into their dish before the full intimacy of the process dawned on her. When his eyes held hers as he licked his spoon she felt a tide of red sweep up her face, and she swallowed another spoonful of icy perfection to tone it down.
‘I think,’ said Alex with constraint, ‘that this was a mistake.’
‘You want it all yourself?’
‘No. But sharing it with you is giving me impure thoughts. Don’t worry. I won’t act on them.’
‘Good.’ Sarah laid her spoon down and sat back.
‘You haven’t eaten much!’
‘I pigged on the fish and chips. I’d like some coffee instead, please.’
His eyes held hers. ‘I was hoping for that when I take you home, Sarah.’
‘Of course, but I’d like some right now just the same.’ She smiled. ‘And while we’re waiting for it you can tell me more about Stephen. Is he an old schoolfriend?’
Alex shook his head. ‘We met at Cambridge.’
‘Did you read the same subjects?’
‘No. His was Archaeology, mine Engineering. But we happened to meet on our first day, hit it off from the word go, and in our third year at Trinity we shared a double set—i.e. a communal living room with separate study/bedrooms.’
Sarah smiled, able to picture it only too well. ‘I bet you had a fantastic time with all those clever girls around. Were there lots of parties?’
‘Too many. Towards the end we had to buckle down to more serious stuff. Steve and I both played cricket, but like me he had parents who made sure he worked through vacations unless we were on tour.’
‘Stephen couldn’t have earned much on archaeological digs!’
‘True. His Italian mother sent him off to Piedmont every summer, to work in her family’s renowned cooking school.’ Alex grinned. ‘Steve’s talent meant our dinner parties at Trinity were hot tickets.’
‘So he never did anything with his archaeology?’
‘No. As soon as he graduated he took off to France to cook.’
‘And you went back home to the Merrick Group?’
‘Exactly’ Alex smiled his thanks up at the waitress, and put a sizeable tip on the tray as she set the coffee pot in front of Sarah.
‘Is it just coincidence that he opened a restaurant in this area?’ she asked.
‘No. After learning his craft in places like the River Café and the Savoy, he decided to open a place of his own. He asked me to keep a look out in this area, so when I heard through the grapevine that the Pheasant was going up for sale I told Steve to hotfoot it down here with Jane and take a look before it went on the open market.’
‘You get on well with his wife?’
He nodded. ‘Jane was at Trinity with us.’
A sort of private club, thought Sarah wistfully. ‘Does she do any cooking?’
Alex laughed. ‘None at all. That girl can burn water. She’s the number-cruncher and takes care of the finances. She sees to the ordering, bullies the suppliers and does front of house. She’s away at the moment, visiting her parents, but you can meet her next time.’
Stephen came out to intercept them as they were leaving. ‘Nice to see you again, Sarah. Come again soon.’
‘Not for a while,’ said Alex with regret. ‘I’m off to the London office tomorrow.’
‘Which doesn’t mean Sarah can’t come here alone—or with someone else,’ Stephen pointed out, and grinned at the look on his friend’s face as he escorted them to the door.
On their way back, Alex shot a look at her. ‘Would you do that?’ he asked.
Sarah eyed him curiously. ‘Would it matter to you if I did?’
‘It would if it was Dan Mason.’
‘How you do harp on about him. I won’t go out with him again for the simple reason that I don’t want to. But,’ she warned, ‘I refuse to boycott the Green Man just to avoid him. I enjoy my lunchtime sessions there.’
Alex touched a hand to hers. ‘Dan must have gone back to the city by now.’
‘He hasn’t yet. He was still there when I went in with Harry today.’
‘Was he, now? I wonder what’s keeping him here so long this time,’ said Alex as he turned into Medlar House.
‘Could we stop talking about Dan Mason?’ Sarah snapped, and stalked in front of him to open the main door. She unlocked her own door, switched on lamps and closed the shutters, then switched on her blinking answer-machine to hear Harry’s familiar gruff tones telling her how much Ian earned. Sarah turned at last to find Alex watching her.
‘I’ll pass on more coffee.’ He took her