Page 90 of The Story of Us
“Thought you might be, good job I’ve booked us a table for lunch.”
“Really, where?”
“An Italian place in Knightsbridge your Mum recommended, I told her we were coming in to town for a meeting and I wanted to take you somewhere nice for lunch because I’d been away and wanted to spoil you.” I grin at him. We’d decided not tell anyone about the baby for another couple of weeks, after such a public loss of our last pregnancy, we want to keep this one as low key as possible until we are in the ‘safe’ zone at around four months.
“I love you,” I look across at him and say while he drives.
“You better,” he replies as he reaches for my hand and kisses it.
There’s valet parking at the restaurant and my door is opened for me before Sean gets the chance to get around the car, as I go to step out, I hear him say to the valet, “I’ve got it mate, you just park the car.” He throws him his keys, and his eyes meet mine as I go to step onto the footplate of the Range Rover, he takes hold of both my hands while I step down and he kisses me gently on the mouth, and then leads me into the restaurant. As we enter the reception area, we walk straight into Cam and a stunningly beautiful red head on their way out. Sean must spot him just as I do as his grip around my hand tightens, Cam stops dead in his tracks and I can feel his eyes remain on me as I move mine away to look at Sean. Cam speaks first.
“Sean, Georgia, how are you?”
Sean stops walking and let’s go of my hand and shakes Cam’s. “Good mate, very good.”
Sean looks across to me, I smile and nod toward Cam but I can’t look him in the eye, not with Sean and the red head looking at me so I just smile and repeat that we are good.
“How are your parents Georgia?”
“They’re good too, thanks.” I briefly meet Cam’s gaze, then move it across to the red head.
“Tamara, this is Sean and Georgia McCarthy. Sean, as I’m sure you know is the front man for Carnage. Georgia’s father is an old business friend of mine and the pair of them happened to buy my house out in Essex last year.”
Fuck.
“You what?” Sean gives a nervous laugh as he speaks, Cam’s eyes flash to mine, just for an instant as he realises what he’s just done, too late now.
“Well, yeah, sorry, did you not know, that’s my old place you bought, hope its erm… hope it’s working out for you there?” Sean’s nodding as he listens to Cam.
“Yeah, yeah, we love it, couldn’t be happier. Anyway, nice to see ya mate, gotta go, tables booked and we’re running late.” I smile as best I can at Cam and the red head and then follow Sean and the Maître d to our table as it starts to dawn on me that this is the same restaurant that Cam brought me to a long, long time ago.
As soon as we are seated and Sean has ordered a double bourbon and coke, his eyes are on me and I know that I’m in trouble, that’s the problem with lies and half-truths, they always come back to bite you on the arse. Sean’s legal team had dealt with the purchase of the house, he may have signed some of the documentation, but he never mentioned anything so I didn’t either.
“Did you know? And don’t even think about lying to me.” I nod my head and swallow.
“You fucking knew and you letusbuy it, you letusmove into your ex’s old home. Why, why the fuck would you do that? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” The waiter brings our drinks. Sean drinks his straight down and orders another.
“I didn’t know.” I start. “Not at first, I looked around and loved it and then I called you and arranged for you to come and view it and then that’s when I found out, after I’d already called you and told you that I loved it.”
“So why the fuck didn’t you tell me then?” I shrug… because I’m a lying, deceitful, cheating, whore.
“You loved the place so much the next day when you saw it; I thought it would put you off.”
“He’s your fucking ex G, of course it would fucking put me off, would you like me to move you into Haley’s house without you knowing?” I throw my sparkling water in his face, get up and head for the door.
“Georgia, get the fuck back here.” The restaurant falls silent.
“Fuck you,” I call out back to him over my shoulder as I make my way outside.
Cam is just putting the red-head into a taxi, I stand and watch as the valet pulls up in a large black sports car of some kind, I have no idea what it is but he gets out and hands Cam the keys. I turn to the other valet and ask him to get me a cab. I assume while I wait, Sean will appear, then Cam’s at my side.
“Kitten,” he sighs out my name, the way he always does. “I’m so sorry, did I cause a fight?”
I give a little laugh. “Its fine Cam, just go.”
His eyes look into mine, through mine, into me.
“Are you sure, do you need a lift?”
