cheer you up then.’ Maria nodded her head towards the car park, and Ellie followed her gaze. A tight knot of panic formed in her throat, but Maria didn’t notice her reaction.
‘He’s a bit tasty, isn’t he? I love the sexy hat. Is he waiting for you?’ Maria’s eyes were open wide as she looked at the figure leaning against Ellie’s car, dressed in dark jeans and a navy-blue T-shirt, sporting a leather bush hat.
Ellie forced her voice into indifference.
‘He’s a friend of Max’s. I’ve no idea what he’s doing here, but I guess I’m about to find out. See you tomorrow, Maria.’
Ellie walked towards the car, but could feel that Maria’s eyes were on her. She tried to be as nonchalant as possible, her smiling face belying her first words.
‘What are you doing here? Are you completely mad?’ she hissed.
‘I wanted to see you. You refuse to come to me, so I’ve come to you. Let’s get in the car, shall we?’
‘No!’ Ellie realised that she had raised her voice, and Maria was still watching. She was out of earshot, but Ellie had to keep her face calm and her voice down.
‘No,’ she repeated. ‘We are not getting in the car. What do you want?’
He smiled.
‘Ellie, darling, if you don’t get in the car with me, your friend over there is going to wonder if there’s a problem. She might come over and ask. Do you want her to wonder?’
Knowing he was right, and hating him even more for it, she clicked the remote. He held his hand out.
‘Keys, please. Don’t look at me like that. If you get in the car first, you’ll drive off while I’m walking round to the passenger door. Give me the keys, darling.’
Ellie wanted to look around her, to see if anybody was watching. Don’t call me darling was the thought echoing round her head. But if she opened her mouth, she would scream.
He opened the driver’s door for her, as if he were being polite, and sauntered round to the passenger side. As he sat down, he handed her the keys.
‘I suggest you drive somewhere, Ellie. Otherwise you are drawing attention to yourself, and you keep telling me that it’s not what you want.’
‘Please, can we stop this? I’ve told you so many times that what happened was a foolish mistake. I love Max. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but that was never my intention.’
He shook his head.
‘It was no mistake, darling. You wanted me. I could tell. Every inch of you was craving for me, as I was craving for you. We just need to decide what we’re going to do about it. Take me for a drive, Ellie. Let’s talk sensibly.’
With shaking hands, Ellie put the keys into the ignition and turned the engine on.
‘We can drive, but I’m not going to stop the car. We can drive round and talk - but only talk. Do you understand?’
‘We’ll see,’ he responded with a smile.
Ellie knew that he didn’t believe her. He thought she was just scared of the upset it would cause if she left Max for him, and she had failed abysmally to persuade him otherwise. The last time she had agreed to meet him - the night of the fateful accident - she had begged, pleaded, shouted, cried. In the end, he had pulled her into his arms and tried to soothe her. For a moment, it had felt good. She was too weak with emotion to resist, and it felt as if he were comforting her. Until he kissed her. She had come back to earth with a crash and screamed at him to get out of her car. She never wanted to see him again. She had thought she’d convinced him - but she was wrong.
Now she drove without speaking. She needed to get away from the hospital; away from where anybody who knew her might see her. But which was worse? If she went down some of the lanes and found a lay-by and they were seen there, that would be far worse than being seen in a public place - something that she could explain away if she had to.
Ellie swung left into the supermarket car park, and drove to the most crowded area, pulling in beside a white van and a car she didn’t recognise. At least they would be shielded from view from one side.
‘What have you stopped here for? I need to be able to touch you, Ellie. I want