E for England (4 page)

‘Forty dollars but it doesn't matter, any time will do.'

‘I have the cash now so you'd better take it while it's on offer.' She laughed and flashed that smile at him again, all sparkling eyes, white teeth and a dimple, hand holding the door. Waiting.

The sensation of warm body pressed against his, lips caressing his cheek, fingers gripping his shoulders, pulling him close. Hugh stepped in beside her on legs working all by themselves and brain justifying this unnecessary extension of time in her company. He could do with the cash himself, not having planned on an extra taxi fare this weekend. No, he didn't need the money. He could use a cash machine. What was he doing? He didn't want her to make
assumptions about anything. Too late, the lift was rumbling upward.

‘Leonie said to leave the door unlocked.'

‘Right. I was going to do that anyway. I'm certainly not staying up till she comes home.'

‘Does she often stay out late?'

‘Yes, she has a very full social life.' Annie slid him a wry smile which he took to mean she had a lot of men friends. Did Annie?

‘The Basement has a really good band playing.'

‘Do you like jazz?'

‘I do. This one was Brazilian.' He pulled the crumpled flyer from his pocket. ‘They're on tomorrow as well.'

‘You should go.'

The lift stopped. Hugh stepped aside so Annie could precede him.

‘I might. Do you go out much?'

She stuck the key in the door and looked back over her shoulder. ‘You're kidding. With two small children? Hardly. I take them to the movies sometimes. We see animated kid's things.'

Hugh followed her in and walked across to the big floor to ceiling windows while Annie disappeared down the short hallway to the bedrooms. A door opened softly, then after a moment closed again. Another door opened.

The apartment had the most stupendous view. He could see that even at night, with lights twinkling on the far shore and back towards the city.

A moment later Annie reappeared with a handful of notes. ‘Thanks again. I don't know what I would have done without you.'

‘As I said, I'm pleased I could help.' He slipped the money into his wallet.

‘Would you like to sit down, have a glass of wine? Coffee, tea? ‘

Hugh rubbed his lips together. Should he stay? He hadn't had much of that red downstairs. James was deep in his movie and it would be half over by now. Why not? No harm in having a neighbourly chat and she seemed keen for the company.

‘Wine would be nice. Thank you.'

‘Sit down.' Annie darted into the kitchen area and opened a cupboard. ‘Red?'

‘Yes, please.' Hugh sat on the sofa facing the window. ‘Great view.'

‘Yes.'

‘We don't get much of a view downstairs. Not high enough.'

Annie put a bottle on the coffee table and handed him a glass of wine. She sat on an easychair at right angles to him. ‘Cheers.' She raised her glass.

He raised his. ‘Cheers.'

She drank then flopped back against the cushion, released a long slow breath. ‘For a while there I thought I'd never get back in.'

‘You could have climbed up the balconies.'

‘Of course!' She snickered. ‘Except I locked the balcony door specifically so Spiderman couldn't get in and abduct my kids.'

‘Good thinking.' He raised his glass to her. ‘So you and Leonie are friends?' They seemed an unlikely couple but you never knew with friendships. They sprang up between the most unusual people sometimes.

‘We work at the same place. She's been very kind to us.' Annie licked her lips. The unconscious sexiness of the movement slammed into him like a wrecker's ball. He forced himself not to fixate on her mouth. ‘Leonie's a very smart woman. She's a lawyer. She does claims assessing for our clients. We work for an insurance company which insures the shipping industry. I'm in the accounts department. Not nearly as high-powered as she is. Leonie travels a lot which is why this situation works, I guess.'

Hugh nodded. ‘But you want to move.'

‘Yes, I have to eventually but it's so hard to find a place I can afford. What I'd really like to do is buy, but even though I could do repayments I can't scrape up a deposit.' She took another mouthful of wine and sighed. ‘I started my MBA last year but had to defer. If I can ever finish it I could get a better paying job.' Her defeated expression showed just how unlikely that prospect was.

‘Tough position to be in.'

‘It is what it is. No use complaining. We're managing.' She flashed that bone-melting smile again and straightened her back. ‘Enough about me. What about you? What's your life like?'

