Three Amazing Things About You (26 page)

He breathed in the flowery scent of the perfume Christina had always worn. It must have taken some courage for her to turn up here this evening, essentially offering herself to him on a plate. It had been a brave thing to do. And the seconds were ticking by, which was making the situation potentially awkward.

Luke took a deep breath and said, ‘I’ve missed you too.’

‘Truly?’ Christina’s eyes lit up. ‘So how about it? Shall we get back together? Give it another go?’

Since it appeared to be a fait accompli, and it could just be the answer he’d been searching for, Luke smiled and nodded. ‘Let’s do it.’

‘Oh, thank goodness!’ Still clutching Daley so that he was lightly sandwiched between them, she leaned forward for a kiss. A proper one, on the mouth. And Luke found himself kissing her back.

It was nice.

Familiar.

Yes. Familiar was good.

Drawing away eventually, Christina said, ‘Wow, and there I was thinking I’d never get the chance to do that again.’ Reaching up, she touched the side of his face, stroking his jawline. ‘You don’t know how happy I am. We can make this work, I know we can.’

Luke nodded. Could they? He hoped so, he really did, for both their sakes.

Woof woof.
His tail wagging ecstatically, Daley licked Christina’s hand.

‘Looks like Daley approves,’ said Luke.

‘He’s a great judge of character. Come on, we should go back to the party.’ Christina reached for his hand. ‘Hallie and Bea will be waiting to hear if their plan worked.’ Her smile broadened. ‘Time to let them know we’re back together and it’s all thanks to them!’

Hallie had had plenty of practice over the years at hiding her true feelings and presenting a brave face to the world.

And this evening she was getting some more in.

Smile.

Be cheerful.

Be delighted for Christina and Luke.

Appear to be having
the
most fantastic evening.

And yes, she
was
pleased for Luke, because it wasn’t as if there could ever be any kind of relationship between them, and he deserved to be happy. But it didn’t stop her being envious and wishing it could have been her instead.

She fixed her gaze on the band up on the stage as they launched into their version of Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’. Which was ironic, seeing as she was currently sitting in her chair and had managed to get herself stuck in a corner again, behind a noisy group of people with their backs to her.

Tempting though it was to simply barge forward into their legs, Hallie detached herself from her oxygen supply and stood up, leaving the coiled plastic tubing on the seat of the chair. She needed the loo, and it was easier just to squeeze past everyone and make her own way through the crowded bar.

Three minutes later, leaving the ladies’, she pushed open the door leading out into the corridor, encountered resistance and heard someone say, ‘Ow.’

It was a risky business, making your way down this narrow corridor when the doors could unexpectedly open at any moment. Regular customers knew about it, but strangers were apt to get caught out.

‘Whoops, sorry.’ Easing herself out, Hallie registered three things:

Her victim was carrying a full pint of lager and a glass of lemonade.

By some miracle he’d managed not to spill either of the drinks over himself.

He was absolutely gorgeous.

Phew
.

‘Well held,’ she said. ‘No damage. You’re OK.’ He was
so
much more than OK, but never mind.

‘Narrow escape.’ His dark blue gaze flickered over her, as if taking in every last detail. ‘Unlike you, I’m afraid.’

‘What? Why?’ Peering down at herself, Hallie checked the front of her dress. It was fine.

‘Not there. Here.’ Lifting the pint of lager in his right hand, he pointed with his index finger at her left shoulder.

She twisted her neck and saw what he was looking at. An occupational hazard of being a wheelchair user in a crowded pub was the likelihood of finding yourself on the receiving end of other people’s spilled drinks. This evening, someone had carelessly deposited two splashes of red wine close to the neckline of her new primrose-yellow dress. They’d either not noticed or been too embarrassed to point it out.

‘Oh great,’ Hallie sighed. ‘I only bought this last week.’

‘Luckily you bumped into the right person. Come with me.’ The man with the dark blue eyes and the devastating smile added, ‘Trust me, I’m an expert.’

She’d been four minutes without supplementary oxygen and the effects were just beginning to make themselves felt, but she could cope without it for a bit longer. She followed him down to the end of the corridor and out into the pub garden, beyond the marquee.

‘Sit,’ said the man when they reached an unoccupied table and chairs at the far end of the garden. ‘I’m Ross, by the way.’

