Alice Brown's Lessons in the Curious Art of Dating (56 page)

Audrey gasped.

‘Bianca?’ Again her voice came out funny: flat. Something seemed to sink in her stomach, and it wasn’t the apple crumble.

Maurice waved her suggestion away. ‘Audrey, why do you think I’ve made everyone’s life a misery until eventually my case was passed high enough up the food chain to reach you?’

‘I, uh . . .’ Audrey wasn’t sure what to say. It felt inappropriately vain to paraphrase back his assertion that she was the best.

‘It’s because
you
are my perfect woman,’ Maurice blurted suddenly, his eyes fixing on hers. ‘You’re a magnificent woman: a flagship for your species, a
QE2
amongst a sea of working tugs and superficial liners. Why would I be interested in the Biancas of this world? Or the benign string of blondes your staff have matched me with? None of them holds a single interesting thought in their heads. None of them knows how to run a business, manage a team, empathize with a whole host of lonely clients and make each one feel special. Ever since I first heard you speak at one of your “Finding Miss Right” talks four years ago, the only woman I’ve wanted has been you.’

Audrey looked at him in disbelief. Could she be hearing this right? She’d had so many shocks in the last few days.

‘I was hoping someone in your agency might spot it,’ Maurice said with a wry smile. ‘I almost thought Miss Brown might, for a while.’

There was a pause.

‘Maurice, you’ve genuinely surprised me,’ Audrey said after a moment. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘Say you’ll give it some thought.’ He leaned towards her. ‘Say you won’t dismiss me out of hand, or hide behind some made-up rule about not dating your clients. Say you’ll be open-minded.’

Audrey looked at him. And she realized that he looked different. What she’d always written off as irritating, overly groomed and twee now seemed caring, careful and comfortably old-fashioned. He wasn’t a moaner; he was a listener. A good and kind and thoughtful listener. Everyone had got him so wrong;
she’d
got him so wrong. She wondered how on earth she –
she
, who prided herself on knowing everything about the complexities of men and women – had never noticed it before . . . Maurice was a gentleman.

‘Yes,’ she heard herself answer. ‘I promise I’ll think about it.’

And she found herself smiling back at him.

And then they both picked up their spoons and ate their apple crumble.

Making up was surprisingly easy in the end. Kate decided to make the first move, and she nervously negotiated the stairs down to Lou’s bar on her way home from work.

She had her strategy in place. She didn’t want to apologize fully; she still stood by what she’d said. Lou’s behaviour
was
self-destructive and she
was
wasting her life working in Tony’s bar. And if they were to be friends again – and that
was
what Kate wanted – then they needed to stop living in each other’s pockets. A bit of distance was in order. They had to make space in their relationship to allow new relationships in. After all, it was no coincidence that when they’d had their bust-up Kate had finally fallen in love.

But it was definitely time for a partial apology. She’d missed her!

‘Hello, stranger!’ Lou’s face broke into a smile as Kate approached the bar.

Kate felt a flood of relief. She hadn’t known what to expect, but Lou looked genuinely pleased to see her. And unusually radiant too.

‘Wow!’ Kate said honestly. ‘You look amazing!’

She thought she saw Lou blush slightly.

‘Ah, well, I’ve been easing off on the slap. Thought I’d let the inner me get an airing.’

‘You look good on it.’

‘Thanks.’ Lou smiled and handed Kate a glass of wine. ‘Actually, you’re lucky you caught me. If you’d left it another week I wouldn’t have been here.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’ve handed in my notice.’

Kate opened her mouth in shock.

‘Because of what I said?’

‘Partly,’ Lou admitted. ‘You were right. I
do
need to get away from Tony. I deserve better.’

‘Hear, hear!’

‘And you were right about something else too! I
do
need to get my arse into gear, else I’ll be the oldest barmaid in town! So I’ve got myself a job at that new bar we went to near Partridges’. I start next week. As manager!’

‘That’s fantastic! Congratulations!’ Kate clinked her glass with Lou’s enthusiastically. ‘You’ll be a brilliant boss!’

‘Thanks.’ Lou smiled and looked at her watch. ‘So, a late lunch, is it?’

Kate grinned.

‘No, I’ve just finished work for the day. I was on my way home.’

‘But it’s not even six!’

‘Ah well, I thought I’d take a bit of your advice, too. Break the shackles to Julian, catch up on a bit of life.’

Lou grinned and ushered Kate to a table in the corner.

‘It’s good to see you,’ she said warmly as they sat down.

‘You too.’

‘So how’ve you been?’

And Kate filled her in, enjoying the chance to gossip at long last.

‘So let me get this straight,’ Lou summarized. ‘You’ve started leaving work at 5.30 and the sky hasn’t fallen in.’

Kate grinned.

