‘Yes.’ He nodded, searching her face for a reaction. ‘I like you, Ellie. It never occurred to me to think about it before, when you and Jamie were together. But these past few weeks… I don’t know, something seemed to be happening. I just really like being with you.’ His eyes were bright. ‘You’re lovely.’
‘Am I?’ It was bizarre to hear him say it.
‘Oh yes.’ Gaining confidence, he added, ‘Mind you, I can be pretty lovely too, when I put my mind to it.’
Her smile broadened, because that was the kind of banter he and Jamie had engaged in. Before you knew it they’d be off, arguing which of them was the loveliest.
‘Look,’ Todd went on, ‘no pressure. I’m going to go now.’ The tiniest of pauses gave her the opportunity to tell him he didn’t have to leave. When she didn’t say it, he stood up. ‘You need time to think this through. The ball’s in your court, OK? Give me a call whenever you want. I know it must feel a bit strange. But I reckon we could be good together. We could give it a try, see how we go. If you want.’
She rose to her feet. ‘OK, thanks.’ This was weird, like a job interview. Were they supposed to shake hands now?
Todd solved the dilemma by giving her a quick, just-good-friends hug. ‘I’ll wait to hear from you.’
She reciprocated with a polite, just-good-friends kiss on the cheek. ‘Right, thanks.’ It still felt surreal. She patted his arm. ‘Bye.’
***
‘Well, well, who’d have thought it?’
From the bed, Ellie sat with her knees up and studied Jamie’s expression. She needed to know how he felt about what had happened earlier. The good thing was, he didn’t look outraged. He seemed completely relaxed.
Then again, she was the one making him look like that.
‘I know. Took me by surprise. I didn’t lead him on at all.’
Jamie’s blue eyes were sparkling. ‘No need to be so defensive. Leading men on is allowed.’
‘Don’t you feel funny about it?’ He must do, surely.
‘OK, a bit.’ He lounged against the wall and shrugged. ‘But maybe it’s better that it’s someone I know. I trust him. Todd’s not going to break your heart. That has to be a good thing, doesn’t it?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Better than you going out and having a drunken one-night stand with some chancer who wouldn’t even remember your name the next day.’
‘Damn,’ said Ellie. ‘I was looking forward to that happening.’
Jamie grinned. ‘I know you too well.’
‘Anyway, we’re not talking about sex.’ The prospect of getting naked and actually doing it was too bizarre to even contemplate. ‘That’s not going to happen.’
‘Right. Take things slowly.’ He nodded in agreement. ‘A few kisses and a bit of hand holding, that’s enough to be going on with for now. See how you feel.’
‘I already know how I feel. I feel weird.’
‘It’s been eighteen months.’
‘Oh, has it really?’ Mock amazement. ‘That long already? I hadn’t noticed.’
‘One thing. Is he a good kisser?’
‘He’s OK.’
‘Better than me?’
Ellie pretended to consider the question. ‘Hm, I’ll have to think about that.’
‘He’d better not be better than me,’ said Jamie. ‘At kissing or holding hands.’
She looked at his long, tanned fingers, remembering how they’d felt and how well they’d fitted together with hers. She’d give anything to be able to hold his hand again. Oh great, here come the tears, was this ever going to stop happening?
‘Don’t cry,’ said Jamie.
‘I know.’ She pulled a tissue from the box on the table next to the bed.
‘Does this mean he is better?’
He was looking horrified, trying to make her laugh. Ellie smiled and wiped her eyes. ‘Don’t panic. You’re still the best.’
‘Thank goodness for that.’ He relaxed and pushed his hands into the back pockets of his favorite low-slung jeans. ‘But just so you know, I’m fine about Todd. You could do a lot worse.’
Chapter 22
‘I’m sorry, Zack’s not here today. Did you have an appointment?’
The couple on the doorstep looked disappointed. The girl, who was petite and dark-haired, said, ‘We just called round on the off chance. Oh, what a shame! We read that piece about him in the Telegraph the other day and thought he sounded like our kind of person.’
‘Not afraid to take a leap occasionally, if he comes across a proposition he likes.’ The man with her was tall, thin, and slightly beaky looking, but in a good way. His hair was Scandinavian blond, his manner was enthusiastic, and he resembled a