Nigel
He grabbed his towel and headed out to the pool.
Helen was alone in the jacuzzi. She waved.
He hung his towel by the steam room door and headed over to her, holding in his stomach. ‘You look happy there.’
‘It’s wonderful. Join me.’
Nigel didn’t bother with the steps. He jumped in next to her, deliberately making a big splash.
‘You sod,’ she said, using her hand to wipe away the water dripping down her face, but she was still smiling.
‘Sorry.’
‘Yeah, I’ll give you sorry.’ She scooped up a handful of water and threw it at him.
He spluttered as the water hit his face. ‘Are we even now?’
‘For the time being. I may get my revenge properly later.’ She leaned back against the tiled edge and shut her eyes.
Nigel glanced across at her. She still looked beautiful with her long eyelashes. The laughter lines by her eyes might be slightly more prominent than they used to be, but not as bad as his. The years had been kinder to Helen than they had to him. ‘And how will you do that?’ he asked.
‘If I tell you, I won’t be able to take you by surprise.’
He smiled to himself, leaned back and closed his eyes too. Helen was right. This was wonderful.
‘Helen?’
A male voice brought him back to reality. He looked up to see a tall man moving towards them through the bubbles. Built like a rugby player and possibly slightly younger than them, for a moment Nigel thought it might be Angus. But why would he be here?
He didn’t like the way the man was looking at Helen, and glancing at her cleavage.
Helen was engaging with the man now. ‘Adrian. This is an old friend of mine, Nigel. Nigel, meet Adrian. Adrian was at that business networking breakfast I went to yesterday. He’s um ….’
‘Your friendly renewable energy expert. I can cut your bills in two.’ He offered Nigel his wet right hand.
Nigel ignored it. ‘So can I if I’ve got a pair of scissors handy.’ He gave Adrian a fixed smile.
Adrian looked him up and down, nodded, then carried on talking to Helen. His body language made it clear Nigel wasn’t wanted. The feeling was mutual. Cheeky bastard. Helen was laughing at something Adrian had said. But she was always polite. It meant nothing. Hopefully.
Adrian got out of the jacuzzi and headed for the pool.
Helen turned to Nigel. ‘Adrian’s a member here. He plays golf.’
‘Fascinating.’
‘We’re meeting for coffee tomorrow.’
‘You’re what?’
‘He’s got some business contacts that might be useful to me.’
‘Does he indeed?’ Nigel leaned back against the side of the jacuzzi again, except this time he was keeping a close eye on Adrian.