Chapter Ten A Beautiful Stranger
Chapter Ten: A Beautiful Stranger
~ Alex ~
Their bravado ran out two weeks later. Alex had noticed that Casey’s optimism seemed to be waning for a few days, but he hadn’t commented. He simply knew better than to provoke an explosion. Besides, he was certain that whatever storm was brewing would eventually hit full force, whether he prompted it or not.
And he was oh-so-right.
‘Alex, what the heck are we going to do? “Displeasure ever after” isn’t part of my life plan.’
Casey hurled this conversational grenade at him over Sunday breakfast without prior warning. The storm had broken.
Alex sipped at his tea cautiously, trying to buy himself time.
‘I don’t know, love. I don’t know,’ he offered at length.
‘Love. Now there’s a thought. We do still love each other, right?’
‘Of course we do. I’m upset you should even ask that.’ Alex tried hard to keep his voice even.
Casey threw her hands in the air, dispersing croissant crumbs all over the kitchen floor. This wasn’t like her. She was seriously unsettled. Alex took note but didn’t know how to respond.
‘If we still love each other, then what’s the fucking problem with us?’
‘No pun intended,’ Alex interjected drily before he could stop himself, then wished he could bite his tongue off. At least he managed to fluster Casey momentarily.
‘What pun? Oh, I get it. Very good.’
‘You said it.’
‘I know, I know. Call it a Freudian slip.’ Casey sprayed some more croissant crumbs. ‘But joking apart, what are we going to do? I mean—’ her hands went up again, and Alex feared for the integrity of what was left of her breakfast. ‘We’ve tried everything. Everything. We’ve been living in denial. And yeah, yeah, I’m holding on to the light and all that but . . . But what if we don’t make it to the light? What if this all gets too much to bear? I mean — Dammit, I’m bloody frustrated!’
Alex knew he was going to be walking a minefield. His next response would be crucial. If only he could hit on the right words, the right thing to say. But what was there to say? Casey was right, and he felt the same way. All their assurances of marrying for love and music, that was all very well. But at the end of the day, everybody had needs, and theirs were most categorically not being met. He was frustrated too.
‘Okay,’ he said in his best soothing voice. ‘Let’s take a moment to think this through.’
Casey opened her mouth as if to protest, but he held up a hand to appease her. ‘I’m not thinking solutions yet. I’m thinking, maybe we’ve gone about this the wrong way. We’ve been trying to fix it, but we haven’t tried to work out what’s at the root cause of it all. Why can’t we have sex?’
‘Because we’re cursed?’ Casey supplied helpfully.
‘Well, yeah, that could be root cause one. But do we really believe that?’
A long silence followed that question. Alex willed Casey to say, ‘no, no, no.’ He was about to despair when she finally replied.
‘I don’t think so, no.’
Alex let out a huge sigh of relief. ‘Thank you. Phew! So, what’s next?’
‘Because we don’t love each other any more?’
‘Not true,’ Alex immediately countered. ‘Unless there’s something you want to say to me?’
‘No! Of course not. I can’t — I can’t imagine living without you.’
‘So what then? We don’t turn each other on?’
Casey waggled her head. ‘We do though.’
‘We do. I agree. But somehow . . .’
‘Yeah. Somehow.’ Casey lapsed into silence. She finished up her croissant, still oblivious to the crumby devastation she was causing. Alex sipped at his tea.
Suddenly, Casey sat up a little straighter. Her bottom lip quivered, and her voice shook while she spoke. ‘Do you think it’s just us?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Do you think . . . do you think it’s us? As in, do you think if we tried having sex with someone else, we’d run into the same problem?’
‘I—’ Alex was dumbstruck. He felt like Casey had pulled the rug out from under him. Where was she going with this? ‘I don’t know. I don’t know whether I’d want to know.’
Casey leaned forward eagerly. ‘But don’t you see? There’s an answer in there. Suppose we tried — doing it — with someone else, and it works. Then we’d know it’s us.’
‘What, like you’re going to shag Myles, and I’m going to shag Liza?’ Alex tried to crack a joke, but even as he spoke, he got the distinct impression that his comment was off the wall. Pairing each other up with the other half of the band could prove dangerous — and harmful — in more than one way, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on why that should be so.
Casey simply laughed. ‘Myles? Get out of here. I’m not his kind of totty. Although I could see you and Liza together.’
