Chapter Twenty-Three
Amy helped her get ready. She flitted around in her pyjamas, her hair damp from her bath.
‘Why don’t you actually wear this one?’ she asked, holding up a T-shirt with a print of trees and mountains on it.
‘That’s a great one,’ Jen said, watching Amy in the mirror while she tried to do her mascara. ‘But it might be a bit cold for that. I’ll just wear this, for now.’
Amy cast a doubtful gaze over her outfit of tartan knee-length skirt, Julia’s Doc Martens and a dalmatian-print jumper. The cat necklace, that she now wore every day, was hidden inside her top. ‘It’s funny.’
‘Well . . .’ Jen looked down at herself. ‘I like funny,’ she said, beginning to wonder if she actually did. She didn’t usually mix patterns, she was more of a jeans and nice-top girl, but she felt like trying something new. Something more quirky; something that Anthony might like.
Amy moved closer, and peered into Jen’s face. She smelled of bubble bath and strawberry toothpaste, and Jen wanted to eat her up. Amy frowned, looking critically at the lipstick Jen was swiping on. ‘Shall I help you with your make-up?’
Julia poked her head around the door. ‘Right, bedtime, poppet.’
She ushered a reluctant Amy out, ignoring her downturned mouth and sad-puppy eyes, and mouthing ‘sorry’ at her sister. Jen sprayed perfume, brushed out her hair one last time, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Julia had always been the pretty one, with her delicate nose and large eyes and little pointed chin. But tonight, as Jen shook out her gleaming auburn hair and blinked her long lashes, she felt good about what she saw.
Hopefully Anthony would approve too.
He was waiting for her outside the restaurant.
Her stomach flipped when she saw him, ridiculously handsome in the light of the street lamp, dark hair falling into his eyes as he looked at her, the folded notebook sticking out of his coat pocket.
He pulled her close, brushing her cheek with his lips, and Jen felt almost faint as her heart skittered and she breathed in the smell of his aftershave.
The restaurant was Italian. Slightly more romantic than Julia and Dan’s night at Pizza Hut, Jen thought, as she took in the candles and posh linen napkins.
‘This OK? Everyone likes pizza, right?’ Anthony said.
She nodded. She liked pizza.
‘You know, it’s fine if you want to just have pudding, or something.’ He smiled at her over the menu.
‘What?’ she laughed. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Well, I don’t know. I’m just saying, you don’t have to be conventional if you don’t want to. And women like pudding, don’t they?’
Jen had had more than enough sweet treats after spending her day surrounded by icing-covered children and eating a number of Marnie’s delicious mince pies. She generally preferred savoury anyway, and she didn’t much enjoy being told what women liked.
But Anthony smiled his dazzling smile and reached across the table to take her hand, the muscles in his forearm flexing. ‘You look beautiful, by the way,’ he said, gazing into her eyes. He rubbed her hand gently with his thumb. ‘So, how’s everything going? You OK – oh, hi.’
He stopped to smile at the waitress, who’d arrived with their wine and was going a little doe-eyed at the sight of gorgeous Anthony being so attentive to Jen.
‘Thank you so much,’ he said as she blushed under his gaze.
She flicked a glance at Jen, smiling and blowing the fringe from her eyes as she poured.
‘You doing OK living with the ugly sister and her family?’ he asked, his attention once again completely focused on Jen now the waitress was gone.
Jen was a little taken aback. ‘I – she’s not ugly.’
‘Sorry, that was – I was being flippant, you know, because of Cinderella. It was stupid, sorry, I shouldn’t have made light of it.
I know you’re in a difficult situation.’ He gazed at her, staring deep into her eyes.
‘I’ve just been wondering how you’re doing – families can be hard and I know you’ve got some history with her that’s not great. ’
Jen shifted in her seat and poked at her pasta.
She’d let herself forget recently, sometimes for whole days at a time, just how badly Julia had hurt her.
Her stomach knotted uncomfortably as the memories crept back in, and she felt like she was that younger version of herself again, broken and confused and looking to her big sister for support.
‘Oh – I’ve upset you, I’m sorry,’ he said, looking horrified that he might have inadvertently caused her pain. ‘I shouldn’t have brought it up.’
Jen shook her head, forcing those memories away; she wasn’t that girl any more. She was an adult, she didn’t allow herself to get hurt like that now. And she was on a date with a gorgeous, caring man.
