CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
When I arrived at work that morning, everyone was buzzing with the news that Clara had got engaged to her boyfriend Rory.
I went straight to find her and congratulate her, delighted – after she poured out her heart to me in the café the other day – that she and Rory had clearly managed to work through their problems.
That chat with Clara had helped clarify a lot of things for me, too – mainly about Xander and my feelings for him.
The upshot was I’d decided to put my reservations aside and give ‘us’ a chance.
I had nothing to lose. And a whole lot to gain.
And if it all ended in disaster again – a repeat of the Les fiasco – then at least I’d know that I’d been brave and risked everything for love.
As soon as I got home, I plucked up my courage and phoned Xander.
He seemed surprised but pleased to hear from me. Sounding a little cautious, he asked me what I was doing the following evening, and I told him (truthfully) that Mum and Dad’s old friend, Janet, was coming round to see Dad.
‘I’m going to cook them some dinner but I’ll probably leave them to chat and eat mine on a tray in front of the TV.’
‘Is this you trying to matchmake, then?’ he wanted to know.
I laughed. ‘Not really. But . . . well, if it happens, it happens . . .’
‘How about leaving them entirely alone together?’ he suggested. ‘Come over to mine and I’ll cook you spaghetti Bolognese.’
‘Spaghetti Bolognese? How fancy!’
‘I know. This brilliant chef I know gave me the recipe and I’ve been trying to perfect it with a few added ingredients of my own.’
‘No, you haven’t!’
‘Yes. I have. Sad geezer that I am, I’ve been experimenting with herbs.’
‘Wow. So you’re cooking from scratch instead of grabbing scones and cakes on your travels?’
‘Well, not all the time. But yes, I’m becoming quite the Jamie Oliver.’
‘Wonders will never cease.’
‘So you’ll come over tomorrow night?’
‘Yes, I’d love to.’
‘Great. What about 7.30? I’ll text you my postcode and flat number.’
‘Lovely.’
‘Looking forward to it. You can be reunited with Luther.’
‘Who’s Luther?’ I asked, confused.
Was it someone we’d both worked with at the bank?
But he’d already gone . . .
*****
After I’d spoken to Xander, I went into the spare room and carried the box of old family photographs up to my room.
I made myself comfy, propped up with pillows on my bed with the photos beside me. Then I took a deep breath and opened the box.
There were photos in there from way back.
.. black and white pictures of my great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles in their younger days (it was fascinating to study the fashion and the hairstyles) as well as colour photos of family picnics at the seaside, with me as a toddler, often with an ice-cream in evidence!
And then there were about a dozen photos of Mum and Dad during their dancing days. I spread them out carefully on the bed and studied them for a long time.
They looked so young!
The costumes were amazing and I could almost feel their excitement as they held their trophy or their medals aloft and smiled happily – at the camera, or more often at each other, their love for each other shining out for all to see...
Tears blinding me, I picked out my favourites to give to Clara. And when Dad knocked on my door to ask me if I’d like a cup of tea, I wiped my eyes and bounced off the bed, wanting to show him the three photos I’d chosen.
He looked at them calmly and listened when I told him about Clara’s project.
‘Is it okay, Dad, to let her borrow these for the display?’ I asked him.
His smile looked forced. ‘Fine,’ was all he said, before retreating from the room and going back downstairs...
*****
Later, I prepared dinner for Dad and Janet, so that Dad would just have to heat it up in the oven. Then I got ready to go over to Xander’s.
I’d taken a great deal of care over my outfit and make-up – mainly, of course, to make it look as though I hadn’t gone to any extra trouble at all. (I was still unsure whether Xander wanted friendship or more than that, and I didn’t want to look too needy.)
In any case, Xander had invited the mysterious Luther for dinner as well, which sadly meant this definitely wasn’t a date. I hoped it wouldn’t be too awkward. I’d racked my brains trying to remember a Luther we’d both worked with at the bank but I’d drawn a complete blank.
The smells wafting from the kitchen when I arrived at his flat were very promising. Xander greeted me with a checked tea-towel tucked into his waistband like an apron.
‘Hey, you look gorgeous,’ he smiled, ushering me in and whipping off the tea towel.
‘Do I?’ I gave a careless little shrug, while glancing around for his other guest. It seemed I was the first to arrive.
‘Yes. I like the dress.’
‘What, this old thing?’ I matched the mischievous twinkle in his eye and he laughed.
‘Bought it specially for tonight, then?’
I grinned. ‘How did you guess?’ That was the thing about being with Xander. I could be totally myself and he seemed to like it. Which, along with the herby smells, was a very promising start to the night...
We drank wine while he stirred pans, set the table and even lit a candle on a little saucer.
‘Xander?’ I asked, from my perch at the breakfast bar.
‘Yes?’
‘Why didn’t you want me to see your flat?’
‘Sorry?’
I shrugged. ‘You kept making excuses why you couldn’t bring me here.’ I nodded at the hob. ‘I see it’s working okay now. The hob?’
He frowned. ‘Can’t remember saying it wasn’t. But if I did say that, it would have been to spare you the biggest shock of your life.’