Alex must have looked a sight, because Casey nudged him and patted his head. ‘I’m just kidding, you silly man. No, not Myles and Liza. That would never work. I’m talking strangers here. Complete, random strangers.’
Alex was vaguely aware that he was opening and closing his mouth like a stranded fish. Casey had to be really desperate to come up with this suggestion. At length, and very tentatively, he spoke.
‘Supposing we do that. Sleep with a complete random stranger. Supposing it works. What do we do with that knowledge?’
Casey slumped. ‘It sounds awful when you put it like that. And I’ve no idea what we’d do with the knowledge.’
Silence grabbed hold of them once more while they each followed their own thoughts. Eventually, Casey spoke again.
‘Suppose it were a curse. If . . . if we tried out someone else, we might be able to ascertain whether the curse applies to us as a couple, or to us individually with anybody.’
Alex chewed his lower lip. ‘I see what you’re saying, but I don’t understand how that would help us.’
‘It would be an answer. Then we can work out next steps.’
‘And what would they be?’
‘I don’t know!’ Casey wailed. ‘I can’t think that far. I simply . . . I want to know.’
Alex rolled his shoulders. ‘If it worked, at least it would be a release of sorts.’
‘Yeah! See? So that wouldn’t be a bad thing.’
‘On the other hand . . .’
‘On the other hand what?’ Casey nudged Alex impatiently. ‘What?’
‘You remember Indecent Proposal, right?’
‘The movie?’ Casey acknowledged. ‘Yeah, and?’
‘“Yeah, and”?’ Alex echoed her. ‘Do you recall what happened to the couple?’
‘That’s different. They were doing it for money. We’d be doing it for . . .’ Casey petered out.
‘For what?’
‘I was going to say, “for love”, but that sounds wrong. I’m sorry. Stupid idea. Forget I ever said it.’
Alex poured himself another cup of tea. ‘I don’t know. There might something in it, as crazy as it sounds.’
Casey shot him a suspicious look. ‘Don’t play devil’s advocate to humour me.’
‘I’m not. But while it’s an extreme measure, you might be on to something.’ Alex placed his hands on the table and spread his fingers wide. ‘Look, we’re at a complete stalemate. We’ve no idea where to go from here. Maybe . . . maybe a radical course of action will be a catalyst for something else.’
‘Maybe. But you’re right too, you know. What if we don’t like the outcome?’
‘We’ll have to deal with it.’
Casey sighed heavily. ‘Agreed. See, we’re totally made for each other. Nobody else would consent to my crackpot proposal. Nobody else would come even close to understanding it, but you do.’
Alex summoned a shaky smile. ‘If we’re made for each other, we’ll deal with the fallout from your plan. We simply have to believe in each other.’
‘So you want to do it?’
‘Let’s do it,’ Alex pronounced. ‘Let’s see what happens.’
* * *
~ Casey ~
The train pulled out of Victoria station, and Casey had butterflies in her stomach. Even though it had been her suggestion originally, she couldn’t quite believe that she and Alex were headed for a dirty weekend in Brighton with separate, as-yet-unknown partners.
I’m going to have sex with a stranger to save my marriage, she pondered. Really, life doesn’t get any ‘stranger’ than that.
She rummaged in her handbag for a chewing gum. If she didn’t get to chew on something, she would suffer verbal diarrhoea; all her doubts would come pouring out, she would drive Alex mad, and they would either argue or go home, or both.
Alex was sitting opposite her, facing backwards to the direction of travel, and he was staring out the window. He had been uncharacteristically silent all morning, and that wasn’t like him. He wasn’t the broody type. Evidently, he also wasn’t the philandering type, and Casey felt oddly cheered by that. She had always known that, of course, but here there was real living proof right in front of her.
‘It’s not too late to back out,’ she offered softly.
Alex turned his head and fixed her with an intent look. ‘I know,’ he replied, equally softly. ‘I’ve been thinking about that. But I think we ought to go through with it.’
‘Just to see what happens,’ Casey finished his thought for him.
‘Exactly.’ Alex shrugged almost imperceptibly.
‘Do we . . . do we really have to go all the way?’
More shrugging on Alex’s part. ‘I suppose that’s rather the point, isn’t it? We’ve gone nearly all the way with each other plenty of times. The proof is in the pudding, as it were.’
‘Yikes.’
‘Yeah.’
