Chapter 5 #2
‘Well, she’s with a man and you’re not allowed to say anything and she’s hiding from me which would kind of make sense if she doesn’t want people to know she’s on a date.’
‘I think those things are circumstantial at best.’
She opened her mouth to ask more questions but Max mimed zipping his lips closed and throwing away the key so she didn’t. ‘You know I’ll find out.’
‘I’m sure you will but not from me.’
‘That’s fair enough. Right wish me luck.’
She plastered on a smile and walked over to the table. ‘Hello, I’m Alex.’
‘Oliver.’
Oliver didn’t stand up, didn’t even offer out his hand to shake like Dave had, although that was probably a bit too formal. His eyes were hard as if he was already angry. Alex checked her watch to see that she was five minutes early so it couldn’t be that he was cross that she was late.
She sat down, already feeling uneasy.
Just then a man and a woman rushed past on their way out of the restaurant.
The woman had her face wrapped in a scarf as if ready to face the Arctic so it was hard to tell who it was but the sweet apple-smelling perfume the woman was wearing was definitely the same as the one Violet usually wore.
She glanced over to where she’d seen Violet a few moments before and sure enough her table was empty so it had to be her.
Alex watched them as they hurriedly left.
Clearly they didn’t want to be seen. The man however was definitely someone she’d seen at Henry’s funeral.
In fact, she was sure he’d given a short speech about how wonderful Henry had been so he was obviously a good friend of Henry’s.
Maybe it had been completely innocent and Violet was simply having dinner with an old friend.
Maybe she didn’t want people jumping to the wrong conclusion and thinking they were on a date.
Although Max’s reaction to her suggesting Violet was on a date was more than a little suspicious.
She turned her attention back to Oliver who was glaring at her.
‘I’ve just been looking at the menu. I think I’m going to have the prawns to start and then the mussels,’ Oliver said.
Her heart sank. Most people she met were really good about her shellfish allergy but some took offence to it, lord knows why. She got the feeling Oliver was going to be the latter.
OK, she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he hadn’t read her text message properly. Maybe he’d misunderstood, although she wasn’t sure how she could have made it any clearer.
‘I’m not sure if you got my message but I have a shellfish allergy.’
‘That feels like your problem, not mine. How does your shellfish allergy affect me?’
‘Well it doesn’t, but probably around fifteen to twenty minutes after those prawns arrive at the table, I’ll be spending the rest of the night puking up in the toilets. It’s not much of a first date.’
‘You’ve got a huge sense of entitlement, telling me what I can and can’t eat.’
Her eyebrows shot up. ‘I’m not telling you what you can eat, I’m just politely requesting that it doesn’t contain shellfish or we’re not going to have much chance to get to know each other when I’m running to the toilet every two minutes to throw up.’
Although she already knew everything she needed to know about this man if he was going to get this angry over her shellfish allergy.
‘You know, people like you are exactly what’s wrong with the world,’ Oliver snarled. ‘You come up with these pathetic allergies and you expect everyone to pander to you. The world doesn’t work like that, sweetheart. The world is a tough place and you need to man up.’
‘Why did you come here tonight if my allergy was going to be such a problem for you?’
‘Because I wanted to tell you that you’re an entitled bitch and if I want to eat a prawn, I’ll eat a goddamn prawn.’
Alex had a sudden flashback to the night Liam had drunkenly come home from sleeping with another woman.
‘I’ve just shagged Michelle from the pub,’ Liam had gloated. ‘And I ate prawns and they were bloody lovely.’
She was surprised by how much that still hurt, the realisation that her marriage was over. She had stood by Liam because she’d promised to be there for him in sickness and in health, because the man she had loved was still in there somewhere, but she didn’t owe this man anything.
She was just about to stand up and leave when Max clamped a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. ‘You need to leave, right now.’
‘How dare you? My money is just as good as anyone else’s.’ He stood up to face Max and either he recognised him from his encounter with Cleo or realised he was only three-quarters of Max’s massive height but he took a step back.
Max took a step forward. ‘Get out or I will throw you out. Literally.’
Oliver didn’t need to be told again. He grabbed his coat and stormed out.