‘Ross. Hi, I’m—’

‘Beautiful.’ He pulled a face, shook his head and said, ‘Oh God, I can’t believe I actually said that; there’s no hope for me. I was just thinking it and the word accidentally popped out. I’m so sorry, please don’t run away.’

‘I’m Hallie.’ She couldn’t help smiling, because it was so screamingly obvious what Ross was like: forward, unshy, seriously attractive and wildly flirtatious. Just the glint of mischief in his eyes was enough to give it away; he was looking at her as if she were the only girl in the world. This was a naughty boy who loved to overstep the mark and knew he could almost always get away with it.

‘Hallie. Nice to meet you. Now, turn your shoulder towards me and let’s sort this out.’ Taking a clean handkerchief from his pocket, he dipped it into the smaller of the two glasses he’d carried out with him.

‘Lemonade?’

He shook his head. ‘Soda water. Trust me, it’s better than anything else. The carbon dioxide helps to break up the stain.’

She looked around. ‘Whose drink was it meant to be?’

‘Don’t worry, they’re both for me. I was late getting here. Marilyn’s son invited me . . . we’ve known each other for years. I haven’t even seen him yet.’

Hallie indicated the lit-up marquee. ‘He’s in there with his friends.’

‘That’s OK, I’ll catch up with them later. I’d much rather stay out here and talk to you.’ He was leaning towards her now, patting the soda water into the material with his clean handkerchief, holding it away from her skin and patiently working at the stain left by the red wine. ‘If you keep it damp, you’ll have more chance of getting the rest out when you get home.’

‘Well, you’re either a world stain expert or incredibly clumsy,’ said Hallie. ‘So which is it?’

Ross laughed. ‘That’s for you to find out. Looks like you need to get to know me a little better. You have incredible eyes.’

‘Clumsy with drinks but smooth with the compliments.’ Maybe even too smooth, but Hallie was smiling too; when someone was gazing into your eyes like that, it was kind of hard to look away.

‘I wish. I can be clumsy with compliments too. I once got nervous and told a girl that she had fantastic long teeth and white legs.’ He shrugged self-deprecatingly. ‘Funny how I’m still single.’

Everyone in the pub was now leaping up and down, dancing and bellowing along to Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’. It was one of Marilyn’s favourite songs. Hallie had always found it hard to sing those lyrics; it felt like tempting fate.

‘Are you wishing you could join in?’ Ross observed her listening to the music. ‘It’s fine, if you’re desperate to get away from me. I’ll understand.’

But he was joking; had any girl ever been desperate to get away from him? When you were that good-looking, it simply didn’t happen.

As if she could physically get up and dance at the moment anyway; the effects of doing without the extra oxygen were really making themselves known now.

Still, just ignore it. Mind over matter.

‘I’m happy to stay here.’ Hallie found herself gazing at his mouth; it was possibly one of the most beautiful mouths she’d ever seen.

‘I’m so happy you’re happy,’ said Ross. ‘In fact I’m so very happy you’re happy. Can we stay out here all night and get to know each other? Would that be OK with you? Shall we hide away down here at the end of the garden and
really
get to know each other?
Aarrgh
.’ He clapped his hand to his head in comical despair. ‘See what I mean? It just happened again . . . that sounds so bad. I mean in the gentlemanly, non-physical, just-asking-questions sense, I promise.’

There were garlands of multicoloured fairy lights festooned from the branches of the tree above them, and warm yellow uplighters in the shrubbery bordering the garden. Otherwise they were sitting in near-darkness. If it had been bright daylight, there was a chance that Ross might have been able to make out the faint blue-grey tinge to her mouth – she didn’t need a mirror to know that her oxygen saturation levels were decreasing. The sensation of pressure in her lungs and increased difficulty in breathing told her that.

But with the lighting this dim, she was pretty sure she could get away with it. Just this once, she was out of the house and being flirted with by an attractive man who didn’t have a clue about her condition. As far as he was concerned, she was just another twenty-something girl. He thought she was normal, was treating her as if she were normal and, given the chance, would probably invite her to do all sorts of completely normal things with him.

Not that she would, of course, but it was doing her ego no end of good to be treated as if she might.

God, it was such a fantastic feeling.