‘If we . . . as we haven’t actually, technically, really got over the finish line since we got married, will this . . . Would this actually qualify as cheating?’ Casey pondered. ‘I mean, obviously it’s cheating because we’ll have different partners.’ She paused and felt her cheeks burn. No doubt she was an attractive shade of puce. ‘But will it be extra-marital? What I’m trying to say is, are we marriage breakers if we’re not fully married yet?’
Alex sighed. ‘No idea. I’m all muddled. I’m not really sure that it matters either way. I hate the thought of going behind your back.’
‘Hardly behind my back. We’ve agreed to do this.’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘Hey,’ Casey tried to lighten the mood. ‘We could just put it down as a swinging weekend. People used to do that all the time without marriages breaking up, didn’t they? You know the whole car-keys-in-potpourri-bowl thing?’
‘Err, yes.’ Alex shot her an amused glance. ‘Your mind truly works in mysterious ways.’
Casey laughed quietly and felt some of the tension ease out of her. ‘We’re consenting adults after all. Who knows? Maybe this’ll be fun.’
‘But remember: I love you,’ Alex said earnestly. ‘Whatever happens. I love you. And it’s breaking my heart that we’re so unhappy.’
‘I love you too.’
‘But please be careful. There are some really creepy people out there, and I don’t want you to . . . to get hurt.’
Casey was overcome by emotion. It was all too easy to forget how much her man cared for her. She swallowed and smiled brightly. ‘Aw, of course I’ll be careful. And you too!’
After that, they lapsed into silence again while the train hurtled them towards Brighton. There wasn’t really much else to say.
* * *
‘Right, so here we are,’ Casey observed with excessive enthusiasm when they arrived at the seaside resort. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. In fact, it was a glorious day, and despite their somewhat sinister purpose, Casey’s spirits lifted. She loved the seaside. She always felt that nothing could go truly wrong by the seaside. The eternal pounding of waves on the shore put everything in perspective; in reality, what did their little sexual predicament matter? And in the grand scheme of things, what would it matter to the universe if Casey and Alex bonded with different partners that day? They were only blips on the eternal timeline of life. Who cared?
She took a deep breath and savoured the briny air in her lungs. Without thinking, she took Alex’s hand as they headed towards the seafront. It wasn’t too far, so they walked. They deliberately hadn’t pre-booked a hotel. Their plan was to find a place to stay, book two rooms, and split up for the evening. By unspoken agreement, they felt that starting their mission together in that way would give their weekend a little more legitimacy, like a proper mini-break.
‘That one looks nice.’ Casey pointed at a beautifully fronted, old-fashioned hotel right on the seafront. ‘Shall we try it?’
‘Fine by me,’ Alex agreed.
They entered the lobby and took in the slightly faded but nonetheless sumptuous surroundings.
‘If we’re going to go down, at least we’re going down in style,’ Alex joked. Casey elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
‘Don’t say that,’ she pleaded. ‘I’m already having second and third thoughts.’
Alex raised his eyebrows at her. Casey nodded even though he hadn’t actually asked the question. ‘Yes, let’s do this. Come on.’
The receptionist wasn’t the slightest bit perturbed by their request for two rooms on two separate floors.
‘She’s probably heard and seen it all,’ Alex whispered to Casey.
‘Shh,’ Casey admonished. ‘She can hear you, you know.’
The receptionist gave them a dazzling smile, completely ignoring their furtive exchange, and slid two key cards across the highly polished counter.
‘MrsMorgan, you’re on the third floor in the Blue Room. MrMorgan, you’re on the fifth floor in the Lofty Suite.’
‘Oh, now, I like the sound of that,’ Alex quipped. ‘Lofty Suite. I bet you’re missing out, my darling.’
‘We’ll see about that in the morning,’ Casey retorted. At this conversation, even the receptionist looked intrigued, but she lowered her eyes and busied herself with her computer.
‘Dinner is available in the restaurant from six,’ she informed them casually. ‘Breakfast is from eight to eleven.’
‘Thanks so much,’ Casey gushed. ‘We’re looking forward to our stay.’
With that, she turned and pulled Alex towards the bank of lifts.
‘I can practically feel her eyes burning a hole in my back,’ she whispered while they waited. ‘I bet her rumour mill is going at breakneck speed.’
‘Who cares?’ Alex brushed away her worries. ‘We’re here now. We’re committed. Let’s do this.’
The lift arrived, and they stepped in.
‘This is it,’ Alex mumbled. He wrapped Casey in a tender embrace. ‘You go and have fun, girl.’
