29 #3
Dani stepped to the side to see who he was sitting with, the wooden frame of the French doors blocking her view.
To her surprise she saw Chloe talking animatedly seemingly totally at ease.
Dani felt her pulse race. For some inexplicable reason she felt guilty for being here, almost disloyal.
She was also unsure of how he’d react to seeing her after their slightly awkward conversations last night at Sky.
He was a hard one to work out. He ran hot and cold with her and he behaved like there was something more to their relationship than there actually was, or rather should be.
Well she couldn’t avoid him here and she wasn’t on duty either.
Dani took a deep breath and headed towards where Chloe was sitting.
“Hello.”
Jerome instantly stood up. “Hello.” Dani stared at him for a moment, not sure of what to say and was thankful when Jerome spoke. “Er… Chloe’s been keeping me company.”
“Well, I think maybe it’s the other way around actually,” Chloe huffed.
Dani turned to Chloe and cringed. “I’m sorry, was I too long?”
“No not all. Jerome’s been the perfect gentleman and kept me entertained.”
“Let me get you a chair.” Jerome turned his back to them and went to a nearby table to bring a chair for Dani.
Dani pulled a mock horror face to Chloe, indicating she hadn’t expected him to be here.
Chloe bit her bottom lip in an attempt stifle her laugh and then mouthed, ‘sexpot’ and blew air up her face and fanned her face.
“Here you are.” Jerome brought the seat over and waited for Dani to sit down.
Chloe got up to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me a moment. Shall I get you some canapés on my way back?”
“Um, yes sure. Thanks.” Dani knew her sister well, she was tactfully leaving them to talk. Once Chloe left, Jerome re-took his seat.
“It’s impressive isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s really lovely. I didn’t think you were coming. Gia said you were busy today.”
“Well, I was but I wanted to show my face. He’s a friend and you need to support your friends.” He blinked softly at her, wondering if she’d picked up on his choice of words. He didn’t want to rile her but he enjoyed their mild sparing.
Dani clenched her jaw and smiled knowingly but chose not to rise to the bait.
Maybe he wouldn’t be so supportive if he’d known what Joseph had offered her not ten minutes earlier.
Jerome called over a waiter ordering coffee for both of them, without asking her, knowing what she liked. She felt beyond thrilled that he knew.
“So did you come alone?” Dani asked. She felt sure that Chef would have been here too.
“Yes.” He reached back into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cigarettes.
Jeez, why was he feeling so nervous? Wasn’t she the whole reason why he’d driven out almost twenty miles when he had a mountain of things that needed his attention?
He pulled out a cigarette and tapped it on the box before lighting it.
His gaze shifted from his lit cigarette back to Dani.
“Liz is in Spain for a shoot until Thursday.” He wasn’t entirely sure why he felt the need to explain.
“Oh, that’s nice.” Dani smiled tightly. He’d misunderstood her question.
Liz was the furthest thing on her mind but it was obvious that wasn’t the case for Jerome.
Her previous good mood replaced instantly with irritation.
Now that he’d mentioned her it would be rude not to acknowledge her, so Dani continued.
“It sounds very glamorous. The life of a model, jetting all over,” she rambled nervously as he regarded her. “It must be very exciting, seeing new places, wearing expensive clothes, fashion shows…” Oh God shut up! Thought Dani. Jerome sucked on his teeth and then dragged on his cigarette.
“Not really. It looks that way but there’s a lot of waiting around and rejection. Jobs get cancelled and rescheduled. It’s very unstable.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, only last week a fashion show Liz was up for was shelved. The venue fell through. So, until they find another one…” he shrugged.
“Too bad.”
Jerome nodded. “She really wasn’t happy,” he huffed. He took a deep breath. Jeez, the last thing he wanted to talk about with Dani was Liz. He flicked some ash into the ashtray and looked out over the grounds.
“Did you get to look around? Chloe said you were with Joseph.” Jerome was desperate to get off the subject of his wife.
The waiter appeared with their coffees and Dani was pleased her attention was pulled away from Jerome.
She felt her face heat up at the mention of Joseph.
She knew she’d done nothing wrong but the fact that she’d been offered a position here, and only a few minutes ago, made her feel incredibly disloyal.
“He showed me what state the place was like before he refurbished it. It was in a really bad way.”
Jerome nodded as he blew out a steady stream of smoke. “Yeah, he’s done a great job.” He stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and Dani grinned.
“Still haven’t managed to quit?”
Jerome licked his lips and smirked, “I’m thinking about it.”
Dani raised her eyebrows. “Well that’s a start.”
“Yes, I suppose. Ever the optimist.” His broody expression was replaced by a smile.
“Oh yes, I’m all about positive thinking. I’m always thinking of things I should be doing,“ chuckled Dani. Jerome’s face lit up at her humorous reply and he let out a soft laugh. Wow, how was it possible that he could look even more gorgeous?
Jerome shuffled forward a little, leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his clenched hands. “Don’t you miss it?” his voice was low as he looked directly at her.
Dani took in a sharp breath, caught in the warmth of his gaze.
“Sometimes,” she admitted. “But when you know it’s bad for you, that it’s hurting you… it’s better to just cut it out of your life once and for all.”
“It can’t be easy.” His voice became softer as his gaze intensified and Dani’s eyes stayed locked on his.
He was doing that thing he did. Talking about one thing but meaning something entirely different.
He was looking at her so intimately her thoughts jumbled, flying off in all directions and she was finding it hard to concentrate.
“It’s not,” she managed to squeeze out of her tightening throat. “But as every day goes by it gets a little easier and you begin to realise that you never really needed it after all. That you deserve better.”
Jerome narrowed his beautiful hexagonal eyes and inhaled slowly. “So you’d never go back?” he asked quietly.
Staring into his expressive eyes she saw a myriad of hidden meanings flash over them.
Was he really asking about her relationship with Jez?
She just couldn’t quite work out what he was implying.
Maybe he was just asking her about cigarettes and she was letting her overactive imagination run wild again.
But whatever was going on between them had her clearly unnerved and totally excited.
She couldn’t believe someone she hardly knew could have her emotions racing.
One thing for sure though, if she had such a strong reaction to Jerome, whatever she thought she felt for Jez paled in comparison.
She took in a breath, then shook her head.
“No.” No way would she ever go back to Jez. In that moment she was sure she’d made the right decision.
Jerome exhaled the breath he’d been holding. “You’re a very strong young woman, Dani.”
Dani shrugged. You have no idea!