He wasn’t used to having this kind of reaction. He was the one in control, always.
Emily smiled, and tucked her hair behind one ear. ‘I’m going nowhere, and neither are you. Not just yet.’
Even as she’d walked up the steps to the door of the bistro, she hadn’t known if she could go through with this or not. He might not even be here; maybe the whole thing had been a stupid, terrible mistake and Spencer, or Marcus, whichever he really was, wasn’t waiting to wine and dine somebody called Abbey Fortune he’d picked up online. Somebody who just happened to look like Emily’s younger sister, if he did but know it.
She’d spotted him straight away, sitting alone at a table for two by the window. Immediately, Laura had sprung to her mind. Lovely, loyal, incredible Laura, who’d already suffered enough sadness in her life and didn’t deserve to have her heart broken again. Because that, surely, would be the outcome. Laura was in love with Spencer, and however this ended, she wouldn’t be able to forget the man in a hurry, nor the emotions he’d conjured, however badly he’d betrayed her.
Emily reminded herself why she was here: to gather evidence, irrefutable proof that Spencer was not who he said he was, before she presented that truth to Laura, as she knew she had to. She’d taken a deep breath and set off towards him.
Spencer was one second from getting up and walking out, she could tell. Once he was outside, he’d have the advantage over her, be gone before she knew it, and she hadn’t finished with him yet. She hadn’t even begun. But still he sat, his hands palms down on the table as if he’d been about to lever himself up.
‘I might as well have a drink while I’m here,’ Emily said, feigning a confidence she didn’t feel. She hailed the waiter and ordered a gin and tonic, ice, no lemon. She was driving, but one little drink wouldn’t hurt. Anyway, she needed it.
Spencer poured himself a glass of water from the jug on the table.
‘Look, Emily…’
‘No, Spencer. You look…’ The waiter arrived with her drink. He had two menus tucked under his arm and looked at Spencer for a clue. Spencer gave a tiny shake of his head and the waiter walked away, still carrying the menus. ‘Laura is my friend. In case you were wondering, she doesn’t know you’ve been dating other women online, because I haven’t told her. Unlike you, I care about Laura. I don’t want her to get hurt…’
‘Neither do I, Emily,’ Spencer said, a shade loudly. ‘It’s the last thing I want. Okay, I hold up my hands to tonight. An aberration, that’s all it was. A moment of madness. I’ve never dated anyone else while I’ve been with Laura. Never . That was a dirty trick you played. I hope you’re getting some satisfaction out of it because I’m certainly not.’
Emily almost laughed. Spencer looked affronted at her accusation. Like it couldn’t possibly be true because he wasn’t that sort of man.
‘You say you’ve never two-timed Laura, and yet here you are. Honestly, what kind of fool do you think I am, Spencer? Which brings me to my next point. What’s with the fake ID? I’m guessing you are Marcus Dartnell. Am I right?’
One look at his face told Emily she was.
‘It means nothing. It’s not a fake identity, it’s just a name change, for business purposes. You wouldn’t understand.’
‘Try me. No, actually, don’t. It’d be a lot of old eyewash anyway. I don’t believe a word that comes out your mouth, and neither will Laura, very soon.’
Spencer’s previously rigid expression became suddenly animated. ‘Please don’t do that. You said yourself you don’t want Laura to get hurt. She and I, well, she’s come to mean a lot to me, an awful lot. I can be an idiot at times. So, I’m not perfect. Is anybody? But I promise you nothing like this will ever happen again.’ Emily opened her mouth to speak but Spencer held a palm towards her, silencing her with a belligerent look. ‘I don’t have to explain myself to you but if you must know, I’d already realised this was a mistake. I was about to leave without seeing Abbey. You , I mean. I would never have gone through with it, and that’s the truth.’ Spencer rubbed a hand across his head. ‘ God …’
However bad this was for Laura, Emily couldn’t help feeling a bit triumphant that she’d managed to provoke Spencer. He was looking more uncomfortable by the minute.
It didn’t last, of course it didn’t. The man was too arrogant, too full of his own sense of worth, to be overly bothered about the trick she’d played on him. Scraping his chair back, he got up and headed smartly for the door. Emily rifled in her bag and left enough money on the table to cover the cost of her drink, then hurried after him. By the time she caught up with Spencer he was standing on the forecourt of the bistro, looking up and down the seafront road, presumably for a taxi, his composure back in place.
He turned to Emily. ‘Are you going to blab to Laura, or not?’ He shot the question at her.
‘You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?’
Emily turned on her heel and headed for her car. If Spencer – Marcus – thought she was going to offer him a ride back to Charnley Acre, he could think again.