‘Well, that’s what I thought. I figured you must either have a dead body stashed behind the fridge-freezer or you must still be living with your ex.’
‘Dana?’ He grimaced. ‘Perish the thought. And if I was going to hide a dead body, I think I’d put it in the fridge-freezer, not behind it. The smell, you know...’
‘Fair point.’ I eyeballed him sternly. ‘So come on, stop stalling and tell me the real reason I wasn’t allowed to come here before now.’
He grinned. ‘I couldn’t let you come here before now because the place looked like it had been burgled. And not just once.’
‘Ah.’
‘There could well have been dead bodies everywhere but I’d never have been able to find them.’ He shrugged. ‘I’ve spent the whole day tidying up for you. I hope you appreciate it.’
I laughed at how simple the reason was. And I’d been thinking such dark thoughts...
‘I very much appreciate it,’ I assured him, raising my glass.
He picked up his glass and raised it in turn. ‘Cheers!’
At last the food was ready. Xander brought our plates to the table and pulled out a chair for me to sit down.
‘Your other guest is late,’ I pointed out.
I was secretly hoping he’d come down with some sort of a bug and had been sadly unable to leave his bed. (Nothing too nasty, of course...)
‘My other guest?’
‘Luther?’
He smiled. ‘Ah, yes. He could well make an appearance later. But let’s tuck in, shall we?’
The spaghetti Bolognese was lovely and so was the chocolate mousse served with fresh raspberries, which Xander had also made from scratch.
‘This is gorgeous .’ I was drooling exaggeratedly over every mouthful of mousse, making Xander laugh.
‘I’ve been a busy boy today.’
‘You have.’
The wine was delicious, and my courage was rising with every sip.
I took a deep, bolstering breath. It was now or never!
‘If I didn’t know better, Xander, I might imagine you’d made a really big effort tonight because you’re thinking of this as a date.’
He smiled. ‘It absolutely is a date. If you want it to be.’
‘Yes, but is that really what you want?’
‘Of course it is.’
‘No, but I’m being serious now. I still can’t help thinking that all this nice stuff – the ballet, driving me around, cooking me dinner – is to try and make up for Freddie’s part in Dad’s coma.
Which is ridiculous, by the way. You really shouldn’t be feeling guilty.
But you said yourself that you’d been trying to make it up to me.
’ I shrugged. ‘I haven’t been able to forget it. ’
He frowned. ‘What? No, you’re totally wrong. Tonight – and all the other stuff – is because I really like you, Anika. I mean, really like you. It had nothing whatsoever to do with what Freddie did.’
‘No? Because I’d really like to believe that.’
He smiled. And to my surprise, he stood up and reached for my hand. ‘Come with me.’
He led me through to a small room that looked like a study.
‘This room is the sunniest in the house, which is why – after a lot of on-line research – I decided it should be Luther’s permanent home.’
‘Luther?’ I stared at him. Then I looked at the windowsill and started to laugh.
‘Latin name, Lutheria splendens .’ He waved his hand with a flourish at the plant I’d bought for him. ‘Luther for short. Or – interestingly – ‘Flaming Sword’, known as that because of its vibrant red and orange flower spike that looks very like a –’
‘Flaming sword!’ I stared at it in disbelief. It didn’t look like the same plant. ‘You’ve brought it back from the dead. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible. Especially with you being a well-known plant murderer.’
He grinned. ‘Well, at first I thought it was a lost cause. I tried it on just about every windowsill in the flat and I even made a weird little mini greenhouse out of plastic sheeting for it to shelter in, thinking that because it was a tropical plant, it might need extra heat.’
‘A mini greenhouse?’
‘I know. I feel a bit ridiculous now. Especially since it’s thriving perfectly well now on that windowsill.’ He gave a sheepish shrug. ‘I thought you didn’t want to see me again. But the plant was a gift from you and I wasn’t going to give up on it.’
Feeling more than a little emotional, I moved closer to him. ‘I thought you’d invited some bloke called Luther to crash our date. I’m very glad it’s just us.’ I smiled. ‘And Lutheria splendid , of course.’
‘ Splendens ,’ he corrected me gently, before slipping his arms around me and pulling me close.
‘Interestingly,’ he murmured, nuzzling my neck, ‘it happens to be a member of the Bromeliaceae family and native to Trinidad and Tobago, as well as large parts of the –’
‘Xander?’ I muttered, as his lips scorched my skin, filling me with longing for him. ‘Be quiet, please, and just kiss me?’
So he did.
And I kissed him back for a very long time.
‘You haven’t shown me the bedroom,’ I gasped, breaking away at last.
‘I was just thinking the same,’ he murmured, taking my hand and leading me out, closing the study door behind us.
‘See you later, Lutheria splendens!’ I called .
He chuckled softly. ‘Well remembered.’
‘I know. My Latin’s coming on in leaps and bounds.’
I landed on Xander’s bed with a shriek and then he was on top of me and I was slipping my hands under his shirt and pulling him hard against me.
And after that, all thoughts of weird tropical plants went right out of my head...