‘Things have been better recently. It’s been – kind of nice, being there. You know, getting to know the kids and—’
And Julia. She hadn’t spent this length of time with her sister for decades. She’d forgotten how funny Julia could be, how lively and warm. She felt a little guilty that she’d apparently given Anthony the impression Julia was some kind of monster.
‘Oh, well, that’s good,’ he said as he bit into his pizza. ‘I know it’s been tough for you, stuck in that place. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, don’t get me wrong, if you’re suited for a conventional life.’ He shook his head, looking sympathetic. ‘It’s just not you, is it?’
Jen knew where he was coming from; she herself had been horrified to discover that the reunion and birthday weekend was taking place in Babblebrook.
It had seemed so incredibly dull in comparison to her city life of bars and busy streets and young flatmates drinking late into the night.
But she thought about her day spent in Marnie’s cosy café, surrounded by sweet children and their kindly parents.
She thought of Pat and Matt, treating her like an old friend at the art class, and of Ted, with his steadfast integrity.
A memory of his strong arms, wrapped around her, flashed into her mind.
Hastily, she stopped thinking of Ted. She didn’t want to introduce any strangeness into their friendship.
Anthony leaned forward in his seat, looking at her with such intensity that she felt pinned by his gaze.
‘You’re too good for that,’ he said. ‘You’re different, you’ve made hard choices and you walk a different path, you know?
A better path.’ He reached out, ran his thumb tenderly over her cheek. ‘I know it hasn’t been easy.’
Jen caught herself thinking of what it would be like to stay in Babblebrook. To see her niece and nephew all the time, to go on girls’ nights with Julia, and do quiz nights at The Plough, and help Marnie with activities for the children in the café. To get a job that paid a regular wage.
She shook her head, dragging her imagination away from all that. She so badly wanted to be the version of her that Anthony saw.
‘What about you? How’s your family?’
He smiled. ‘All boringly good, actually. Mum’s pretty much better now, so I think my services are no longer needed, really.’
Jen took a sip of wine, trying to appear casual. ‘That’s good. So will you be heading back to your normal life?’
She watched him through her eyelashes, hardly daring to breathe.
Everything in her told her this was the beginning of something special, that Anthony was going to be someone important in her life.
But what if she was wrong? What if this wasn’t the beginning, but the whole thing, and it was about to end?
He leaned forward, elbows on the table, a small smile flickering over his lips. ‘I don’t know,’ he said softly, as his eyes travelled over her face. ‘I’m finding I’m not that keen to leave, for some reason.’
She smiled, a huge and radiant smile that she couldn’t control. ‘Your nieces?’
He grinned. ‘Oh, yeah. My nieces, yes, must be that.’ He took a sip of wine, eyeing her over the rim of the glass. ‘They are super cute.’
They talked until they were the last people in the restaurant, so intent on each other that they were unaware of the emptying tables around them.
‘Sorry,’ Anthony said, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair as he smiled up at the waitress who was hovering with the bill. ‘Lost track of time, and now we’ve kept you late. Are you working again tomorrow?’
She smiled and shook her head. ‘Day off tomorrow.’
‘Oh, good, so you’ll get a break from annoying customers like us.’
She laughed. ‘I’ve had way worse than you.’
‘Oh dear.’ He pulled a face. ‘Must be bad!’
The waitress left, and he helped Jen into her coat. Instead of letting it go, he held on to the lapels and pulled her into him, smiling softly, kissing her gently, his lips soft against hers.
Taken by surprise, she felt the room shift around her. The kiss was brief and gentle, and felt both exciting and familiar. He took her hand and led her out, raising his eyebrows at the waitress and saying goodbye.
The street was cold and dark, frost sparkling on the pavement, the lights that were strung above twinkling in the clear night. There were still a few stragglers on the streets, couples holding hands, friends walking in groups; laughter drifted through the air.
Anthony leaned against the wall, smiling as he wrapped his arms around Jen’s waist and slowly drew her closer to him.
They stood for a moment as he took her in, stroking a strand of hair from her face, his breath coming a little quickly.
She waited, knowing what was coming, longing for the touch of his lips against her own.
And when he kissed her, it was with such passion that she couldn’t catch her breath. And didn’t want to.