Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
G emma couldn’t get out of her seat fast enough to follow them, and even if she could, did she want to? Angus was not a pleasant guy. That was clear, but to come back and find the table empty didn’t seem fair, even to someone as vile as he was. But what was the alternative? She couldn’t bear the thought of time alone with him. Grabbing her bag from the floor, she went to stand, only to second-guess herself. Wasn’t one of the things she prided herself on being nice? Being kind to people? If that was the case, then leaving a grown man on his own in a pub when he had just gone to the toilet didn’t fit the image she had of herself, meaning this wasn’t about what type of person Angus was, it was about what type of person she was. Which meant, like it or lump it, she knew what she had to do.
Letting out a long sigh, she took a sip of her drink, only to wince at the taste. She would have to take big gulps, she decided. Like you made children do with medicine. That way, she would finish it quickly, then she could make her excuses to leave.
It was barely a moment later when Angus returned and found, to his confusion, two empty seats.
“Henry and Fleur had to go unexpectedly,” Gemma said, hating the fact she was now having to make up lies on the spot because of her friend. Fleur was definitely going to be getting an earful at the next book club. “I think it was Henry’s aunt. Eunice. She lives with them and she has a couple of health issues, too.” Gemma felt the need to elaborate on the lie a little, just to make it more convincing. “I think she had a funny turn.”
She assumed Angus would say something sympathetic, the way most people did when they’d just learned their friend had a family emergency, but instead, he reached out and picked up the bottle of wine.
“Well, that means more Bordeaux for us, I guess,” he said as he topped up his glass.
Yes, Gemma thought as he began prattling away. Fleur owed her for this one. Big time.