You And Me, Always(59)

Dan nodded.

‘You paid him off.'

This was true, and he knew it had been a bad thing to do, like paying a  ransom to kidnappers. But he'd wanted it to be over, had wanted Keir  Bourne to go away, leave them alone and not inflict yet more pain on  those whose lives he'd messed up. Bourne had been due another thousand  pounds from the newspaper for the follow-up piece. When Dan had offered  him two thousand to keep quiet, he had hesitated, torn but visibly  tempted.

Three thousand had sealed the deal. Right there and then, in the kitchen  at Goldstone House, Dan had keyed the necessary bank details into his  phone and transferred the money into Keir Bourne's account.

His parting shot had been: ‘And if you're ever tempted to ask for more  or renege on this agreement, think again. Because I know people who'd be  only too happy to bring you to your senses. If you know what I mean.'

Needless to say, he didn't know anyone, but had uttered the words with a hopefully convincing note of threatening menace.

Keir Bourne had nodded and appeared to believe him anyway. He hadn't  been able to scuttle away fast enough, like the cockroach he was.

‘Well, it was a crazy thing to do.' Patsy was looking emotional. ‘But thank you. So much.'

‘Don't worry about it. Let's not mention this to Lily, OK?'

‘OK.' Patsy broke into a wobbly smile, then jumped up and hugged him. ‘You're not a bad brother, you know.'

‘I know.'

‘It's good to be home.'

‘I'm glad you're back too.'

Patsy wiped her eyes and said hopefully, ‘Can I have some of your cheese on toast?'

‘OK, now you're really pushing your luck,' said Dan.





Chapter 45



It was Patsy's birthday.

Happy birthday to meeee, Patsy sang quietly in her head.

Not out loud, that would be embarrassing. And people would stare.

This morning she'd gone into work and there'd been cava and cake. People  had popped in and out to wish her many happy returns and bring her  flowers. Sean and Will had given her the most beautiful Vivienne  Westwood red leather purse, Lily and Coral had bought her a stunning  Venetian mirror and Dan's present had been two tickets to see Beyoncé at  London's O2 Arena and spend the night in a glitzy four-star hotel in  Canary Wharf.

She loved her friends and family so much. She also knew that it was more than she deserved.

Then at lunchtime Kath from Derring's Farm had come into the salon and  told them about her grandson, ill in hospital in Baltimore and  desperately in need of funds to pay for life-saving surgery. Poor Kath  had been in a state; she hated to ask, but they were raising money via  an eBay charity auction and if anyone had anything at all they could  donate to the cause, her family would be so grateful.                       
       
           



       

Patsy had slipped home, explained the situation to Dan and returned to  the salon with the tickets for the Beyoncé-and-hotel-stay package. Kath  had been overwhelmed, but Patsy had insisted. Much as she'd always  longed to see Beyoncé performing live, giving her birthday present to a  worthy cause made her feel better and went some way towards assuaging  her continuing guilt.

The excellent news was that since Kath's son had put the tickets up on  the fund-raising page this afternoon, bidding had already reached £550.

And Patsy knew she'd done a good thing.

The time was now five to eight and her date was due to arrive at any  minute. She tried hard not to wonder if doing a good thing might mean  things would go well this evening in a karmic kind of way. But that  wasn't why she'd done it.

She hadn't even meant to come out on any more internet dates. Having  done a lot of serious thinking in the past few weeks, Patsy had made up  her mind to alter her life and stop being so desperate. From now on she  was going to sort herself out, live life on her own terms and knock the  neediness on the head. She'd also thanked Sean and Will for their kind  suggestion but explained to them that she wouldn't be taking them up on  the offer. She wanted a baby, but also important was being able to share  it with someone she was truly in love with. And if she were destined to  never meet the right man and remain childless  …  well, so what? It was  what happened to thousands of women, and if they could cope with it,  then so could she. It wasn't the end of the world.

Sean and Will had been brilliant, thank goodness. They'd agreed that  this was the right decision for her. And when she'd finished apologising  for having dashed their hopes, they'd told her it didn't matter a bit,  and that now they knew for sure that a family was what they wanted,  there were plenty of other avenues to explore.

For now, though, as far as she herself was concerned, Patsy had taken  the decision to just stop thinking about it. What would be would be.

The door to the wine bar swung open and Patsy's stomach did its habitual  anxious lurch. But it wasn't him; it was two blonde girls in skin-tight  dresses and strappy heels.

His name was Rick, he was thirty-seven and an architect, and he lived  right here in Cheltenham. During her fortnight away from home, she  hadn't accessed the dating site once. Having made the decision to give  it up, it wasn't until after her return to Stanton Langley that she'd  seen Rick's messages. Several of them, but not in a stalky or scary way;  he'd simply wondered why she hadn't replied to his emails.

Patsy had emailed him back to explain, and he'd said well wasn't that a  shame, he'd missed his chance. Then he'd asked if she wouldn't consider  making an exception, just this once  …  and they'd fallen into a routine  of exchanging jokey messages pretty much every day. Finally she'd  succumbed because he'd sounded funny and genuine. And when he had set  the date for this evening, she hadn't told him it was her birthday. It  wasn't important; he didn't need to know.

Maybe if tonight went well and they saw each other again and again, she  would tell him the truth about the day of the first date and together  they'd laugh about it.

OK, getting way ahead of herself, as usual. Let's face it, the chances  were that Rick would turn up, turn out to have all sorts of annoying  traits, and she'd be back home by ten o'clock all ready to start the  rest of her new and improved man-free life.

The door swung open at eight o'clock on the dot and a middle-aged couple came into the wine bar.

At three minutes past, a man arrived to collect his wife, who'd been having a drink with friends from work.

At ten past, the door opened once more to admit another couple, and this  time every muscle in Patsy's body stiffened in horror. The woman was  tall and elegant with sleek dark hair and a prominent Roman nose that  suited her high-cheekboned face.

The man was Derek.

Derek, he of the turquoise Lycra leggings and tandem obsession, whom she  had last seen disappearing down the road alone on his bicycle built for  two.

Except this evening he was wearing normal clothes.

Oh God, oh God, please don't let him spot me  …

But fate  –  or God  –  wasn't that magnanimous. As Patsy attempted to study  the wine menu at such close range that it was making her eyes cross,  Derek stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Well, well, look who it is! Hello,  Patsy, what are you doing here? Waiting for another blind date?' He  glanced at the watch on his bony wrist and feigned concern. ‘Oh dear,  was he meant to be here by eight? Not looking good, is it? I do hope he  isn't going to embarrass you by not turning up!'                       
       
           



       

Such a loud, carrying voice. Other people in the bar were nudging each  other and whispering. Some were giving her sympathetic smiles but others  were clearly finding it hilarious. And the worst thing was, Patsy knew  she absolutely deserved it.

‘I hope so too.' She forced herself to remain outwardly composed. ‘Hello, Derek, you're looking well. Sorry about our date.'

‘No problem. Your loss.' He slid his arm possessively around his  companion's waist. ‘I'm glad you jumped off my tandem. If that hadn't  happened, I wouldn't have met Andrea, would I? She loves cycling. We're a  perfect match.'

‘That's great. I'm happy for you,' said Patsy. It was true, but she was also mortified for herself.

‘Thank you. We reap what we sow. Maybe I deserved to meet someone nice  …  and you didn't.'

‘Definitely.' Patsy nodded. ‘I think you could be right.'

‘Come on.' Andrea gave Derek a nudge. ‘Let's go through to the other  bar, shall we?' She turned back to Patsy. ‘Can I just say? You really  missed a trick there, but I'm glad you did. He's one in a million, and  he's all mine.'