See? And this is par for the course if you’re healthy. This is what evenings out can be like
.

‘What?’ Ross tilted his head. ‘Why are you smiling like that?’

Because you think I’m normal
. Aloud, Hallie said, ‘Because I’m having a nice time.’ She pointed to her shoulder. ‘Thanks for getting the stain out.’

‘Well, nearly getting it out.’ There was still a faint lilac mark there, but he put down the damp handkerchief. ‘Do you have a husband?’

Hallie held up her ringless left hand. ‘No.’

‘Boyfriend?’

‘No.’

‘Just checking. I like those answers, by the way. Where d’you live?’

‘Right here in Carranford.’

‘Cool,’ said Ross. ‘I’m in Oxford. And what do you do?’

Hmm, let’s see. Cough a lot? Lie in bed for days on end with attractive plastic tubes up my nose? Battle against infections and take more antibiotics in a year than some people take in a lifetime? Imagine my own funeral and wonder what people will say about me after I’m gone?

Was that an enticing list of pastimes guaranteed to enthral and entice any potential boyfriend?

No. No, it really wasn’t.

‘I work in IT. Kind of . . . problem-solving.’ Hallie pictured the home page of www.threethingsaboutyou.com. That counted as IT, didn’t it?

‘So you’re a troubleshooter,’ said Ross.

‘That’s right.’ She nodded firmly; a troubleshooter for other people’s emotional dilemmas was exactly what she was. ‘How about you?’

‘Me? Would you hate me if I told you I was an estate agent?’ He sat back, holding up his hands in self-defence.

‘Are you one of those ruthless ones who strings people along and crushes their dreams?’

‘I’m actually one of the nice, helpful ones who tries his level best to make people’s dreams come true. Believe it or not,’ he confided, ‘we don’t want property sales to fall through. Mainly because it means we lose our commission.’

‘Then I won’t hate you,’ said Hallie.

‘The feeling’s mutual.’ His smile was playful. ‘I won’t hate you because you’re a computer geek.’

She nodded gravely. ‘Thanks.’

‘Although you don’t look like a geek.’

‘Appearances can be deceptive.’

‘Anyway, I’m glad I came along here tonight. Imagine if I hadn’t. Am I being too forward?’

‘Yes, but don’t stop.’

‘What happened to your last boyfriend?’

‘He moved to Australia. I chose to stay here.’

‘He made a huge mistake,’ said Ross.

‘We’re still friends.’ Hallie shrugged. ‘Your turn.’

His eyes lit up. ‘My turn to be your boyfriend?’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘Oh dear. You really want to know?’

‘More than ever,’ said Hallie, ‘now you’ve said that.’

Ross heaved a sigh. ‘It’s a very sad story, so you’ll have to brace yourself. Her name was Eva and she was beautiful. Perfect. We were getting on so well together.’

‘Go on.’

‘Then she decided to sell her flat and asked me to put it on the market for her. I showed a potential buyer over the property a week later, while she was there, and he told me he was definitely interested.’ Ross raised an eyebrow. ‘It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I discovered it wasn’t the flat he’d been interested in.’

‘Oh no. Are they still together?’

He nodded. ‘Still together.’

‘Was your heart broken?’

‘Shattered beyond repair for all eternity. Well,’ he amended with a grin, ‘for at least the next fortnight.’

‘You poor thing.’

‘I know.’ He nodded bravely.

Hallie said, ‘It’s not true, though, is it. Didn’t really happen.’

Ross burst out laughing. ‘How did you know?’

‘It’s a gift I have. I can always tell when people are lying.’

‘That’s both impressive and terrifying.’

‘Let me guess. You get bored with girlfriends, drop them, move on to the next.’

‘This is true.’ Ross nodded in agreement. ‘Because I’m always looking for something better, someone who really understands me. I always knew that one day I’d meet my match.’ His blue eyes crinkled. ‘It was just a question of being patient and waiting for her to turn up.’

It had been worth coming to the pub tonight just for this. To feel like a normal girl. Even though it was becoming more and more difficult to suck enough air into her lungs.

Not to mention successfully concealing the fact that it was becoming more difficult.

‘And I have to say, you took your time.’ His teeth gleaming white in the darkness, Ross leaned forward and murmured, ‘But better late than never.’