Page 56 of Never Too Late
I smiled, and decided not to take that particular train of thought past its current station.
‘Wait,’ Sash continued. ‘Isn’t she the sister of that arsehole that dumped you?’
‘There wasn’t really any dumping as such. We just… broke up.’
‘But that’s her, though?’
‘Yes. She is Tomas’s sister.’
‘Well, at least he wasn’t there,’ she said with a snort. ‘God, can you imagine?’
I drank the last remaining dregs of my coffee and remained silent.
‘OhmyGod!’ She sat bolt upright. ‘He was there!’
I looked over the rim of the mug and met my daughter’s wide-eyed expression.
‘Yes. He was.’
‘Well, I hope he’s fat and bald and you wondered what you’d ever seen in him!’
‘Unfortunately not.’
Sash gasped.
‘I mean to the first bit. He’s actually aged very well.’
‘Is he married?’
‘No.’
‘Ah. Divorced. See?’ She threw up her hands. ‘He’d have been unreliable anyway.’
‘Sash. I’m divorced.’
She paused as the penny dropped. ‘That’s different.’
The logic of that particular comment escaped me but I didn’t have either the brain capacity or energy this morning to dispute it.
‘As far as I know, he’s never been married.’
His words of last night floated back to me.Everyone I met was a poor impression of you.
‘Lothario.’
‘I don’t know. We didn’t discuss his love life.’
Sash pulled a face. ‘Thank God for that. Do they both still live in Paris then? I thought you said Gabby had plans to move to Provence.’
‘She did for a while but she’s back here now. Actually, it was really rather lovely. Ashok and her really hit it off. I think he’s smitten already and Gabby barely took her eyes off him all night.’ Just thinking about it made me smile. My daughter, though, looked less thrilled.
‘What?’
She shrugged. ‘I always kind of hoped you and him would get together. He’d be soooo good for you, Mum.’
She plopped down beside me on the sofa.
‘And he is good for me, Sash. As a friend. A very good friend. Don’t forget that I’d never have even considered returning to Paris if it hadn’t been for him.’
