Page 99 of Never Too Late
I looked up through my eyelashes. ‘Well, don’t make it a habit. You’ll bore people before I even get a chance to meet them.’
His hand lifted, the back of it brushing my jaw with the lightest of touches. ‘Never. No one could ever get bored with you,ma chérie.’
It sounded like a cheesy line but it wasn’t. The look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. I knew Tomas and I knew he meant it. Which is why I kissed him.
It was as though, in that moment, all the years in between shrank away. He responded immediately, his mouth against mine, his breath warm and tasting of the wine we’d drunk. One of his hands snaked under my coat and curled around my waist, pulling me closer while the other cupped the back of my head. His lips moved from my mouth to just beside it as he whispered my name and the featherlight kisses traced their way along my jaw and down my neck. I let out a moan and Tomas pulled me even closer.
‘I always loved it when you made that noise.’
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My body had forgotten this. Forgotten how it felt to feel like this. Forgotten that Icouldfeel like this. And I was not about to interrupt it with conversation.
‘Evening!’
My daughter was less concerned about interruptions.
I pulled away, partly in surprise, partly as though I had been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. The look on her face suggested the same. A bubble of annoyance rose to the surface and threatened to burst. I swallowed it back down but curled my hand around Tomas’s arm.
‘Hi. Been anywhere nice?’ I kept the tone light. I was not going to be made to feel like I was having some sort of sordid, illicit affair.
‘No, actually. The people I was supposed to meet stood me up and then posted all over their social media about how great this new restaurant we were all supposed to go to together is.’ She shot Tomas a look as if it were his fault.
‘Oh?’ I frowned, holding out my other hand towards her. I knew behind the tough exterior, she was bruised. She hesitated. I waited. Tomas shifted his weight and from the corner of my eye, I saw him taking an intense interest in the light fixture. But he didn’t try to leave either. ‘Did you call them?’
‘Yeah.’ She shrugged one shoulder as she fiddled with her key. ‘Apparently, they forgot.’ Her jaw was set. ‘Despite the fact we’ve been planning it, and the content we were going to make, for weeks now.’ She dropped my hand and shoved the key into the lock, turning it with a lot more force than was strictly necessary. ‘And here’s the best thing!’ Sash spun back to us. ‘The content they’re uploading? Those were my ideas.’ She rubbed her hand across her forehead. ‘I’d made a big thing on my channel that I was going there. I’m going to look an idiot now.’
I followed Sasha into the apartment, tugging Tomas along with me.
‘I’m sure people will understand. They follow you because they enjoy what you do.’
‘But Ididn’tdo it, Mum.’ Her shoulders slumped in defeat. ‘And I thought we were friends.’
I pulled her close, my heart squeezing at the sadness in her voice. ‘I know, love. I’m so sorry they let you down.’
‘Can I ask which restaurant it was?’ Tomas’s voice was soft and empathetic.
‘Giardo’s,’ Sasha replied before remembering that she hadn’t decided to like him yet.
He gave a thoughtful ‘hmm’. ‘Have you heard anything about “Quatorze”?’
‘Only that there’s a six-month waiting list to even be considered for a table.’
‘Would it be helpful to get a reservation there so you can still get the content you were planning up? Or at least…’ He stopped. ‘I have to be honest, I enjoy watching various YouTube channels but as to the creation of them, I’m rather ignorant.’
‘It’s OK,’ she said, her immediate upset currently standing in front of her grudge against Tomas. ‘The problem is, I won’t be able to get the content filmed, edited and up in time for the next video.’
‘Sash has a strict schedule for her channel,’ I added. ‘She’s never missed one in eleven years.’
Tomas looked impressed. ‘It’s hard work to do that. It shows you have a passion for it.’
Now that we’d all entered the apartment, she flopped down on the nearest armchair and put her face in her hands.
‘I sometimes think a normal job would be easier.’
‘True,’ Tomas agreed. ‘But not what you want to do, I think?’
She peered up through her fingers at him before dropping them onto her lap. ‘No. Not really.’
‘So? New plan?’ he asked.
