The One You Really Want (23 page)

‘You'd make a rubbish spy. Imagine how easy it'd be to interrogate you.'

‘All right, don't rub it in.'

‘You know where you went wrong, don't you? You didn't keep insects as pets when you were a kid. Me and Spike had a whole collection,' said Rennie. ‘We used to keep them in matchboxes and give them names. What with our family being so poor,' he explained, ‘we couldn't afford a dog.'

‘Get the violins out,' said Carmen.

‘It's true! We could barely afford matchboxes. Anyway, that's why I'm not afraid of moths. Because they're my friends.'

‘I hope you don't go around throwing all your friends out of high windows.'

Rennie bent down and planted a kiss on her cheek. ‘I promise not to throw you out of a high window. Hey, why don't you come downstairs and I'll make us a cup of tea?'

Carmen thawed. This was Rennie's way of saying he was sorry too.

‘OK.' She smiled at him. ‘Give me ten minutes. I'll be down as soon as I'm dressed.'

 

‘Looking good, Mrs Todd,' said Rennie, handing her a mug as she appeared in the kitchen.

There was a tea bag still floating in it, Carmen discovered, but it was the thought that counted. Glad that Rennie had realised he'd been wrong, she did a quick twirl to show off the new dress she'd bought specially for tonight. Bronze silk, fitted and Audrey Hepburnish, it was a million miles from her usual jeans and sweatshirts.

‘You scrub up pretty well,' Rennie told her. ‘Where are you off to?'

‘Joe's taking me out to dinner. At Passione.' Carmen's chest tightened for a moment, in case Rennie made some snide comment like asking who'd be paying for the meal. Much to her relief, he didn't.

‘Great place. You'll love it. You aren't drinking your tea.'

Obediently Carmen took a sip of tea. The tea bag slooshed against her upper lip and her teeth shrivelled in dismay at the strength of the brew. At that moment, thank goodness, the doorbell rang.

‘That'll be my minicab.' Grateful for an excuse not to have to drink the brick-coloured contents of the mug, Carmen grabbed her bag and coat. ‘Aren't you off out tonight?'

‘Not until later. Now you have a brilliant time.' Helping her into her long black coat, Rennie said, ‘You'll dazzle everyone in the restaurant.'

‘Thanks.' Touched by the compliment, Carmen gave him a quick kiss.

‘Just, don't get too carried away, OK? Remember what I said the other night.'

Carmen froze. ‘About what?'

‘I'm not going to say it, because I don't want us to have another falling out. But you know what I mean.' As he spoke, Rennie carried on fastening the buttons on her coat.

Carmen slapped his hand away, hard.

‘I don't believe this is
happening
. You
had
to say it, didn't you? You just had to stick the knife in and spoil everything!'

‘I
didn't
say it.'

‘You bastard, you bloody selfish bastard!' Seething with the unfairness of it all, furious with herself for having been taken in and thinking that Rennie actually might have been admitting he'd made a mistake, Carmen whacked him again on the shoulder.

‘I'm not being selfish,' Rennie protested as the doorbell rang again. ‘I'm trying to protect you.'

Storming out to the hall, Carmen yanked open the front door and yelled, ‘
Two seconds
,' at the waiting driver, who was so startled he almost fell off the step.

‘Right, I've had enough of you,' she bellowed at Rennie. ‘I mean it, more than enough. I'm sick of the sight of you, and I'm
extra
sick of you meddling in my life. You can pack your things and get out, d'you hear?
Now.
'

‘OK.' Placatingly, Rennie held up his hands.

‘I
mean
it,' Carmen repeated, her heart thudding against her ribcage like ominous footsteps. ‘You've gone too far this time. When I come home tonight I want to find you
gone.
'

 

Passione, on Charlotte Street, was divine. Having determinedly put Rennie out of her mind - he was just impossible to live with, it would be a relief to get him out of the house - Carmen concentrated instead on enjoying the evening.

And how could you not enjoy it, with food like this? Better still, she was here with Joe, who was being funny, sweet and wonderfully attentive.