Hugh tore his eyes from her smiling mouth and concentrated on the question. ‘I've just taken up a position at St John's Hospital. I haven't been there long so I'm settling in and finding my way. I like it so far.'

‘Where are you from exactly?'

‘London.'

‘And James is your cousin.'

‘Yes. Luckily his flatmate moved out just in time for me to move in. It's perfect.'

‘Lucky. So no strings attached?'

He caught her eye and shook his head firmly. ‘No, not yet. I'd quite like to marry but I have no desire for children at all. In my experience women want marriage
and
children.'

Annie smirked. ‘No need to give me that warning look, Hugh. Relax. I've been there and done that and when this one is over I'm not marrying again in a hurry. Not after that experience.' She gave a theatrical shudder, reached over and refilled his glass then her own. ‘I'm hanging out for the year's separation to be up so I can lodge divorce papers.
We
can be friends.'

‘Sounds good.' Hugh returned her smile with genuine warmth. It did sound good. He'd very much like to be her friend, to see her again. ‘I don't have many friends here yet.'

‘I'm sure you'll collect plenty very quickly. Especially women.' She put her glass down and ticked off on her fingers. ‘Professional, good income, good-looking, young, unattached, nice accent.'

‘I don't have an accent.'

‘You do. You sound posh to us.'

‘Hah. And you think I'm good-looking, do you?' He raised an eyebrow. So she wasn't as anti-men as she sounded. That was encouraging. He didn't want a relationship with her but he didn't want a rabid, bitter man-hater as a friend either.

‘You know you are. Don't be modest.' Annie grinned. ‘You'll have more friends than you can poke a stick at in no time. What made you move to Sydney?'

The wine slowed down his reactions and the change of tack threw him for a moment.

‘I lived in Australia when I was a teenager. I stayed with my uncle and aunt, James' parents, for a few years. They live in Adelaide.'

Annie frowned. ‘Where were your parents?' Hugh hesitated. She said, ‘Sorry. I'm prying. None of my business.'

‘No, it's okay.' He took a sip of wine. ‘My father died when I was young and my mother remarried. I never got on with my stepfather. Life was…difficult.'

‘So you lived with your aunt and uncle instead.' Annie had filled in the gap. Partially but it would do. ‘It must have been hard to come all this way by yourself. How old were you?'

‘Fourteen. I stayed until I left school then went back to England to university.'

‘Did you see your mother in all that time? I don't know how she could bear not seeing her child for years. I couldn't.' Her eyes filled with horror at the thought.

‘She visited once and I went back once for Christmas but it didn't work very well.' Hideous. Strained silences, polite conversation between mother and son grown strangers, and always the hovering black shadow that was his stepfather. Never forgiving, never accepting. Bitter and hard towards the boy he believed had wilfully destroyed his family.

Now the sympathetic grey eyes swam with tears. ‘Oh, Hugh that's awful. So sad.'

‘Yes, it was awful at the time but I'm a big boy now. All grown up.' He forced a smile.

Annie sat back in her chair, kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet under her. ‘Does being a doctor help? I suppose it would. Help you understand and cope, I mean.'

Hugh nodded. ‘I'm not a psychiatrist but I have read a bit which has certainly helped me understand the situation with my stepfather. It's a common enough problem.' Common didn't reduce the pain for the individual; it just meant more people suffered the same way.

‘Your aunt and uncle must be wonderful people taking in a troubled teenager. James must be like a brother.'

Now his smile was genuine. ‘Yes. And his big sister is terrific, too. Harriet. She's married and expecting.'

‘Good for her. Babies are very exciting even if you don't want any of your own.'

‘That's true.'

Annie topped up their glasses and studied the bottle whose contents had dropped dramatically. She put it down and picked up her glass. ‘Here's to babies.'

Before Hugh could respond a voice wailed, ‘M-u-u-m-m-y-y-y.'

Annie leapt to her feet and headed for the bedrooms. Hugh sprang up and followed, heart pounding with irrational fear. That cry had sounded distressed. Thank God Annie was home. She so nearly hadn't been.

Her voice sounded softly but he couldn't hear the words. He waited outside the door, ears straining. Was the child ill? A nightmare?

