businessman that he was. The cut of his clothes was stylish, the light-coloured jacket and open-necked shirt emphasized his dark, almost Latin good looks. She felt a sudden dart of pride that he was her friend. Women had come and gone in his life, but their relationship remained constant, never changing. No matter how long it was since they had seen each other, there was always this easiness between them.
‘I hope you didn’t spend all of your time in London working on your computers,’ she said as the waitress left them. ‘You were supposed to be taking time out to show Serena the sights, weren’t you?’
He shrugged ruefully. ‘Things didn’t quite work out.’
Something in his tone of voice made her frown. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that our relationship has reached an end,’ he said bluntly.
‘Oh, Nick!’ Kate leaned back in her chair. Although she was surprised at the suddenness of the break-up, she couldn’t honestly say she was shocked. She had always known deep down that Serena wouldn’t get Nick. ‘I’m so sorry.’
He shrugged. ‘Just one of those things,’ he said easily.
She met the darkness of his eyes. ‘Did you finish with her?’ she asked softly.
‘It was a mutual thing,’ he murmured evasively, but Kate didn’t believe a word of it. Serena was a beautiful leggy blonde but, despite her gorgeous looks and pleasant personality, Kate had always suspected that Serena was more serious about Nick than he was about her.
‘So, what happened? Serena seemed so happy before you left. She was really looking forward to you showing her around London.’
‘We had a nice time and we’ve parted on good terms.’ Nick said nonchalantly, ‘but we both wanted different things out of the relationship.’
The waitress brought their coffee as Kate digested this information. She presumed he meant Serena had wanted the relationship to deepen and he hadn’t. Kate had seen it all before. Any time one of Nick’s girlfriends started to move too close to him, or even hint around the possibility that the relationship might get serious, that was his cue to start to back away.
‘It’s a shame,’ she murmured. ‘I really liked Serena.’
‘So did I,’ Nick agreed easily.
‘But not enough.’
Nick didn’t answer that. ‘We had been going out together for quite a while. I think we both agreed it was time to move on—’
‘You had been going out together for five months,’ Kate cut across him dryly. ‘But, come to think about it, maybe you’re right, maybe that is a long time for you, Nick.’
He met her eyes across the table, and then smiled. ‘I didn’t know I had been dating her for five months. Have you been keeping count?’
‘No.’ She frowned. ‘I just remember, that’s all…women do remember those kind of details.’
‘Do they?’ He drank his coffee. ‘I don’t think Serena was counting.’
‘Anyway,’ she cut across him, warming to her theme, ‘apart from Jayne, all your relationships in these last few years haven’t lasted long. In fact, I think Serena might hold the record after Jayne.’
‘You think I’m on the rebound from Jayne?’ he asked calmly.
‘No.’ She frowned. That thought hadn’t really crossed her mind. His relationship with Jayne had ended over two years ago, and, although he’d been sad that they’d parted, Kate had always assumed that he had been the one to initiate the break-up. ‘No…I suppose what I’m saying is that I’m starting to think you’ve got a problem with commitment.’
Nick grinned. ‘Is that a bad thing?’
Kate looked at him askance. ‘You’ve got to settle down at some point in time.’
‘Why?’
‘Well… Don’t you want to have a family?’
‘Not particularly. In fact I’m starting to think that variety is the spice of life.’ His grin stretched even wider at the look on her face.
‘You don’t mean that, do you?’
‘Not really.’ He finished his coffee. ‘But I’d rather be on my own than with the wrong person.’
‘I agree with you there.’ For a moment Kate was silent, her green eyes serious. Is Stephen the right person for me? she wondered. Then was appalled that she had asked herself that question. OK, Stephen had been a bit edgy recently, and there’d been an atmosphere between them that had never been there before. But he was probably tense because he was thinking about proposing to her, worrying about making the final commitment. The more she thought about it, the more likely that seemed. When he’d asked this morning what time she would be home from work, maybe he’d been planning ahead booking a table at an intimate little restaurant. That was why there had been that serious tone in his voice. She smiled at the thought. Everything would be fine. ‘I’d like to have children, one day,’ she said thoughtfully.
‘You’ve got plenty of time for all that.’ Nick’s voice was dismissive.
‘Have I?’ She frowned. ‘I’ve been so wrapped up in my career that everything else has been pushed on a back burner. But I would like a family one day, and that’s something I can’t keep putting off.’
‘When it’s the right time you’ll know and it will happen.’
Maybe that was how it would be if Stephen proposed. When he actually said the words, maybe these sudden doubts would disappear, and she’d know he was the right person and this was the right time. She was accusing Nick of being scared of commitment, but maybe she was too.
‘You’ve always been a bit of a fatalist, haven’t you, Nick?’ Kate smiled. ‘I suppose I am as well. For instance, I do believe that there is someone for everyone…our ideal partner is out there waiting.’
Nick shook his head and laughed. ‘That’s not being a fatalist, Katy, it’s being romantic.’
‘There are such things as soul mates,’ Kate maintained firmly. ‘I mean, look at your mum and dad. They are still really happy and still very much in love even after all these years.’
‘Yes, they are,’ Nick agreed.
‘Did you make time to go and see them when you were in London?’
He nodded. ‘They both send you their love.’
Kate smiled. She really liked Nick’s family. He had an older brother and a younger sister; all were lovely, friendly, caring people. She wished she had grown up in such a warm and secure environment. Kate had been an only child and her parents had divorced when she was ten. Her father had never had any time for her, and although her mother had tried to make up for this, she had had to work long hours just to keep the home together. In consequence, Kate had spent a lot of time round at Nick’s house. His sister Rachael had been in her class and they had all been good friends. Rachael was in Australia now, happily married with two children.
