Page 40 of For Love or Money
‘Long time no see,’ Liam said to Jane when he came back with the wine. ‘What have you been up to?’
‘Oh, nothing much – just writing.’
‘Keeping out of mischief,’ he said as he poured the wine. ‘I thought maybe you’d started drinking in Clancy’s.’
‘No.’ Jane smiled up at him. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve been doing my drinking at home.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ Liam said. ‘And you’re just down for the weekend?’ he asked Al.
‘Yes.’
‘Good, good.’ Liam had put the bottle of wine on the table, but still hovered. ‘No sign of Peter?’ he asked Jane, looking around as if expecting him to appear.
‘Nope. Still divorced,’ Jane said with a wry smile.
‘Ah, that’s a shame. He’s missed around here. You don’t get many like him.’
‘No.’
‘He’s a terrible man, Peter,’ he said, shaking his head ruefully. ‘A terrible man.’ He smiled to himself as if enjoying some private joke. ‘Well, I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy.’
While they waited for the food to arrive, Lesley got out her phone and found the pub on Facebook. She checked in and tagged Al. Then she took a deep breath and changed her status to ‘in a relationship’, quickly burying the phone in her bag again as Liam reappeared. She would deal with the fallout later.
‘Gosh, that’s a real farmer’s dinner,’ Al said happily as three massive plates were plonked down in front of them.
‘It smells amazing!’ Lesley said, already salivating as the smell of char-grilled meat and fried onions wafted up.
‘How long more will it take you to finish the book?’ Al asked Jane as they all began eating.
‘It’s due at the end of next week.’
Al raised his eyebrows knowingly. ‘Not what I asked.’
‘Another couple of weeks should do it, hopefully,’ she said.
‘So you’ll be finished in time to come to Nice anyway,’ Al said. ‘That’s good.’
Jane grimaced. ‘I’m not sure I’m going to go to Nice this year.’
‘What?’ Al frowned, astonished. ‘Why not?’
‘Well … it’ll be a bit awkward, won’t it, with her there? My replacement – this Stella person.’
‘She’s hardly your replacement,’ Al said.
Jane sighed. ‘That’s what it feels like.’
‘It was your idea to get divorced,’ Al pointed out.
‘It was. But it doesn’t mean I want anyone else to have him.’
‘Dog in the manger.’ Lesley nodded. ‘I get that.’
‘Do you?’ Al frowned at her.
‘Yes, of course. Don’t you?’
‘Not really.’
