a worried expression on her face while Lisa blundered her way through an excuse about wanting to see her new kitchen. Katie knew this had to be a trumped up reason because Lisa was as interested in kitchens and cooking food as she was in scuba-diving. But, she played along with the ruse, showed them around the kitchen over a coffee, and for what seemed like the hundredth time she reassured them she was fine about Tim, and then, giggling, told them how she’d eased herself into bed with a bottle of red wine.
Trusting and naïve Sarah accepted her reassurances without hesitation, but Lisa gave her a ‘hmm’ retort, raised an eyebrow, and looked questioningly at her.
When Sarah went to the toilet, Lisa pounced, “Katie, I know how much you loved Tim and I can’t believe you could hear news about him kissing a blonde and not be upset about it?”
“Of course, I couldn’t,” she whispered. “But I don’t want Sarah to feel awful about telling me.”
Lisa shook her head. “Always thinking about everyone else but yourself,” she said wistfully. “God, I wish I could be more like you.”
Katie twisted uncomfortably on the stool and because she knew she was going to need Lisa’s help, she said, “You would have done exactly the same thing for Sarah, I know you would. And yes, although I’m upset I’m more curious than anything else.”
Anxiously she wrung her hands together and pushed on. “I mean, who is she? And, how long has he been seeing her? And maybe he was shagging her when he was with me?”
Squeezing Katie’s shoulder reassuringly, Lisa exclaimed, “Hey, now just stop it. Don’t do this to yourself – he’s simply not worth it!”
“I need to know, Lisa,” she whispered, and then hearing Sarah’s footsteps on the wood floor in the hall they changed the subject.
With best wishes for a successful first booking the girls left shortly before four o’clock and after showering and getting changed she loaded the car to drive over to Terry’s apartment. He lived nearly at the top of Richmond Hill and when she pulled up outside his upper floor apartment she whistled quietly at the size and grandeur. This must have cost mega bucks, she decided, pressing the intercom on the security system and was buzzed through. She was busy unloading her bags and chill box into the lift when Terry appeared breathless from running down two flights of stairs and helped her carry everything into the lobby of his apartment.
When she’d first started at her old job Terry had been known amongst all the women in the office as the company’s last good looking, eligible bachelor and Frances, at the time had had a bit of a crush on him. But now she supposed at the age of nearly forty he was only eligible for a certain age group of women and after tonight’s proposal to Jessica he’d have to relinquish the title altogether.
"Wow!" she exclaimed looking around the open plan lounge and dining room area, "This is amazing."
He carried on down the hall. "Thanks, Katie. The kitchen is down here," he called over his shoulder while she followed him.
When he turned at the door and took the two bags out of her hands he smiled at her for the first time. His blonde hair was still damp from a recent shower and because she’d never seen him dressed in casual jeans and T-shirt before, she decided he definitely looked much younger than in his office suit.
She followed him into a gleaming state of the art kitchen and stood open-mouthed. "Oh my God. I’ve just had my kitchen done but it’s nothing as flash as this," she said looking around the room. "It’s like a professional kitchen!"
She turned to look at the Gaggenau modular cook top system which was built into a complete wall of glimmering, high quality stainless steel with a fridge, ovens, and a freezer which had external ice and water dispensers. And then, turning to look behind her, she smiled with pleasure because the whole of the opposite wall had been replaced by glass so she could see the outdoor space which was lit with soft lights.
"Well, you shouldn’t want for anything in here, it’s been equipped with everything a chef could possibly need.”
"And some, it’s to-die-for…"
He grinned. "Actually, my only area of expertise is this little beauty here," he said stroking the top of the microwave.
Giggling she shook her head in mock disapproval. "You mean you don’t cook in