‘That's it,' Carmen sighed, patting her stomach and sitting back in contentment. ‘I'm full. I couldn't eat another thing.'

‘Just coffee.' Joe signalled to the waiter for two espressos and reached for the half-empty bottle of wine. ‘And we'll finish this.'

‘I don't think I've even got room for any more wine.'

‘You have to,' he protested as she half-heartedly attempted to cover her glass. ‘It's a special night. I've got something to celebrate.'

‘You have?' Carmen was interested; now that he mentioned it, he
had
seemed as if he had some secret he was longing to impart.

‘I made a big decision yesterday. Well, it's something I've been planning for a long time,' said Joe, ‘but making plans is one thing. Acting on them, actually carrying them out, is another matter.'

Intrigued by the sparkle in his eyes, Carmen said, ‘And? What have you done?'

‘Handed in my notice.'

Carmen's eyes widened. ‘Why?'

‘Because nobody ever got rich working for someone else's company. Well,' Joe amended with a grin, ‘I don't suppose that's true, because some people must do. What I'm trying to say is, I know
I'm
never going to get rich working for my boss. But I'm a bloody good plumber. It's always been my dream to have my own business. So that's what I'm going to do, set up on my own. It just makes sense, don't you think? This way, the harder I work and the more hours I put in, the more money I'll make.'

‘I think that's fantastic,' Carmen exclaimed. ‘It makes
perfect
sense. Why work for someone else when you can be your own boss?'

‘And so many people dream of doing this, but they're too afraid to take the leap,' Joe went on eagerly. ‘But that's the beauty of plumbing, there
is
no risk. You can't lose. It's a win-win situation. Everyone needs plumbing and heating engineers. And I'm going to work my socks off to make it a success. Give me a few years and I'll be the plumbing king of London.'

‘Well, good for you.' Carmen gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. ‘When do you start?'

‘As soon as I've got everything sorted out. You see, I need a decent van, plus a computer of course, and then I had this
other
brilliant idea this afternoon.' Gazing into her eyes, Joe said, ‘How about if you and I were partners? You know, went into this together.'

‘What?' Carmen laughed. ‘I'm not a plumber.'

‘You don't need to be. I mean a business partner. Well, more of a sleeping partner really,' explained Joe. ‘You wouldn't have to
do
anything, just put up some of the money we'd need to get this thing up and running. I mean, it's not as if there'd be any risk of losing it, because like I said, it's a win-win situation. And it would save all that faffing around, getting bank loans and stuff. So what d'you think?' He gazed at her intently. ‘How does that sound? Great idea or what?'

Carmen's face was frozen; she couldn't tell if she was still smiling or not. There was a buzzing sound in her ears and beneath the table her legs were wound tightly round each other like corkscrews.

She felt sick.

How did it sound? Like Rennie, whispering in her ear:
See? Ha, told you.

‘I . . . don't know, Joe.'

‘Oh, come on, it's not as if we'd need loads of money. I'm not talking about half a million here.'

Was she as white as she felt? With difficulty Carmen cleared her throat. ‘Well . . . um, how much?'

‘I've worked it all out. Twenty thousand, that's all. Crikey, that's
nothing
.' He smiled and stroked her wrist. ‘Cheer up, you look terrified. It's not scary, it's an adventure!'

It wasn't an adventure. It was her worst nightmare come true. The waiter brought their bill at that moment and Joe took out his credit card at once.

‘Can we go halves?' Carmen began searching for her bag, but he shook his head.

‘No way. Let me do this.' He waited until the waiter had departed. ‘Now, what do you say?'

The quicker she said no, the quicker they could change the subject and move on. Taking her courage in both hands, Carmen said as cheerfully as she could, ‘Joe, to be honest, I think it'd be easier if you just got a bank loan. Thanks for offering me the . . . opportunity, but—'

‘You're saying
no
?'

In that split second, Carmen saw something alter behind his eyes, a shift of emotion that sent a chill down her spine.

‘But like you said, you can get a loan from the bank.' She watched Joe's hand leave hers, retreating like the tide. ‘That's what banks are for!'

