she had with Alex and was pleased when, with a joke from the chef exec about how he was trying to get Alex to join the company and make them all pots of lovely money, they said their farewells and moved away to talk to another group of managers. Katie and David were stunned into an uncomfortable silence with neither of them wanting to say exactly what was on their minds. So, mumbling about getting a proper drink of whisky, David headed off to the bar and she re-joined her friends at the table.
After dancing, drinking her fill of champagne, and smiling until her cheeks ached she said to Francis, “Gosh, it’s nearly midnight. I’m going to get a taxi and make a push for home. I don’t want too much of a hang-over in the morning. Can I drop you off first?”
Francis had just returned from the dance floor with Harry where she’d been trying to teach him a jive. Failing miserably they’d had everyone laughing hysterically. Her face was bright red with the exertion and she was sweating profusely, the sleeves on her flowing kaftan-style dress had ridden up exposing her fat puffy arms and Katie gently patted them back down into place.
Heaving in and out she tried to catch her breath. “No, Katie, I’m OK, thanks. Think I’ll cool down a little and have another drink,” she said gulping down a glass of water.
As Katie waited in the foyer overlooking the spectacular view of the Thames she felt her exuberant mood flatten, thinking about Tim, and when she climbed into the back of the taxi it dawned upon her that probably for the first time since they’d met she wasn’t actually looking forward to seeing him. She sank gratefully into the seat and rested her head back, silently groaning at the thought of the inevitable argument that would take place later where she’d accuse him of letting her down again and he’d chant out the same old excuses. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be and it certainly wasn’t like this in all the chick-lit novels she read. The heroines in the books were full of spirit and determination to fight for their men, and a couple of months ago she too had been like that. But now, after trying to hang-on in there, all she felt was bone-weary. Pep talks from Lisa and Sarah about how Bridget Jones wouldn’t roll over and accept Tim’s bad behaviour made her smile and when the taxi pulled up outside their apartment she took a deep breath to bolster herself for what lay ahead, paid the driver and entered their front door.
They always kept their keys in the glass bowl on the small hall table and because it was empty she knew he wasn’t home from the restaurant. She decided to go straight to bed and try to fall asleep before he got back. This way, she decided, they wouldn’t continue the argument where they’d left off earlier. Then, remembering his words about keeping the dress on, she slipped it over her head and chucked it rebelliously into the laundry basket before climbing under the soft white duvet.
Closing her eyes, she tried to empty her mind, hoping sleep would take over but thoughts about Tim and their relationship tumbled around mercilessly. How could things have gone so badly wrong in a couple of months? And, although he was making it damned hard for her with his dreadful behaviour, compared to when they’d first moved in together, she still loved him to bits. Or did she? And, was it just the memory of the former Tim that she was still in love with?
Knowing it wasn’t just her that he was being horrible to helped a little as his family were also complaining about his attitude. She remembered last week when his sister, Jenny, had called him an arrogant, selfish prat, and his father, who was a man of few words, had sadly shook his head in disappointment at him. But when they’d got home and she’d wanted to talk about it, because secretly she agreed with Jenny, he’d simply shrugged his shoulders and denied any wrong doing. At the moment it seemed to be everyone else’s fault in Tim’s eyes.
Turning onto her side, and in an attempt to pin-point exactly when it had started she thought over the last few months week by week and decided the changes had begun more or less from the first week in his new job as head chef at the restaurant, and although she knew how hard he’d worked for the promotion and certainly deserved it, she hated the way the pressure of work seemed to be changing his personality. And he’d had such a lovely personality when they’d first met she thought dreamily, sinking her cheek further into the duck-down, soft pillow.
She let her mind wander through the first week they’d got together, remembering how lovely, kind, and down to earth he’d been. They’d met through Frances at work and it had been, if not love, then lust at first sight, and by the end of their first date when he’d stared at her with those penetrating green eyes and devoured her mouth with the most passionate snog she’d ever had, she’d known he was going to be very special. She’d never kissed anyone like that before and remembered how her lips had felt on fire, and how she’d wanted to go on kissing him forever. In fact, she’d been so engrossed in the kiss that without realising it she’d started to slide from the edge of the leather settee and he’d caught her just in time to stop her falling. Afterwards, she couldn’t remember how or when she’d wrapped her legs around his body, because her mind had stopped thinking altogether and she’d been so completely caught up in the exquisite pleasure of feeling that she was part of him and he was part of her.
But now, although the sex was still fantastic, it was the loving tenderness that seemed to be missing. Was this what happened to couples when they’d lived together for a while? Maybe it was a classic case of the honeymoon period being well and truly over. Deciding this was definitely a question for Sarah and Lisa on Saturday, she heard his key in the door.
“Hey, gorgeous, thought you’d be wearing your little black dress for me,” he whispered into her ear while she felt him cradle her back with his body. His feet were cold when he selfishly wrapped them around hers, and she could smell red wine on his breath, so she lay very still, breathing deeply and hoped he would think she was asleep. It worked and she felt him pull her further into his body and start to lightly snore. Christ, if anyone would have told her six months ago that she’d be doing this she’d have laughed in their faces. But she wasn’t laughing now; she moaned softly and felt a tear leak out of the side of her eye.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Friday 13th
Saturday 14th
Sunday 15th
Monday 16th
Tuesday 17th
Wednesday 18th
Thursday 19th
Friday 20th
One Year Later
Excerpt from Yes Chef No Chef
Table of Contents
Copyright
Friday 13th
Saturday 14th
Sunday 15th
Monday 16th
Tuesday 17th
Wednesday 18th
Thursday 19th
Friday 20th
One Year Later
Excerpt from Yes Chef No Chef