examples of Baroque architecture in the world. Palaces and monuments she’d only ever read about. Palaces and monuments that were currently in a terrible state of repair and needed restoring.
Ideally, by her.
She’d emailed her CV to the headhunter virtually the moment she’d put the phone down, and to her delight had received a reply the next day inviting her for an interview.
Which was why she was now in London, taking her best friend out for dinner in return for a bed for the night before catching her crack-of-dawn flight in the morning.
‘So how is life in the country?’ said Kate, plucking the umbrella out of her cocktail and taking a long slurp.
Dragging herself away from dusty palaces in tiny Mediterranean island kingdoms and back to trendy London restaurants, Laura picked up a fat juicy olive from the bowl and glanced across the table. ‘Quiet.’
‘I can imagine.’
No, she couldn’t, but there was no way Laura was going to elaborate on what she’d been up to. Not when she’d just managed to stop thinking about it. ‘How’s the world of corporate law?’
Kate took another sip of her cocktail and sighed with pleasure. ‘Yum yum. You know, the usual. Nutty hours, problems galore and clients with egos the size of planets. I don’t know why I do it.’
‘Because you love it.’
Kate grinned. ‘I guess I do.’ She tilted her head. ‘Don’t you miss all this?’
Laura glanced around the place Kate had suggested for dinner. A brand-new London restaurant that had shot to the top of the ubercool lists the day after it had opened.
Against the deep red silk lining of the walls hung enormous canvases by some on-the-up artist. Tiny chandeliers hung above every one of the slate-grey tables, casting flatteringly low sparkling light over the clientele. Model-like waiters who were far too sultry and hip to ever crack a smile whizzed around with plates of food that looked beautiful and made her mouth water. The chatter was low, buzzing and probably far more sophisticated than she was.
Not all that long ago Laura had spent many of her evenings and weekends in places like this. Now she felt a bit like a foreigner.
‘Not really,’ she muttered, slightly perturbed by the realisation.
‘I don’t know how you can bear it,’ said Kate with a tiny shudder. ‘I mean, no shops, no bars and all that greenery.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘It’s just not natural.’
Stifling a smile at the irony, Laura shrugged. ‘I muddle along.’
‘But that’s my point,’ Kate said. ‘You don’t have to muddle along. I mean, I know things went a bit pear-shaped, but why you had to run off to the country is beyond me.’
A bit pear-shaped? ‘Yes, well, when your life implodes as spectacularly as mine did you can end up doing all sorts of out-of-character things.’
‘You could have come and stayed with me.’
Kate sounded a little piqued, and Laura gave her a smile. ‘I know. And I did appreciate the offer, but it was something I needed to sort out on my own.’
Plus Kate would have given her heaps of advice, which she’d have insisted Laura follow, and Laura would have been too wiped out to argue.
But not any more. No more taking the easy way out. No more falling in with other people’s wishes all the time. If her afternoon with Matt had taught her one thing it was that going for what she wanted for a change could achieve some pretty spectacular results.
Not that she was thinking about him of course, she reminded herself, picking up a menu and letting her gaze drift over the other diners. The restaurant was packed with some seriously beautiful people. Not a hint of last year’s fashion, nor an un-touched-up root in sight. She was surprised they’d let her in.
And to be honest she was kind of dreading the bill. Laura resisted the urge to slap herself on the forehead with her menu. She’d done it again, hadn’t she? Gulped back a knot of panic when Kate had suggested this place, and said, yes, sure, why not.
Why, oh, why hadn’t she been firmer, and told Kate they’d be going to the little Italian around the corner from her flat?
Feeling her spirits tumble, Laura’s gaze bobbed across the room. She bet none of the people here was quite so feeble. No. They’d all be decisive and in charge. They wouldn’t flounder around and let others ride roughshod all over them.
And then her eyes snagged on a broad back and dark head and her heart practically stopped.
Oh, Lord. That looked just like Matt.
For a second Laura went dizzy. Then her heart began to gallop and heat whipped through every inch of her body. What was he doing here? Would he see her? Would he come over? What would she say if he did? What would she do if he didn’t?
Her chest squeezed. Her mouth went dry. Oh, God. If he did come over she wouldn’t just have to deal with him. She’d also have to deal with Kate, whose razor-sharp instinct would instantly pick up on the atmosphere, and who’d wring out every tiny detail and then hammer Laura with a barrage of ‘what were you thinking?’s and ‘but it’s so unlike you’s.
Laura took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down before her head exploded. It would be fine. She was a mature sensible adult who’d been through far worse. She’d simply channel the inner Amazon she was sure was lurking somewhere inside her, and be strong.
Nevertheless when all six foot plus of him got to his feet she caught and held her breath. Her pulse thundered. The blood rushed to her feet. He turned. Gave her a glimpse of his face.
And disappointment walloped her in the stomach.
It wasn’t Matt.
Letting her breath out before she fainted, Laura blinked and turned her attention back to the menu. Of course it wouldn’t have been Matt, she told herself sternly. That would have been too much of a coincidence and she didn’t believe in coincidences.
She frowned and scanned the dishes. The weird sensation whirling around inside her wasn’t disappointment. It was relief. That was all.
‘Quiet?’ said Kate. ‘Hah! I knew it. So who is he?’
Laura froze and glanced up. The gleam in her friend’s eye looked far too knowing for her liking. ‘Who is who?’ she said deliberately vaguely.
‘The man that’s put the weird look on your face.’
Laura’s heart lurched. ‘That’s not a man,’ she muttered. ‘That’s the dim lighting.’ She squinted at the menu. ‘In fact I can barely read this. Maybe I need glasses.’ She held it up to the beautiful but fairly useless light that hung above the table.
‘Rubbish,’ said Kate.
‘I definitely need a dictionary.’
‘You look as if you’ve just had the fright of your life.’
‘Well,
