Page 42 of A Wish For Jo
'But oysters are an aphrodisiac,' said Harvey. 'As is champagne, which I happen to have a bottle of.'
'Then what are we waiting for? Not that I think we need an aphrodisiac.' Jo took a seat as Harvey went to fetch the bubbly. Without so much as a sip, she felt giddy and excited: she could easily have skipped the food and gone straight for dessert of the carnal kind. But there was no rush, and she wanted to sample Harvey's home cooking.
'Here we go.' Harvey handed Jo a fizzing plastic flute. 'I bought a pack of these at Janette's, otherwise we'd be supping from mugs or wine glasses.'
'Tastes the same, whatever you drink it from. Cheers.'
They'd barely taken a sip when loud banging at the door interrupted them. 'Are you expecting someone?'
Harvey shook his head. A distinct look of unease distorted his features.
'Maybe it's the TV licence people. Or a couple of earnest Mormons touting for new recruits.' Jo was aiming for levity, but Harvey looked like a man facing a firing squad.
'Stay here. Don't move. I'll get rid of them.'
Jo froze, unsure what to do or think. Did Harvey owe a ton of money, and now the debt collectors were on his doorstep, prepared to snap a limb or two if he didn't pay up? Or perhaps it was a dumped, vengeful ex, intent on ripping her hair out by the roots.
'What are you doing here?' The closed lounge door muffled Harvey's voice, but didn't disguise the note of panic. So it was someone he knew, but who? 'This isn't the time or the place. Wait a second.'
The front door banged and all was quiet apart from Jo's heart, thudding as if it was fighting to escape her chest. She fiddled with her plastic flute, unsure what to do. Should she make her excuses and leave? But she didn't want to leave. Instead, she went to check on Harvey's cooking, in case it needed a stir or rescuing from the oven.
Whatever he'd prepared, it looked under control. Jo gave the dish a desultory prod with a spoon and returned to the lounge.
At that moment, the front door banged again and Harvey reappeared. 'I'm so sorry, Jo, I think we need to call it a night. Something's come up, and… Well, I'm truly sorry.’ His face spoke of genuine regret, tinged with anxiety and something else.Fear?
'Where's your visitor?' Jo tried and failed to conceal the sharp stab of disappointment in her voice.
'At The Jekyll and Hyde. I'll meet them there in a few minutes.'
Them.More than one person, or a device to throw Jo off the scent? The scent of a woman: of that she had no doubt.
'Fine.' The one-word grenade every man feared. Hurting more than she wanted to admit, Jo gathered up her things and left, Harvey's apologies ringing in her ears.
CHAPTER41
'How did you find me?'
Abby smirked. 'I have my sources.' Dressed in a caramel trench coat and sporting a felt fedora tilted at a jaunty angle, she exuded an air of sexy sleuth. A part she'd played well inChasing Shadows,but that was fiction.
'To be honest, I don't give a flying fuck how you found me. Just spit out what you want and let me get on with the life you tried to destroy.' Harvey gripped his pint glass so hard that he feared it might shatter.
Abby took a delicate mouthful of her white wine and puckered up her perfectly lip-sticked mouth. 'Tastes like cat's piss,' she complained. 'Not that I expect much from a dive like this.' Her pert nose crinkled in disdain as she took in her surroundings. The usual crowd unwinding after a day at work, eating and chatting in a place Harvey had grown fond of.
'Sorry it's not a champagne and oyster bar' — he cringed at the memory — 'but this is home for me and I didn't ask you to come here.'
'But you ignored my messages, Harley, and I don't like being ignored.’
Jamie wandered into view, gathering up empties and wiping down tables. ‘Excuse me, can you fetch me a gin and tonic? None of that cheap stuff and only branded tonic.'
'You need to order at the bar. Over there.' Jamie tilted his head in the direction of the bar and continued wiping.
'The peasants are indeed revolting,' sighed Abby. 'Could you be a sweetheart, Harley, and—'
'If you want another drink, get it yourself. You have precisely five minutes to say your piece before I'm out of here.'
Abby tutted and removed her hat, shaking her hair loose in a provocative manner. 'You really need to be nicer to me, you know. I'm doing you a favour coming here.'
Harvey almost spat his beer across the table. 'Doing me a favour? The biggest favour you can do me is to haul your arse out of here. No, scratch that. How about admitting in public that all that stalking and harassment stuff was a pack of lies?’ His raised voice attracted a few curious stares. He pulled his chair closer to Abby, even though instinct screamed at him to leg it to Jo's. Not that he'd receive a warm welcome. She'd probably never speak to him again.
