Page 15 of One Summer Weekend
‘You’d be surprised at what coaching can achieve in that time.’ A pang – professional pride, or guilt? – as I remembered that I wouldn’t be around to see the results. ‘This is delicious, by the way. How’s your steak?’
‘I’m not hungry.’ He put down his knife and fork. Sensing danger, I fixed my gaze on my food and braced myself. He said, ‘At our first meeting, you talked about the needfor trust between us during the coaching. So why don’t you trust me?’
A sip of lime and soda. ‘What makes you think—’
‘You won’t even let me drive you back to your hotel.’
‘It’s out of your way—’
‘How do you know?’
‘I don’t, but it’s a good ten miles from Grimshaw.’
‘That’s not a problem.’ A short pause. ‘Will you let me give you a lift?’
Our eyes met;and, once again, his suggested a different, deeper, question than the spoken one. ‘To prove to both of us that you trust me,’ he added, quietly.
If only it was that simple … But I’d got this far unscathed; why not let him drive me back to High Stone Hall? ‘Yes,’ I said, with a smile. And, for the first time, I let the smile reach my eyes. As though, despite my lingering reservations, I neededto show him that I felt at ease in his company.
‘Wow,’ he said.
‘I agree, thisissomething of a breakthrough in our coaching relationship.’
‘Actually, I was thinking what a great smile you have.’
I blushed, disposed of the smile and took refuge in my rigatoni, irritated that I’d given him any encouragement. But after that his appetite improved, and he finished his mealbefore I did. Over coffee, we traded careful small talk about Italy. We’d visited the same part of Milan, and spent time in the same gallery between business meetings. I congratulated myself on my handling of this shared interest in art; it had evolved from silent disbelief to almost animated discussion.
And then it all went pear-shaped.
I saw her before he did. A deceptively dishevelledblonde mane, perfect make-up, dazzling jewellery and plunging neckline – making her determined way to our table.
He looked up just as she shimmied to a halt beside him.
‘Well, Jack, fancy seeing you here.’ Her speech was unexpectedly cultured, and slightly slurred.
‘Karina.’
I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but I could hear his intake of breath after speakingher name. And I saw how he closed his eyes when she bent to brand the corner of his mouth with her lips.
Then she straightened up and glanced haughtily in my direction – just long enough, it seemed, to discard me as competition. Resentment surged through me; it wasn’t often that I felt underdressed and overawed.
‘Naughty me,’ she drawled, ‘I didn’t realise you had company.’
Like hell; she’d have spotted me from the other side of the restaurant and, I suspected, staged her little show of playful intimacy purely for my benefit. Was it even authentic? I couldn’t recall reading about anyone by the name of Karina, but perhaps she pre-dated my research.
‘Jack.’ Her tone sharpened. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me?’
His eyes flickered open. ‘Leave it, Karina—’
I held out my hand. ‘Alicia Marlowe.’
Her fingers skimmed mine. ‘You’re not from round here?’ Then, as she spotted my notebook, ‘Are you a reporter?’
My most brilliant smile. ‘More of a behavioural psychologist.’ I couldn’t resist adding, ‘But I’m not working tonight.’ Luckily for her – because I could have filled half the notebook with my observations on her antics so far. Ifinished with a husky, ‘Jack and I are enjoying getting to know each other.’
I looked across the table to assess the impact of those last few words. Surely he would take them in the right spirit, nothing more? A united front against the woman who’d disturbed our dinner – in very different ways, it seemed.
I needn’t have worried; it was as if he hadn’t even heard me. He said, ‘Is Henrikhere?’
She gave a fragile laugh. ‘He was, but we had a row and he left in a bit of a hurry. Was that before we saw you, or after? Can’t remember. Anyway, he ordered me a taxi – it’s here now, but …’ Her voice trailed off and she swayed prettily towards him, as if the very thought of using hired transport had sapped her energy.
He jumped to his feet and caught her in his arms. ‘I’lldrive you home.’ His eyes met mine over the top of her golden head, their expression unfathomable. ‘Alicia, why don’t you take the taxi that’s outside? I’ll pay for the meal.’
‘I’d rather pay my half—’
‘Forget it.’ A pause. ‘Especially since this evening didn’t work out as planned.’ Although I knew he was talking about finishing the feedback session, I wondered if he wanted to giveKarina a different impression. Maybe a bit of sexual rivalry turned them both on – and of course I’d added to the intrigue by positioning our dinner as ‘enjoying getting to know each other’. Now I wished I hadn’t, if only to rid myself of this feeling – however ridiculous – that I’d lost out toher. Because there was no doubt in my mind that they’d be spending the night together, Henrik or noHenrik.
Back in my hotel room, I managed to refrain from surfing the net for references to Jack and Karina. After all, he meant nothing to me, absolutely nothing.
But the word ‘joyless’ hounded my thoughts, until at last I fell into an exhausted sleep.
