CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Loretta brushed past me and slid the key into the door. ‘It’s only a matter of time until we’re back together for good.’ She turned and looked at the cake box. ‘What’s that?’
‘Er . . . delivery?’ I improvised swiftly.
‘Delivery?’
‘Cake. From the Little Duck Pond Café.’
‘Good. I’ll take that.’ She lifted the box lid. ‘Not very exciting but I suppose it’ll do for dessert. Thank you.’
She vanished inside and the door closed in my face.
*****
I was now cake-less and I couldn’t go back inside, so I walked over to the site in a miserable daze.
Caleb hadn’t been entirely truthful with me, then, when he said that he and Loretta were now just friends. It was clearly more than that. And it was also clear that his ex was very keen for them to get back to being the cosy couple they once were.
Well, I hoped he enjoyed his oysters!
It was my own stupid fault for falling for another man’s lies – so soon after Richard had broken my heart with his lies and betrayal.
I despaired at myself. I’d never behaved in such an abandoned way with a man before, casting aside all my inhibitions and doing things that, frankly, I’d never dreamed of doing before. The attraction I’d felt to Caleb had been so strong, and last night had seemed so natural.
But I’d been kidding myself if I’d thought there was some deeper connection than just the physical between Caleb and me. For him, it was probably just sex. Pure and simple. Nothing more complicated than two people having fun together.
I growled, frustrated at myself.
I’d known all along that healing after a split depended on taking a break from romance and finding yourself again – not rushing headlong into another doomed romance scenario!
But that’s exactly what I’d done . . .
*****
Caleb was in the portacabin when I arrived, standing at the desk looking through some papers. He glanced up. ‘Katja. I’ll just be a minute, then we can get over to the garage, okay? I’ve just had a call to say the van’s been fixed.’
‘Good,’ I said frostily.
He frowned. ‘Are you okay? I mean, obviously there’s no hurry for you to leave. It’s just I know you need to get back to the café for your shift?’
‘I do, yes.’
‘I was... wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me? Whenever you’re free? I could come through to Sunnybrook.’
‘Okay. But dinner will be on me.’ I looked at him coldly, while trying to ignore the way his warm smile was sending little shivers of desire through me. ‘I’d like to pay you back for helping me with the van.’
‘There’s no need for that.’ His eyebrows knitted in confusion.
‘I insist.’
‘Okay, well... shall we go? Pick up the van?’
‘Great.’
On the drive to the garage, he kept trying to make me smile. Getting little response, he eventually asked if he’d done something to upset me.
I looked him straight in the eye. ‘You have a visitor.’
‘What?’
‘Loretta. She’s let herself in. She’s cooking you your favourite lunch apparently.’
‘Right.’ He stared at the road ahead, taking this in. ‘She never mentioned that. She just said she wanted to come over at lunchtime and pick up a book she’s been wanting to borrow from me.’
‘That’s because it’s supposed to be a romantic surprise , I imagine,’ I said scathingly.
He looked across at me. ‘There’s nothing going on, Katja.’
‘Really? Well, according to her you’ve been getting much closer lately.’
If I was expecting him to deny it, I was disappointed...
He sighed. ‘Look, she stayed over a few weeks ago and we shared a bed because the spare room wasn’t made up. We had a kiss but that was all.’
‘So you aren’t just friends, then, like you told me.’
‘Well, it’s complicated, I suppose, when you’ve been in a relationship. I guess it’s easy to slip back into the old ways if you’re both still single.’
I gave a harsh laugh. ‘I wish you’d told me that before... before last night!’
‘I’m just trying to be honest here, Katja. I mean, obviously, if I started seeing someone else, there’d be absolutely nothing going on with anyone else.’
‘Including Loretta?’
‘Including Loretta. That goes without saying.’
‘Does it, though? What if you had an argument with your new person and Loretta just happened to be there, wanting to comfort you? Might you “slip back into the old ways” then?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Well, anyway, it’s nothing to do with me how you choose to lead your life and who you choose to lead it with !’
‘Isn’t it?’ He frowned across at me. ‘I was rather hoping it was.’
‘Look, no ! This was just a one-night thing, okay? We both enjoyed it but let’s not spoil it by trying to pretend it was something it wasn’t.’
Beneath my bravado, I was grasping my hands together to stop them from trembling. I had to stay strong and not let Caleb convince me that Loretta was past history – because it was fairly clear that she wasn’t. And if I let him into my life, it would only end in more heartache. And I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be Caleb who’d be crying...
He drummed his fingers on the wheel. ‘It’s funny, you know, because it was you who was into protesting about men being scumbags, presumably for treating women badly, sleeping with them and then ‘forgetting’ to call afterwards.’
‘I wasn’t “protesting”. But yes, men do that sometimes.’
‘But isn’t that exactly what you’re about to do?’ He frowned at me. ‘You’ve just told me it was a one-night stand and nothing else. Maybe you should have thought to mention that to me last night. Before we slept together.’
I stared at him, unable to think of a reply.
He shrugged. ‘If you hang out with a group of man-haters, like your friend Mo, you should at least practise what you preach. Because right now you’re sounding just as bad as the men you rail against – using me and then saying cheerio, it was nice knowing you.’
‘Well, that’s... just rubbish!’ I blurted out. ‘And by the way, Mo is not my friend!’
*****
We parted angry with each other.
As I drove the van away, not bothering to wave at Caleb, I was shaking with frustration, and after a few miles I realised I’d better slow down or I’d have points on my licence as well as a bruised heart and ego!
It was bad enough that I’d slept with Caleb not knowing what was going on with Loretta – and I was now going to have to walk into the café a total mess, wearing yesterday’s clothes.
Ellie would have phoned Maddy to tell her what had happened with the van and why I was going to be late for my shift. I just hoped Maddy wouldn’t make any ‘hilarious’ comments about my lack of make-up and generally dishevelled appearance after staying the night at Caleb’s house...
Of course, when I walked into the café, the very first person I saw was Maddy, grinning at me from behind the counter, a tea towel over her shoulder.
I gave her a quick smile and hurried into the kitchen, hoping to at least pinch some colour into my cheeks and smooth my hair down.
‘Hey, you dirty stop-out!’ she joked, popping her head round the door. ‘How’s things?’
I turned with a smile. ‘Fine.’
‘What’s wrong? You look really pale.’
‘Do I? Well, I didn’t have my make-up with me.’
She looked at me with a curious expression and I could almost hear the cogs in her brain ticking. ‘Ellie says that Caleb guy is rather attractive,’ she murmured with a smile. ‘I have to say, I do like a man in a hard hat.’
‘Yes, well, it was nothing like that,’ I said airily, turning back to the mirror. ‘Look, do you mind if I just nip home and get changed? I won’t be long. I just hate wearing yesterday’s clothes.’
And I just really need a bit of time alone to process everything that’s happened.
‘Of course. We’re not busy at the moment.’ She looked concerned now, having clearly realised that something was wrong. ‘You go off and get yourself sorted.’
‘Thanks, Maddy.’
She went back into the café and I could hear her saying hello to a customer.
Then she popped her head back round the door of the kitchen. ‘Er... I’m afraid you can’t go yet.’ She frowned uneasily. ‘There’s someone here to see you.’
‘What? Who?’ I asked in despair. I just wanted to go and be on my own.
She grimaced. ‘Come through and see for yourself.’
Suppressing a sigh, I walked out of the kitchen into the café. And my mouth dropped open in surprise when I saw the person standing awkwardly by the door.
‘ Richard ?’