Page 28 of The Lucky Escape

‘Like what?’ I asked.

He considered it. ‘For example,’ he began, ‘I presume these places will only have one bed. As your guest, and as a gentleman, I will obviously take the sofa or the floor wherever that’s the case.’

The waiter returned with two flutes of bubbles and set them down.

‘Oh, that’s kind but …’

Patrick held up a hand. ‘No,’ he insisted. ‘That’s what makesmefeel most comfortable. We can always ask for twin beds whenever we check in somewhere, but if that isn’t an option then you take the bed and I’ll kip elsewhere. It’s only right. Keeps things proper, doesn’t it.’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘That’s a generous thing to say, and probably sensible too. Can you imagine if you woke up to me spooning you because I thought you were …’ His name caught in my throat. I didn’t want to say it out loud to Patrick. Obviously he knew all about Alexander but I didn’t want to sully the trip by there being the shadow of a third wheel present. Plus I wanted the practice of nipping any thought of him in the bud, too. That’s another truism my grandmother had always said:Only water the thoughts you want to grow.I wanted thoughts of Alexander to wither away to nothing. ‘Anyway,’ I continued. ‘Good ground rule. For both our sakes.’

‘Is there anything you want to add? Oh, and cheers by the way.’ He held up his glass and tapped the rim of it against my own.

‘Cheers,’ I echoed. ‘Here’s to …’ I thought for a moment. What did I want to cheers to? To being there. To saying yes. To taking a chance. That’s what I wanted to celebrate.

‘Cheers to the “why not?”,’ I settled on.

‘Cheers to the “why not?”!’

We took tentative sips and the bubbles hit my tongue and fizzed in my mouth. It tasted like freedom.

‘We should have a code word,’ I said. ‘In case we irritate each other.’

‘Do you think we will?’

‘That’s just it, isn’t it? Who even knows? We don’t actually know each other much at all, so we could …’

‘True, okay, so … what? If we need some space or a time out we say …?’

A music video played on the TV just beyond Patrick’s head, and as my eye drifted in an attempt to retrieve a clue from the world I immediately found one.

‘Mona Lisa,’ I stated, pointing. ‘Look at her. That’s a woman who needs a break. She’s not even impressed by Jay-Z and Beyoncé.’

‘Excellent code word,’ he said and laughed. ‘Yes! I can’t stand the way you chew your bread so I’m going to go and Mona Lisa.’

‘Your inability to check out at the supermarket without talking to the cashier for twenty minutes is really grinding my gears. Let’s have a Mona Lisa afternoon.’

‘The hacking up of your morning phlegm as my wake-up call is too much. I need breakfast à la Mona Lisa.’

‘I do actually do that,’ I admitted, sheepishly. Alexanderhad always hated it. ‘The morning phlegm thing – I’m a very mucous-y person. I blow my nose a lot. I have used tissues in the pocket of every item of clothing I own.’

‘I’ll remember that when I try to borrow your bikini.’

‘I can treat you to a new swimsuit,’ I jokingly offered. ‘Your hips are narrower than mine. We can get you one of those thong ones with the string.’

‘Ooooh!’ he trilled. ‘Where one little tug of the fabric and poof! Off it comes!’

A thought suddenly hit me. ‘I mean, what if that happens?’ I asked.

‘What?’

‘What if you meet somebody, and you want to go and—’

‘Take my bikini off with them?’

‘The situation could arise. Cute Englishman and all that, getting hit on left and right because of your accent.’

He shook his head. ‘No, Annie. I’d be a pretty bad friend if I ditched you on your honeymoon for a shag. I’m not in the market for that. I don’t really do relationships. It’s a non-issue. These next three weeks are about you, me and the open road, okay?’

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