‘You too.’ Casey smiled bravely. Her heart was hammering so hard in her throat that she thought she might surely choke on the vibrations. ‘I’ll . . . I’ll see you in the morning.’
The lift doors opened onto Casey’s floor. Casey breathed a kiss on Alex’s mouth and more or less fell out of the door in her great haste to get away before she changed her mind.
‘Atta girl,’ she heard Alex shout after her just as the doors closed. For a moment, she stared at her reflection in the gilded mirror on the wall opposite to the lift. She looked pale, she noted, but her cheeks were flaming. Her hands were trembling, and her vision blurred momentarily. Was she really going to do this?
* * *
~ Alex ~
The mirror showed him a different Alex. A dressed-to-pull Alex that he hadn’t seen in years. It wasn’t a surprise, really, considering that he had put on his erstwhile best pulling outfit. Tight-fitting blue jeans slung low on the hips; a white silky shirt unbuttoned just so, showing off the edges of a tattoo on his chest; and his favourite leather jacket, although that was for show only. It was the middle of August, after all, and too hot to wear a leather jacket. Still, chicks seemed to dig that kind of thing.
Alex stared at himself. He was sick with nerves and doubt. He had put on a brave face for Casey, but he wasn’t at all sure they were doing the right thing. Yet a tiny part of him — and a vital part of his anatomy — was excited.
‘I must be mad,’ Alex spoke to himself. ‘I’ll have to put this down as research or something. Research for a song. There must be a story in here somewhere.’
He grinned, then sighed. It was nearly eight o’clock. Time to go and hit the town.
After a furtive exit from the hotel — it wouldn’t do to bump into Casey on the way out! — he ambled aimlessly back towards the town centre. He avoided the many restaurants filled with happy couples and big parties of friends, even though his stomach gave an impressive rumble. He had completely neglected to eat. Perhaps he had better stop somewhere for a quick bite. That fish ‘n’ chip shop on the corner would do nicely. You had to have fish and chips in Brighton, right?
Having ordered a helping of cod and chips — hold the mushy peas — Alex installed himself on a bar stool by the window. Then he noticed a hip-looking bar right across the road. Groups of women seemed to flock to the place, and he decided this would be the perfect fishing ground for him.
At ease now that he had homed in on a destination, he munched through his meal while he observed some more. The place was filling up nicely. Spectacularly dressed women were arriving in little groups, laughing, chatting, and obviously looking for a good night out. Would one of those good nights out involve him, Alex Morgan?
Another plus point was that there was absolutely no way Casey would end up going to this place. It simply wasn’t her kind of drinking hole.
He sighed. They hadn’t talked about the logistics of how or where they would pick up their fateful strangers, or how they would avoid running into each other. Idly he wondered where Casey would go. Would she go to a club, or maybe a restaurant? Maybe she would look for somewhere with live music, somewhere with a band and a stage upon which she could clamber to wow the audience and the band . . .
Stop it, Alex admonished himself. We’re not on the lookout for new partners. We’re simply trying to find out whether we still have the ability to satisfy someone. That’s all.
There. His fish and chips were well and truly polished off, even though he had barely noticed eating them. His soft drink had been consumed. It stood to reason that he couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer; he was ready for battle. Time to throw himself into the fray.
Reluctantly and with leaden limbs, he prised himself off the bar stool and made his way across the road.
The bar was noisy and heaving with women and the odd male or two. Alex leaned casually against the counter, a beer in hand. He had considered ordering something fancy like a colourful cocktail, knowing that an unusual choice of drink would be a babe magnet. But on balance he had decided that he wasn’t that keen for the plan to work and that a beer would go down infinitely nicer. Even with his blokey choice of beverage, he could already see the vultures circling. He had been noticed, and subtle wars were being fought out as to who would have first dibs at this single, available male. Yes, single. At the last minute, he had remembered to take off his wedding ring, much as it pained him. He had stuffed his most sacred piece of jewellery carefully in the coin fold of his wallet. His ring finger felt bare and naked and very exposed, especially as it was clearly the subject of considerable scrutiny. Had it always been like this? he wondered. Had he simply not noticed these games when he had still been free and single?
There, the die had been cast. A tall, curvaceous blonde detached herself from her gaggle of friends and sauntered towards him. The game was on.
A small shiver of excitement ran through Alex’s body. Despite himself, the thrill of seduction aroused him.