‘Are you OK?’ Max said.
Alex nodded. ‘Thank you. I’m sorry I lost you a customer.’
‘I wouldn’t want to serve him anyway, what a vile man. Stay there, I’ve already arranged a lift home.’
‘Oh I’m fine, I can walk.’
Max shook his head. ‘No, just in case he’s still out there. Would you like something to eat while you wait? On the house.’
‘Oh no, I’m fine. I can get something to eat at home.’
‘How about Maria’s famous mince pie and ice cream?’
‘Oh yes please.’ Her stomach rumbled appreciatively.
Max nodded and returned a few moments later with a bowl with a delicious-looking mince pie and a dollop of brandy ice cream on the top.
Maria’s mince pies were widely recognised as the best in Lovegrove Bay.
Alex had no idea what she did to them, but she knew Maria made them from scratch and there were quite a lot of apples and cranberries used as well as the normal sultanas, oranges and brandy or rum.
The pastry was the perfect texture that had that snap that shortcrust pastry had, but also melted in the mouth.
She took one heavenly bite and then Max called over. ‘Your ride is here.’
She sighed, wondering if she could take this bowl of wonder to go, although the ice cream probably wouldn’t travel well in a takeaway box. She turned round to see which taxi driver had been lumbered with driving her two minutes up the hill when she saw Quinn walking towards her.
‘Hey,’ Quinn said, as he arrived at her table.
‘Did Max call you?’
‘Yes, of course.’
She scowled at Max and he shrugged before returning to the kitchen.
‘I’m sorry your date wasn’t successful,’ Quinn said, sitting down.
‘It was the worst possible first date, in the history of first dates ever,’ she grumbled. ‘He basically came here to tell me I was entitled for asking him not to eat shellfish and then got really angry about it.’
‘He sounds like a complete dick. Why would you eat something if you know it’s going to make someone violently ill?
I made the decision long ago that I was never going to eat shellfish ever again because I never want you to get sick from simply being around me.
And you know what, I’ve survived that harrowing ordeal. ’
She smiled. ‘Why is it so hard to find someone as lovely as you?’
She took another bite of the mince pie and then held out a loaded spoon for Quinn. He leaned forward and took the bite.
‘Mmm, that’s really good.’ He licked his lips and sat back. ‘You could just date me. At least then you’ll know what you’re getting and there’s no risk of Zara getting shipped off to boarding school or any shellfish-related incidents.’
‘You’re very sweet, but you’re only offering that because I was with Liam and you feel obligated to look after me.’
He frowned as if he wanted to say more. She watched him as she finished off her pie.
What would it be like to date him? He’d be sweet, attentive, generous, loyal, just as he was now.
He’d probably be amazing in bed, he looked the sort of man who knew exactly what to do to make a woman happy in that department.
But he didn’t love her. He just wanted to take care of her and, as much as dating him would tick so many of her boxes, not least all those fantasies she had about him over the years, she needed love more than anything.
‘I don’t think I’m cut out for this dating malarkey anyway. I’m searching for the holy grail and if Dave and Oliver are the standards of men out there, I’ll never find it.’
Quinn frowned. ‘I don’t think the holy grail is a man who doesn’t yell at you because you have an allergy, that’s just basic respect. You need to aim higher than that.’
‘I think I’m aiming too high, that’s the problem.’ The holy grail was him, Alex knew that, but he was never going to be hers.
She wondered whether to tell Quinn that she’d seen his mum here with a man. However, as Violet had made such an effort not to be seen, she probably didn’t want Quinn to know either.
She dropped her spoon in the empty bowl. ‘Come on, let’s go home.’
Quinn stood and placed a ten-pound note on the table.
‘The dessert was free,’ Alex said.
‘Consider it a tip for looking after you.’
He took her hand and led her out to his car. He opened the door for her and she smiled at how gentlemanly he was.
‘You look lovely by the way,’ he commented. ‘That dress is gorgeous on you.’
‘Thank you. I thought I’d make a bit of effort. Looks like it was wasted.’
‘Definitely not wasted.’
They got in and Quinn drove up the hill to her house.
