Page 82 of Teacakes & Tangos
‘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 itinthe 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 isgorgeous.’ 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,reallylike 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.