‘You’ve seen sense about Julian and realized he’s just a bloke and not PR’s answer to Donald Trump. You’ve fallen in love with a man who makes you see life beyond the office and has persuaded you to break a few rules. And you’re looking dangerously like someone who’s actually happy!’

‘I am!’ Kate admitted with a rush.

‘I’m really pleased for you,’ Lou smiled. And she seemed to mean it.

‘And I’ve got more news,’ Kate teased, looking carefully at Lou. ‘I think Julian’s got the hots for you!’

‘For me?’ Lou looked surprised and – if Kate wasn’t mistaken – a little bit pleased.

‘He came over to my desk this afternoon and asked for your phone number. He even seemed a bit shy. He muttered something about you being even more beautiful in the morning light; compared you to a Klimt painting, the daft sod. And then he asked me if I thought you’d be interested.’

‘What did you say?’ Lou asked, studiously casual.

‘I said I didn’t know.’

Kate noticed that Lou looked disappointed.

‘I said he should phone you and find out for himself,’ she continued. ‘I told him he’d be lucky to have you, and that if he messed you around I’d put all his nasty habits in a press release and fire it off to every journalist in the country.’

Lou grinned.

‘But I thought Julian was off-limits,’ she said delicately.

‘Yeah, well, it’s like I said. I’ve taken your advice. I’m trying to let go a bit,’ Kate conceded with a smile.

Lou reached across the table and clasped her hand. They smiled at each other.

‘You know, you shouldn’t be so hard on Julian,’ Lou teased archly, pulling her hand away. ‘He’s obviously a man of taste. OK, so he knocks off early every day, but who wouldn’t if they owned the company? And it’s not his fault his mother never taught him to keep his mouth closed when eating croissants!’

‘Ah, so you
do
like him then!’ Kate laughed. ‘I thought you might!’

‘It’s a posh thing . . .’ Lou continued, deliberately ignoring Kate’s comment. ‘If you close your mouth, what happens to the silver spoon? Eating with your mouth open is the curse of the upper classes.’

‘Get you!’ Kate laughed. ‘What happened to your taste for a bit of rough?’

‘I’m an equal opportunities shagger, me,’ Lou grinned. ‘It’s the only politically correct thing about me.’

‘You know, maybe you and Julian wouldn’t be such a bad
match after all,’ Kate mused. ‘You’re both heavy-drinking tarts with a complete lack of shame. Maybe you’ll be doing the world a favour by taking yourselves off the market and stopping any other poor innocents straying into your paths. Actually, I can’t think why I didn’t see this before. You two might just be a match made in heaven!’

Lou winked.

‘He’s loaded!’ Kate added helpfully.

‘And not just in the wallet department.’ Lou grinned wickedly, suddenly looking like her old self again. ‘I’m telling you, Kate, your boss has got the biggest cock I’ve ever seen!’

It was just a hundred metres from the seafront and had a red front door with a shiny brass knocker. Alice stood on the pavement, squeezing John’s hand in excitement.

‘It’s Edwardian,’ he said.

‘It’s perfect!’ she cried. And it was. It was traditional and discreet and solid and safe; the sort of place clients would feel comfortable visiting.

‘So we’re really going to do this? It’s definitely what you want?’ he asked.

‘One hundred per cent!’

‘The top two floors have plenty of room for us to live in, and the office can be at street level. And it’s got an enormous garden, south-facing, so it gets lots of sun. Just think what we can grow in it! Sunflowers, sweet peas, honeysuckle!’

‘And mistletoe, and cacti and red tulips,’ Alice added, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

‘Of course! They go without saying,’ John grinned back at her. ‘Tomorrow I thought we could check out the local pubs. And Ginny and Dan have already promised to visit.’

‘They’d better be quick! Gin’s due to give birth in two months!’ Alice laughed as her eyes drank in the building. Everything felt different here: exciting. The people looked different, the gardens looked different. Even the air smelt different, and it wasn’t just the tempting aroma of freshly fried fish and chips that was creeping deliciously into her nostrils. ‘I feel so happy I could burst,’ she said joyously. ‘It feels so right. It’s a brand-new start!’

John pulled her close.

‘It’s our happy-ever-after,’ he grinned.

‘That sounds like an ending!’ Alice laughed. ‘But this is a beginning. It’s
our
beginning!’ And she twirled him into a rapturous little dance on the pavement as the seagulls squawked overhead.

Everything about her life felt like a beginning now. Summer had flashed by so quickly, in a dazzling, exciting whirl. She’d quickly sold her flat in Eversley Road and moved in with John at his house. She’d always thought it would be a wrench to leave her flat and garden behind, but she’d barely glanced back. She’d only been at John’s a couple of months before he too had found a buyer, and now here they were, setting up their lives together somewhere new.