Page 68 of Strictly Friends
Ruby stared at her blankly. ‘Who the hell’s Barry?’
‘He’s my neighbour – Madeline’s – brother. He came round the other day to pick up her spare key when she locked herself out, and I told him about you.’
Ruby choked on the drink she’d been swallowing. ‘What do you mean youtoldhim about me?’
‘He’s been through a break-up, and Madeline’s worried about him.’
‘But you hate Madeline,’ Ruby protested.
‘I know, but I got a bit carried away when I was trimming our shared hedge with my new secateurs last week, and I need her not to sue me.’
‘Well, that’s not my fault! Why do I have to suffer?’
‘Believe me, if I get sued, you willallsuffer. Besides, I’ve met Barry a few times and he’s very sweet.’
‘What does he do?’ Ruby said reluctantly. Knowing how much Fi hated spending money, even the whiff of a lawsuit suggested this wasn’t a battle Ruby was likely to win.
‘I think he said he’s an auditor... or was it an actuary? I don’t know – something to do with numbers or data.’
Ruby groaned, hearing the trap doors closing over her head. ‘Please stop, you’re doing a terrible job of selling him.’
‘You should give him a chance, Rubes,’ Priya piped up.
‘Exactly,’ said Fi. ‘Barry’s a lovely man. Very solid. If you’re over Griffin, prove it by putting yourself out there and getting back in the game.’
‘But, Fi, really... anauditor?’ Ruby pleaded.
Fi tutted impatiently. ‘For God’s sake, just put aside your silly prejudices and give it a try. For the record, he thinks you sound amazing. Oh God, I’m beginning to sound like Priya – sorry, love, no offence.’
‘None taken. Wow, I can’t believe Ruby’s actually going on a date.’
Feeling like a cornered deer, Ruby downed the rest of her drink and sighed heavily. ‘Fine, but I’m only doing this if you both stop going on about – well, you know.’
Fi had been engaged in a silent flirtation with the well-dressed silver fox at a nearby table who had sent the last round of drinks. Seeing him glance over once again, she leaned forward to give him the full benefit of her cleavage.
‘Fi!I’m talking to you! Do we have a deal?’ Ruby demanded.
‘What now? Hmm, yeah, sure. Oh, and please don’t mess Barry around. I don’t need Madeline coming after me for chopping off half her prize roses.’
48
While Barry launched into a fresh anecdote, this one featuring a missing – and apparently crucial – audit file, Ruby played with the straw in her glass and contemplated suing Fi for damages herself. Fixing a smile on her face, she let Barry continue to dominate the conversation as she scanned the tapas and wine bar decorated in various shades of beige. Even sitting on the sofa watching property shows with Auntie Pearl would have been more entertaining, Ruby thought gloomily.
The evening had started on a more promising note when Ruby walked into the bar and spotted Barry seated at the table by the window. Well groomed and wearing a tweed jacket, her first thought was that he wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. His face lit up as he watched her approach and, tossing back her braids, she gave him her sunniest smile.
‘You must be Barry!’ Holding out her hand to shake his, her smile faltered when he jumped to his feet.
I. Am. Going. To. Kill.Fi. was Ruby’s second thought. In her heels, she was at least six inches taller than Barry, a key piece of information she knew Fi had deliberately omitted. However, as Ruby soon discovered, whatever Barry lacked in height, he more than made up for in speech. After an hour and a half in his company, not even the jug of sangria she had knocked back couldlift Ruby’s spirits. After the audit-file story, Barry had moved on to a painfully long-winded anecdote about his ‘hilarious’ run-in with the head of compliance and Ruby sighed, wishing all kinds of hell on her boss as her gaze wandered again.
Suddenly, her eyes locked on to a pair of dark, sexy eyes belonging to a clean-shaven man sitting a few tables away and looking straight at her. Ruby blinked in shock.Where on earth had he appeared from?The man’s dark brown skin contrasted with his stylish cobalt-blue suit and white t-shirt, and Ruby instantly perked up. Channelling Fi, she squared her shoulders to better show off the plunging neckline of her dress. It seemed to do the trick as his eyes dropped momentarily before coming back up to meet hers with a raised eyebrow. Then, looking amused, he returned his attention to the woman sitting across from him.
‘Are you enjoying that squid?’ Barry asked, peering dubiously at the contents of the small earthenware dish sitting on the table between them.
‘Mmm... It’s lovely,’ said Ruby, stabbing her fork into a piece of the seafood and cramming it into her mouth. The food was the only decent thing about the date so far, and not even Barry was going to put her off enjoying it.
He spooned a tiny portion of spiced rice on to his plate and stared at it morosely. ‘Madeline suggested this place, but I prefer English food, don’t you? All this foreign stuff repeats on me.’
By the time Barry had launched into a monologue about the near disaster of a missed HR audit deadline, Ruby was losing the will to live.