She came out and nearly walked into him.

‘Oh!'

‘Sorry. Is everything all right?'

‘Mattie has a sore throat. I'll get him a lozenge to suck on.' She went into another room and came back a moment later.

Hugh said, ‘I'll go, Annie. You need to take care of him.'

‘I'll only be a minute. You don't have to go.'

‘I should. It's getting on a bit. Thanks for the wine. Goodnight.'

Annie bit her lip, glanced at the child's darkened room, then up at Hugh. ‘Okay. Goodnight. See you later.'

Hugh nodded and headed for the door.

Leonie arrived home from the shops on Saturday brandishing a cardboard tube as well as the shopping and said, ‘Where are the kids?'

‘In their room playing with Lego.'

‘Look what I bought.'

She pulled out a rolled up poster and unfurled it on the table. It was a children's alphabet chart with big coloured capital letters on a white background.

‘What's that for?'

‘Men from A–Z. And I got these as well.' She produced two thick felt-tipped pens. One red, one blue.

‘Let me guess. Red for good, blue for bad, or the reverse.'

‘Got it in one. Red for hot.'

‘Are you serious?' Annie groaned and began putting groceries away.

‘It was your idea.' Leonie slapped a few items in the fridge then spread the chart out on the table and held it in place with a vase and Annie's and the kids' library books which were waiting to go back to the shelves that afternoon. ‘I never would have thought of it.' She uncapped a pen with a flourish.

‘I was drunk.' She hadn't been; she was a responsible single parent, she never drank to excess any more. Except on Friday night with Hugh. But that had been relief. All the same, she studied the additions Leonie made in careful ornamental script. ‘For heaven's sake don't let the kids see it.'

‘Of course not! Are you mad? I won't count the Aussie's unless they're not citizens yet. Too easy. I'll start with Russ the Yank.'

A — America. Russ, in red. ‘Met him last year on that trip to Vegas. A very hairy man.'

‘I don't mind a hairy chest. Very masculine.'

‘Within reason. This guy was like a yeti but it was too late to back out by the time his shirt was off.'

‘If he's scored red it clearly didn't matter.'

‘He was a caveman.'

B — blank.

C — Croatia. Drago, in blue.

‘I thought you said C for Canada, before.'

‘Oh that's right. Neil. Never mind. Drago will do.'

‘Not good?'

‘The less said the better.'

D — blank.

E — blank.

Here she paused. ‘E may not be blank for long. Hugh is one very dishy Englishman. Good work finding him, Annie.'

‘I didn't exactly find him. He lives downstairs.' Her stomach sagged. Would Hugh succumb? Leonie was insatiable.

‘Alone?'

‘With his cousin who is also very good-looking. But Australian,' she added. ‘At least I assume he is. He grew up here so one parent must be.'

‘Pity.'

F — blank.

G — Germany. Otto, in blue. ‘Equipment kaput, unfortunately.'

H — blank.

I — blank.

J — Japan. Toshi, in red. ‘Mad but tremendously inventive, and what stamina.'

Annie said, ‘While you do that, fascinating as it is, I need to go down and find my keys. Can you keep an eye on the kids, please?'

‘Yep. No worries.'

K — Korea. Yen, in blue. ‘Very serious.'

Annie went to the bedroom and said to the intent Lego builders, ‘I'm just popping out for a few minutes. Leonie's here to mind you.'

On her way to the kitchen for rubber gloves she glanced at the chart.

L — blank.

M — Malaysia. Trang, in blue.

N — New Zealand. Paul, in red.

‘The pilot?'

Leonie paused. ‘Yes, he was gorgeous. Married though, unfortunately.'

Unfortunately for whom? The wife, for one. ‘That's…' Annie shook her head. ‘That's shameful. Aren't you ashamed?'

‘Why? I'm not the one cheating, he was, and probably still is. It says something about the marriage, doesn't it? Marriage full stop.'

‘It says something about you. And him. What a bastard.'

Leonie pursed her mouth into a tight little bundle. ‘Don't be so sanctimonious, Annie. Don't tell me you're big on marriage after what your ex did to you, and when did you last get laid?'