‘Thank you for coming to get me,’ said Alex. ‘Did you want to come in for a coffee? Immy’s out at yoga and Zara is staying at her friend’s for the night.’
‘Sure.’
They got out and he followed her into her kitchen.
‘So I take it you didn’t get your kiss?’ Quinn asked.
‘Eww, no, thankfully. Knowing how angry he was about my shellfish allergy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ate a crab sandwich before he left home. I have one more date tomorrow with Pip but after that I’m done. I’m doomed never to have a kiss ever again.’
‘I don’t think you can judge men or the dating world based on two bad dates. There’s got to be some good men out there. But if you really want a kiss, we can kiss.’
Alex’s heart leapt as she stared at him in shock. He was so blasé about it, like he was offering to change her tyres not give her the kiss of her dreams. It clearly meant nothing to him when to her it would be everything.
‘You… want to kiss me?’
‘I’m just saying, you’re my friend, my best friend, we hug all the time and a kiss isn’t really any different to that. If you’re looking for a no-strings-attached kiss, we can have that.’
There would be strings attached, Alex thought. There was no way she could kiss him and not feel anything or not want something more.
‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ she said slowly. ‘I don’t want things to be weird between us. Zara needs you. I need you. I don’t want you to stop coming round because it’s awkward or you’re avoiding me.’
‘That will never happen. You two are the most important people in my world. Nothing will ever change that.’
She stared at him trying to think of every reason under the sun not to do this when her heart and body were screaming at her to grab this opportunity with both hands. It was something she had dreamed about for years.
‘OK,’ she said, her heart thundering against her chest.
She couldn’t help noticing his face lighting up. ‘Really?’
‘It’s just a kiss,’ she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant when she felt anything but.
He stepped towards her and she felt like she was trembling with excitement. Was this really going to happen after all these years?
He stood in front of her and they stared at each other. Was it her imagination or was his breathing accelerated?
‘What kind of kiss is this going to be?’ she asked. ‘A little kiss on the lips, will there be tongues or is it the kind of kiss that will blow my socks off?’
He grinned. ‘I’ve never been asked that question before.’
‘I feel like I need to prepare myself mentally.’
‘Is this what you would ask on a date? Because if it is we might need to work on your dating technique.’
‘No of course not, but this is you and we’re not on a date,’ she said. ‘You don’t like me in that way so I need to know what to expect so I’m not disappointed.’
‘Why would you be disappointed?’
‘Well, if I’m expecting my socks to be blown off and you give me a two-second peck on the lips, that will be disappointing.’
‘Well, imagine this is a date. I took you to Alberto’s, we had a lovely dinner with no shellfish, we had Maria’s amazing mince pies.
The conversation flowed brilliantly, it was like we’ve known each other for years.
I’ve brought you home, you’ve invited me in for coffee, which as a gentleman means strictly coffee, and now we are going to have our first kiss.
I’ll want to impress you with what an amazing kisser I am, but also be respectful of what you want.
So I’ll probably start off slow and if you seem like you’re enjoying it, I might continue, up the ante on the passion. ’
‘And what happens then?’
‘I’ll… blow your socks off.’
She smiled. ‘OK.’
He inched closer, his head leaning down towards her.
‘Will you grab my bum?’ she asked.
He paused. ‘Do you want me to?’
She bit her lip. Was that too much for a friendly kiss? Oh sod it, if this was going to happen, she might as well go all in.
‘If the mood takes you, sure. And if you want to touch… umm, any other body parts, then go for it.’
‘OK,’ he said, clearly unsure.
‘I mean, you don’t have to, but just go with the flow.’
‘Right… Can I kiss you now?’
She tentatively moved her hands to his chest. A hint of a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, but it wasn’t as if she could stand there with her hands by her sides while she enjoyed the kiss of her dreams. If this was only going to happen once then she wanted to embrace it fully.
She nodded. ‘OK, I’m ready, no more interruptions. Commence operation Blow My Socks Off.’
‘You make me smile so damn much, Alex Campbell.’
‘Well let’s hope you can make me smile too.’
He smirked and shook his head, then he cupped her face and kissed her.