from the Fair Trader Association. Kathleen, this is Emma Barron and Chris… er… Chris…’ Ally began.
‘Chris Mason, lovely to meet you, Kathleen,’ Chris said. He took hold of the frail lady’s translucent hand and brought it to his lips.
‘Oh I say, an old fashioned gentleman at last. These days most people want to kiss you on the cheek, or both if you’re particularly unlucky,’ Kathleen said, tittering with laughter.
Emma realised she wasn’t breathing and almost sucked in the contents of her glass as she gasped in some much-needed oxygen. It wasn’t Guy! Thank God!
‘Although, I didn’t mind the two kisses from the French gentleman over there. In fact, two wasn’t quite enough,’ Kathleen said. She let out a girlish giggle.
Emma coughed and hurriedly drank some fizz.
‘He is rather lovely, isn’t he? Speaks wonderful English,’ Ally continued.
‘And so handsome! When he told me he wasn’t married I very nearly offered,’ Kathleen said, a glint in her eye.
‘I almost offered this afternoon when I saw him on the rowing machine,’ Ally said. She let out a heavy sigh.
‘So what time do we sit down to eat? I mean, Chris, you must be starving,’ Emma interrupted.
She couldn’t listen to any more of it. Ally and Kathleen Dobbs were talking about Guy as if he were some sort of rare species, a never-been-seen-before Adonis to be admired and adored. That wasn’t the Guy she knew. He had made her give away her heart to him only for it to mean nothing. He was manipulative and detestable and she wanted to pretend she’d never met him.
‘There will be a gong in approximately—’ Ally checked her watch ‘—eleven minutes. I’d better mingle. Don’t forget, free bar. Drink up and make the most of it.’ She made off, surging back into the throngs of people.
‘Eleven minutes! Right, well that gives me just enough time for a cigarillo. Bad habit I know, but when you’ve got to seventy-eight there’s really nothing left to be good for,’ Kathleen Dobbs said. She let out a cackle of naughtiness and shuffled off towards the exit.
‘Good old gal,’ Chris said, laughing as he put his glass to his mouth.
‘I’m just going to the ladies’,’ Emma said. She needed to get some air.
‘Are you alright, Em? If you’re still thinking about this morning then…’
‘No, it isn’t. I’m not. I’m fine, honestly. I just need the loo. I won’t be long,’ Emma said. She smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way.
She needed a minute. She had to get out of the room, the same room that Guy was in, and think about this. He was in her orbit for the first time in years. It was the absolutely worst thing that could ever have happened.
*
Guy had done a double take when he saw her. It couldn’t be. Emma Barron, the only woman he had truly loved, was here, at this moment, on this night. So many years had gone by, years in which he’d tried to turn his life around. Years of mourning something he would never get back. And here she was, looking not a day older than he remembered. Those eyes. Those chestnut-coloured eyes that had wept so many tears because of him and haunted his dreams since.
His heart was beating a rhythm he barely recognised. He wet his lips as he tried to gather his thoughts, still not believing that she was here
He had considered trying to find her many times but there was always something that stopped him. Pride was a factor. Then there was shame. What he’d done to her so soon after she’d lost her mother. What she thought he had done to her. Grief played a part too. He’d hidden away for almost six months after what had happened to Luc. And then, later, when the tears and heartache had subsided a little, he’d thrown himself into work. He’d trained hard and he had made himself into one of the most talented footballers in the world. But now it wasn’t just about the game. He was in demand for so much more. There were modelling assignments and clothes endorsements, television interviews and promotional events. But he wanted it that way. Keeping busy stopped him from thinking.
He was afraid. Afraid to find her, to reawaken sleeping feelings and let himself be taken back to the time they had shared. He’d tried to put her to the back of his mind, knowing that if he’d found her, if she let him back into her life, he wouldn’t