‘Oh yes.' Joe's mouth narrowed. ‘With their endless interrogations and forms to be filled in and petty bloody rules and regulations. Jesus, that's what I thought we'd try and avoid.'

Carmen realised that he was waiting for her to say, ‘Oh, all right then, I'll put up the money.' Instead she shrugged, reached for her glass of wine and said nothing.

‘You don't trust me,' Joe blurted out suddenly. ‘Is that it?'

‘No.' She shook her head, feeling sicker than ever. ‘It's not that. I just think it's better if you go to the bank.'

‘But you've got all that money sitting there doing nothing. ' Joe was bewildered. ‘Piling up, earning interest, making
more
money. And it's not as if you even earned it yourself. You were just lucky enough to marry the right bloke. Twenty grand would be a drop in the ocean as far as you're concerned, but it would buy me a van, a computer, everything I need . . . My God, I really can't believe you're
being
like this.'

I
can't believe you're being like this, thought Carmen. She was feeling hot and dizzy now, as well as sick. Was it physically possible to faint when you were sitting down? If she did faint, would Joe even bother to help her?

‘I feel so stupid.' Joe shook his head, his expression a mixture of resentment and hurt. ‘I thought what we had was special. Jesus, I thought you liked me.'

Ditto, Carmen thought miserably, aware that people at neighbouring tables were beginning to nudge each other.

‘I do like you.'

‘Enough to let me pay for dinner,' Joe said bitterly. ‘Oh yes, that's absolutely fine, isn't it, even though you know I can't afford it. But when it comes to you having to dip into
your
precious bank account, that's diff—Where are you going?'

‘Home.' Jerkily, Carmen pushed back her chair. Rummaging in her bag, she took out all the money in her purse and threw it onto the table. ‘There, that should cover dinner. Bye, Joe. It's been an education knowing you.'

‘But—'

‘No, that's it,' Carmen said evenly. ‘I'm going now. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet another rich girl soon.'

‘No, wait, I'm sorry.' Appalled, Joe jumped up too. ‘Don't go, I didn't mean it! Carmen, please, I
love
you!' he yelled desperately as she stumbled past startled waiters and neighbouring tables.

Too late.

Carmen had already gone.

Rennie was making a hopelessly cack-handed attempt at ironing his favourite shirt when he heard the front door open. He was due to meet up with a group of friends at a new bar in Soho and had rather hoped that Nancy and Rose would be back from their trip to the theatre before he left - Rose was a spectacular ironer who could always be relied upon to exclaim, ‘Will you look at what you're doing to that poor shirt? Here, give it to me, pet,
this
is how it should be done.'

Now, congratulating himself on his excellent timing, he assumed a helpless expression and waited for Rose to come bustling into the kitchen and whisk the iron from his incompetent male grasp.

Except it wasn't Rose.

‘You're still here,' said Carmen accusingly.

‘I wasn't expecting you back so soon. I've booked a room at the Savoy,' Rennie lied. Pointing to the furiously steaming iron, he said, ‘As soon as I've finished this, I'll pack my things.'

Carmen's gaze alighted on the cornflakes packet standing open on the table.

‘What's that doing out?'

She was still furious with him.

‘Sorry, I had some cornflakes. I was hungry,' said Rennie. ‘I'll put it away in a—'

Zzinnggg
went the packet as it whistled past his head. Ducking, Rennie heard it hit the wall behind him. Cornflakes showered in all directions. Carmen gazed around wildly, seized the biscuit tin and hurled it after the cornflakes packet. The lid pinged off, sending biscuits bouncing to the floor.

Cornflakes were one thing, but chocolate digestives was taking it too far. The floor might be sparkling clean, thanks to Rose, but broken biscuits somehow never tasted as nice as whole ones.

‘OK, stop,' Rennie ordered as Carmen grabbed the tea caddy and flung it wildly at the door. ‘
Stop
.' His voice rose as she reached for the sugar bowl, because sugar was definitely no laughing matter.

‘
No
,' bellowed Carmen, hurling the sugar bowl across the kitchen and watching with grim satisfaction as it smashed against the fridge.