Three Amazing Things About You(70)

‘Jade sounds nice, though.’

‘I know. I’m sure she is. It’s just . . . an aerobics instructor.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘Which means she’ll eat really healthy food.’

During the course of their long day together, Flo had seen Patrick tuck into an organic bison burger, a sausage sandwich, a chicken burrito and a slice of home-made lemon drizzle cake. Which possibly explained his slight paunch.

OK, more than slight.

‘You never know, you might have a great time.’

‘True. But it’s still a bit of a joke, being set up on blind dates by your ex-wife.’

‘So why not find someone yourself?’

‘You’d think it’d be easy, wouldn’t you?’ Patrick’s smile was rueful. ‘It isn’t. Every time I meet someone I like, she turns out to be involved with someone else.’

‘Really? Every time?’

‘Oh yes.’ He paused, then reached over to turn up the volume on the radio. ‘I like this song. You don’t mind if we listen to it, do you?’

They carried on down the motorway to Bristol. When they finally reached Clifton, Patrick turned into Caledonia Place. ‘Can I ask you a question?’ he said.

Expecting it to be something about Margot, Flo nodded. ‘Of course.’

‘Are you seeing someone at the moment?’

Well that had come out of the blue. Caught off guard, she said, ‘Oh! Um . . . well, yes . . . yes, I am.’

Which was eloquent.

‘Thought you probably would be.’ His tone wry, Patrick half smiled. ‘See? There you go, my record remains unbroken.’

He was telling her he liked her. They’d had such a nice day together. He was good company, not unattractive, in a cosy, unthreatening way. He also had a wonderful aunt and a lovely-sounding ex-wife. For a moment Flo was envious of Jade, who would be meeting him tonight for the first time. She almost wished she could be single herself, released from the hassle of having to deal with Lena Travis, allowed instead to relax into a normal, uncomplicated, angst-free relationship . . .

Except then she wouldn’t have Zander, which basically wasn’t an option. Nightmarish though his sister might be, Flo knew she couldn’t bear the prospect of not having him in her life. And since he and Lena came as an inescapable buy-one-get-one-free package, she had no choice in the matter other than to put up with it.

She was in love with Zander Travis. It was as simple as that.

Patrick brought the van to a halt outside her flat and she smiled at him. ‘Thanks. And just so you know, if you’d asked me out and I was single, I would have said yes.’

‘I honestly don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.’ His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Ah well, story of my life. Thanks for helping me out today, anyway. It’s been fun working with you.’

‘Same.’ As she climbed out of the van, Flo said, ‘And good luck with your blind date tonight.’

Patrick grinned at her. ‘Knowing my luck, she’ll make me do sit-ups.’





Chapter 31


It was Sunday the twenty-eighth of April, they were a party of ten at the River Restaurant at the Savoy, and through the windows sunlight was bouncing off the surface of the Thames. Boats were making their way up and down the river, tourists were taking photos of the iconic skyline, and on the South Bank, the Millennium Wheel slowly revolved against a cloud-scattered milky-blue sky.

Inside the restaurant, Joe was rising to his feet, tapping a fork against his glass and clearing his throat for attention.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, or thereabouts, we’re here today to celebrate my best friend Rory McAndrew’s birthday, and I feel the need to make a speech.’

‘Oh God,’ Tasha murmured to Carmel as the rest of the table cheered; there was something about Joe today that was making her nervous.

‘Don’t worry.’ Carmel was in control as always. ‘I won’t let him say anything embarrassing.’

‘Joe?’ Tasha needed to just warn him. ‘You’re not going to tell everyone the story of Rupert’s stag do in Amsterdam, are you.’ It was a statement rather than a question, to indicate just how serious she was.

‘No?’

‘No.’ It was a funny story, but really not suitable for the Savoy.

‘It’s OK, I wasn’t going to tell them that one.’ Joe grinned at her.

‘Well, good.’

He winked. ‘They already know about that, anyway.’

He was impossible. Tasha smiled, gave in and sat back. Basically, if Joe was up to mischief, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it; he’d say whatever he liked.

‘Right, here we go. Rory is my best friend and we’ve known each other for some years now. He’s an excellent chap, always up for a laugh and a dare, and we’ve had our fair share of . . . adventures.’ Pausing to raise a well-timed eyebrow, Joe added, ‘There may have been a few girls involved too, along the way.’