‘Hello, handsome.’ The blonde sidled up to him in her extremely high heels and gave him a wide smile. Her ample bosom strained against a blue sequined top, and her fingernails were painted an acute shade of red. A cloud of perfume enveloped Alex like a spicy caress, and he had to swallow hard. Her scent was a little too heavy for his liking, but he would get over it.
‘Hello,’ he replied simply.
‘You on your lonesome tonight?’
‘Sure am.’
He grinned. They sounded like two actors in a cowboy movie.
‘Fancy buying a thirsty girl a drink?’
Whoa there, don’t hold back. ‘It’ll be my pleasure. What would you like?’
The blonde jumped slightly and erupted in a tinkle of laughter. ‘Aren’t you quite the gentleman? I’ll have a glass of house white, please.’
Alex nodded and signalled to the barman. ‘I’m Alex,’ he said over his shoulder while he was waiting to order her drink.
‘Shelley.’
‘Nice to meet you, Shelley.’ The unfamiliar name nearly stuck on his tongue.
‘Are you from around here, Alex?’
‘I live in London,’ he replied truthfully.
A glimmer of distress flittered across her face. ‘Do you come here often?’
Evidently she was looking for The Man. The right one, the one who would commit. Alex felt awkward.
‘No, not really.’
‘Ah.’ Shelley was disappointed, he could see it on her face. She looked over towards her friends, who gave her a unanimous thumbs-up alongside a few ruder gestures of encouragement. As though not to lose face in front of her friends, Shelley squared her shoulders and offered him a dazzling smile.
‘Who cares? We have tonight, don’t we?’
‘We do, yes.’ Alex’s voice emerged husky and hoarse. He was completely unprepared for the speed of events. Her drink hadn’t even arrived yet, and already they had agreed to spend the night together?
After the initial race to establish a shared purpose, Shelley visibly relaxed. She became chatty and started cracking jokes, and Alex found he quite enjoyed her company. Behind the slutty exterior hid a clever and sensitive woman who conversed easily about world politics, the current number one bestselling book, and Salman Rushdie. The more they talked, the more certain Alex became that he couldn’t take Shelley to bed. For one, he really didn’t fancy her enough. Second, he couldn’t shag-and-run like Myles, or even the Alex of old. And last but most important: he loved Casey far too much. Now what?
Shelley took that decision out of his hands.
‘I’m simply starving,’ she simpered after her second glass of wine. ‘There’s a nice pizza place around the corner. Fancy some dinner?’
Alex suppressed a snort. She was trying to condense a first, second, and presumably third date all into one night. Drinks, dinner, and sex. If you can’t have your man for good, at least get him for what he’s worth.
‘Sure. Dinner would be nice,’ he agreed amiably, even though his fish from earlier still hogged prime space in his stomach. But he wanted to get out of the bar, and he knew that Shelley would score esteem points with her friends if she was seen leaving with her catch. Whatever happened afterwards — or not — would be up to her to tell, or not.
Shelley took him to a secluded authentic Italian restaurant slightly off the beaten track. The scent of tomato sauce with oregano and melting cheese greeted them as they pushed open the door, and Alex’s spirits lifted. He could never turn down a pepperoni pizza, and this one promised to be excellent. Maybe he could bring Casey here the following day.
Feeling slightly more exuberant now that he was out of the flesh pot of the bar, he ordered garlic bread, pizza, and wine. Shelley took on a completely different persona in these more sedate surroundings. Gone were the glitzy accent and affectations, and out came a more down-to-earth girl with a very pragmatic outlook on life.
‘We ain’t gonna be shagging tonight, are we?’ she suddenly threw at him as they were waiting for pudding.
Alex shook his head, slightly surprised by her perceptive nature but glad to be off the hook. ‘No, we’re not. I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on. I was . . . I was looking for . . . um.’ He felt himself redden.
‘A shag. You can say it, I won’t be offended.’
‘All right then. I was out looking for a shag, but for all the wrong reasons.’
‘You on the rebound?’
Alex shook his head.
‘But you are single?’
Alex shook his head again. ‘It’s complicated.’
Shelley hiccupped with irrepressible laughter. ‘Isn’t it always, mate? But tell me this, is your name at least Alex?’
Alex grinned. ‘My name’s Alex, and I am from London. I didn’t lie about any of that.’
Shelley peered at him closely. ‘You look incredibly familiar. Would I know you from somewhere?’
