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.
Chapter 35
‘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?’