satisfying than making a connection? ‘Were you two a couple?’
‘No, no, nothing like that. I had a girlfriend. Geraldine had a boyfriend. Although I must admit, I did have a secret crush on her. She was a stunning-looking girl back then.’
Ellie couldn’t tear her eyes off him; his hair might be streaked with silver now, his eyes crinkled and his jawline less than chiseled, but she wouldn’t mind betting that in his day he’d been a bit of a looker himself.
Hastily Paul added, ‘Don’t tell her I said that!’
‘We have to call her,’ said Ellie. ‘This is brilliant.’
‘No…’ He looked panicked.
But Zack already had his phone out. ‘We must.’ He pressed a few buttons and waited. The rest of the table had by now fallen silent. ‘Hi, Geraldine? Yes, Elmo’s fine. No, nothing’s wrong, it’s all good. Listen, about the time you got yourself carted along Princes Street in a wheelbarrow.’ He hit the hands-free button just in time to catch Geraldine’s parrot-like squawk of recognition.
‘Oh my God, how did you find out about that? I don’t believe it!’
‘And what was it you were wearing? Not very much, by all accounts.’
‘A lei, a red bikini, and a grass skirt. Which in Edinburgh, let me tell you, is pretty intrepid. I still can’t imagine how you’ve got to hear about it.’
‘We’re here with someone who knew you back then.’ Zack’s dark eyes glittered with amusement. ‘His name’s Paul.’
‘Paul Fletcher.’ Mortified, Paul clearly didn’t expect her to remember him by his first name alone.
‘Fletcher,’ Zack duly repeated so Geraldine could hear.
‘Oh my giddy aunt, Paul Fletcher? Are you serious? He never knew this, but I had such a crush on that boy! We used to call him the Greek God,’ Geraldine exclaimed. ‘He was just beautiful.’
They all watched a sixty-something doctor blush deeply. Zack switched off hands free and carried on listening. Finally he said, ‘No, no, of course I won’t tell him you said that. Hang on, let me just go and find him, I’ll pass you over and the two of you can have a chat.’
He covered the phone. Everyone around the table was agog. Paul was visibly trembling. ‘I can’t do this. She thinks I’m a Greek God.’
‘It isn’t Skype.’ Ellie gave his arm a comforting pat. ‘She can’t see you. Anyway, you’re still quite handsome.’ Ach, wrong thing to say.
‘Thanks.’ Paul’s smile was wry.
‘And Geraldine’s wheelbarrow racing days are long gone,’ Zack chimed in. ‘She’s currently getting over a fractured hip.’ He uncovered the phone and handed it over. ‘Here you go.’
Paul took it and pushed back his chair. ‘I can’t talk to her with you lot listening. You have no idea what this is doing to me. It’s like asking me to talk to Barbra Streisand.’
He left them, weaving his way between the tables and heading out into the garden before raising the phone to his ear.
Chapter 56
Twenty minutes later, Paul’s main course had grown cold on his plate and everyone else had demolished theirs.
Strawberry pavlovas arrived. The talk around the table was lively and punctuated with laughter. Ellie had to protect Paul’s dessert from being taken hostage by Steph’s friend Tara.
Finally, over forty minutes later and just as the speeches were about to start, he reappeared. Trying hard not to look like the cat that got the cream, the prawns, and the Loch Fyne salmon.
‘Well.’ He shook his head and sat down.
‘Couldn’t think of anything to say?’ Zack offered him a top-up of wine.
‘No thanks, I mean, yes.’ In a daze, Paul covered his glass. ‘No wine. That was amazing. What a woman… yes, thanks, take it away.’ He waved at his untouched plate and flashed a distracted smile at the waitress. ‘Sorry, I’m sure it was delicious… wow, who’d have thought something like this could happen out of nowhere? We couldn’t stop talking. No, not for me.’ Now the waitress was attempting to refill his wine glass. ‘Just water, thanks. She’s staying in Exeter, did you know that?’
‘Yes.’ Ellie nodded. ‘Her sister has a bungalow not far from the university.’
‘It’s only seventy miles from here. Geraldine’s invited me to stay.’ He was checking his watch. ‘I can be there in an hour.’
‘You’re leaving now?’
‘I’m fine to drive. I’ve only had half a glass of wine. Gareth won’t mind if I leave early. God, just hearing her voice again was incredible.’ His hand went up to smooth his silver-streaked hair. ‘Do I look OK?’