Alex lifted his shoulders. Keep calm and play it cool. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Are you sure? I could swear I’ve seen you on Twitter. Are you a model or something?’
Alex laughed with relief at her own inadvertent misdirection. This, he could answer truthfully. ‘Definitely not.’
Shelly squinted and peered some more. Eventually she shook her head. ‘I could have sworn I know your face. But maybe I just like the look of you. Anyhoo, so you’re from London.’
‘Yup.’
Shelley chewed her lip. ‘You’re from London, you’re not single, and it’s complicated.’ She pointed a finger gun at him. ‘I got it. Is your missus pregnant? Or maybe she’s not getting pregnant?’
‘No. No, nothing like that. We’re not really trying.’
Shelley was perplexed. ‘I don’t get it. What’s your problem? You don’t love her any more?’
‘I love her very much.’
‘So she doesn’t turn you on?’
‘She does.’
‘So what then? Why are you out looking for sex when you have a lady at home who’s not pregnant, who you love, and who turns you on?’
‘That’s a very good question, Shelley, and one I’ve been asking myself all night.’
Shelley laughed some more. ‘Let me guess: It’s complicated.’
Alex looked at her thoughtfully. She was great fun to be with and easy to talk to. How much could he tell her? He opened his mouth to launch into a confidence, but the image of his band’s publicist popped into his mind.
From now on, your personal life is a closed book. Never tell anything to anyone, however friendly they seem. If I see details of your personal life splashed all over the social media, and they didn’t originate from me, I’ll eat you alive.
He grinned to himself. Emily was one forceful woman. He would never have thought that her stern warning would keep him out of mischief in this most random of circumstances. Nevertheless, he remembered her warning just in time.
‘It is complicated. More complicated than I can begin to explain.’ He spoke softly, and Shelley listened intently. ‘Anyway, I’m terribly sorry if I’ve led you astray. I really don’t mind what you tell your friends about . . . about how your night ended.’
Shelley pulled her mouth into a little moue, but her eyes smiled. ‘D’you know?’ she said. ‘D’you know, you’re a really kind man, and your woman is a lucky girl. Thank you for the meal and the chat. But I’m absolutely bloody knackered, so when we’re done here, I shall take myself home and sleep.’ She grinned broadly. ‘Wahey, I don’t have to hang out in a club until threea.m.’
‘Wow.’ Alex shook his head. ‘I had no idea that that’s how you party girls really felt behind that glitzy, exciting exterior.’
‘Oh, us party girls, we harbour all sorts of secrets, and not all of them happy.’ Shelley looked wistful. ‘But that’s a different story for a different man. What are you going to do now?’
‘Me?’ Alex recoiled, surprised by the question. ‘Same as you, probably. Go find my bed and catch up on some sleep.’
‘And the missus?’
‘Ah.’ He sighed deeply. ‘That’s a question for tomorrow.’
‘I am so intrigued. You’re like an international man of mystery. Of course, I don’t know if you’re international. Maybe only national.’ Shelley giggled. ‘And I’m drunk, even though I’ve only had a few glasses. Anyhoo . . . good luck with whatever it is that’s troubling you.’
‘Thank you, Shelley. And thank you for . . . well, for being there. Who knows what might have happened to me if it hadn’t been you coming my way.’
Shelley rose. ‘I don’t often say this to people because most people think I’m a bit of a dumb blonde, you know. But sometimes the stars align right and events happen that work out perfectly later, even if you can’t see it at the time. So hang in there and have faith.’
‘That’s profound,’ Alex said gently. ‘And very beautiful. Thank you, Shelley.’
‘Bye, Alex.’ She kissed him lightly on the cheek.
‘Good night, Shelley.’
‘Oh and . . . I was there, at your Apollo gig. My friends have a big thing for you, so we travelled up especially. I just remembered why I know you.’ She winked. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.’
She left with an airy wave of her hand before Alex could respond in any way. His heart hammered in his chest, and he had the uncanny sensation that he might have just escaped a major disaster.
Perturbed, Alex lingered for a moment longer to steady his nerves and to finish up the wine. This could have ended very badly indeed; but thankfully, it hadn’t. And all right, so he hadn’t upheld his side of the bargain. He wouldn’t be able to tell Casey whether he could do it with a stranger. But he didn’t care. He had found out what he needed to know. He loved his wife truly, madly, deeply, and he couldn’t — and wouldn’t — stray. Even by mutual consent.