we’re a couple. I’ve never lied to you.’
Revenge – that’s why she’d orchestrated the thing with Rob. That and the fact that he’s gorgeous, of course (she’s always had a thing for older men with dark Italian looks). Anyway, what was good enough for Eddy was good enough for her, so she’d gone for it, even though Rob had been off his face and the sex had been a bit of a non-event. The worst thing was, he’d talked in his sleep that night on her sofa bed. ‘Kerry,’ he’d muttered, ‘you’ve got all the duvet again.’ In the morning, Nadine had reassured herself that he wouldn’t have stayed if everything had been rosy at home, so none of this was her fault really. In fact, she’s probably done him a favour in making it possible to escape a life sentence in the dreary seaside town she’s only been to once, with her grandma, where everyone looked about eight hundred years old. Rob hadn’t wanted to move. Didn’t he admit it that night?
She steps into the bath and sinks into the soothing warm water. Yes, she decides, examining her sugar-pink toenails as they poke through the suds, Rob Tambini probably thinks she’s the best thing that ever happened to him.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Now Kerry remembers why normal people go out, as in, venture beyond the boundaries of their own home when on a date (she is trying not to think of tonight as a date, but what else could it be, really?). That way, the state of your house doesn’t matter. You can turn up all freshly showered and blow-dried and no one will guess that your kitchen is strewn with sheet music, plus the numerous Christmas cards and home-made decorations which have yet to find a home. However, tonight, Kerry hasn’t had a choice. Asking Brigid to babysit would have meant her having to bring Joe along too, or dropping off Freddie and Mia at Brigid’s (not ideal on a school night although, intrigued by his surly attitude – a teenage boy in a four-year-old’s body – they would have enjoyed the arrangement hugely). With a hollow feeling in her stomach, Kerry realised she had no one else to ask.
Still, her anxieties turn into a kind of fizzling excitement as she does a speedy clear-up and answers her ringing phone.
‘All set?’ Anita asks.
‘Yep, I think so.’ Kerry grins. ‘The place still looks a bit shabby but that’s probably a good thing, makes it seem more relaxed.’
‘Shabby’s fine,’ Anita agrees. ‘You don’t want him to think you’ve spent all day cleaning for him.’
‘Well, no chance of that. Anyway, I’m thinking candles to make it cosier …’
‘Yes, go for candles.’
‘You don’t think it’ll look like I’m trying too hard? It’s just the kitchen light’s horribly bright and pore-illuminating …’
Anita laughs. ‘Candles are not trying too hard. They’re not a big deal. They don’t say, I want sex.’
‘Hmmm. I just don’t want him to think I’m this desperate dumped woman who’s planning to hurl myself at him.’
‘You are, though, aren’t you?’ she teases. ‘I mean, the hurling part.’
Spotting Buddy’s favourite chewed-up blanket lying by the fridge, Kerry grabs it and stuffs it into the walk-in cupboard. ‘Hmmm, maybe. The thing is, though, even if there’s a remote possibility that it might happen, the kids will be asleep upstairs.’
‘I know. He sounds nice, though.’
‘Yes, he is. He’s … the kind of man you wouldn’t expect to be single, you know? Like, he’d be the good-looking dad at the school gates with a little gaggle of flirty mums around him.’
‘But his son’s grown-up?’
‘Yes, they run a sandwich place together.’
Anita pauses and Kerry knows her friend’s smiling. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I have a really good feeling about this guy.’
Kerry sniggers. ‘Um … maybe that’s why it took me all afternoon to dig out something even vaguely suitable to wear.’
‘Just be casual, don’t worry about it. What are you cooking, anyway?’
‘Um, casual seabass, a casual salad and I’ve got a couple of bottles of decent sauvignon …’
‘Perfect.’
Kerry grins, rounding up the odd stray plastic cup and placing it in the dishwasher. ‘I’ve actually got a good feeling too. The kids have been great – didn’t even notice I’d hauled their bedtime forward, although Freddie did complain that I’d raced through The Tiger Who Came to Tea in about ten seconds flat.’
Anita chuckles. ‘Well, good luck, and don’t forget to file me a full report tomorrow.’
An hour later, at 8.30 p.m., Kerry is wearing a simple blue shift dress and ballet pumps, with minimal make-up and a huge smile on her face as she welcomes in James. He has also, she notes, taken the casual route in dark jeans and pale linen shirt, and looks all the lovelier for it.
*
‘That was delicious, Kerry,’ James says, placing his cutlery on his plate. ‘I don’t want to sound pathetic but there’s something so nice about being cooked for.’
She laughs. ‘I know what you mean. Doesn’t Luke ever cook for you, after all the help you give him at the shop?’
‘You’ve got to be joking,’ he retorts. ‘Anyway, I’m starting to think it’s time he got his own place. We really need our own space.’
‘Driving you mad, is he?’
James smirks. ‘God. I don’t know if I should tell you this. He’s just got back with his girlfriend, Charlotte, and let’s just say they were a bit … vocal last night.’
‘Really?’ Kerry sniggers, refilling their glasses.
‘I’m actually surprised you didn’t hear them.’
‘No, well, I sleep like a log – out cold, like a dead person.’ She takes another sip of wine. ‘Did you mention it this morning?’
‘No chance. Charlotte was still there, wafting around in Luke’s T-shirt …’
‘Bet that was awkward …’
James nods. ‘And we’ve been busy all day so the moment’s kind of gone, you know?’
‘And I suppose he is a proper grown man,’ Kerry offers.
‘Yes, well, at his age I was married but our bedroom wasn’t about six feet from my mum and dad’s.’
She gets up to make coffee and unwrap posh chocolate brownies from the new bakery, a tip-off from Brigid. They are delicious, James agrees; almost as good as the ones he makes. How pleasing, Kerry thinks, to see a man tucking in and relishing food. Rob never seemed to care much about what he ate, perhaps due to being plied with delicious Italian cooking from birth and then spoiled with those endless account expense lunches. He never
