‘How long have you been seeing him?’ Lily cut short her day-dream.
‘Oh, I’ve only seen him around college during breaks,’ Chloe fibbed. She’d actually been seeing Jack for three weeks but hadn’t dared tell anyone. She wanted to get to know him a little better first. What was the point in getting everyone freaked out about the age gap until she was certain that the relationship would develop?
‘A man of forty-three surely must have been married before?’ asked Lily.
Chloe averted her eyes. She knew what would come next.
‘So he’s divorced.’
Chloe nodded again.
‘Are you sure of that?’
‘Yes, he told me so. And why should the age gap be a problem? I’m a mature eighteen year old. I can handle myself.’
Dressed in pink pyjamas scattered with teddy bear motifs and huge penguin slippers on her feet, Lily thought that Chloe didn’t look much of a sophisticated lady.
‘That’s what an immature eighteen-year old would think,’ she replied.
‘But what else is there to think?’ Chloe continued, in order to change the conversation as she saw Lily’s shoulders sagging. ‘I like him a lot, he likes me a lot and neither of us wants to settle down.’
‘So you’re simply going to have sex with him until you move onto someone else?’
‘Lily! I can’t believe you’d say that!’ Chloe sounded more embarrassed than horrified and picked up a magazine to hide behind.
‘That’s what you’re implying if you don’t want to settle down with him.’
‘I don’t know him that well yet.’
Lily’s silence told Chloe that she’d better not say anything else. That Jack Ryan had two children older than her. That he was taking her out for a meal next week to introduce them all. That she was shit scared of what would happen and was desperate to confide in someone but didn’t dare. That she’d had the best sex in her life last night.
Chloe had been so nervous when she’d slept with Jack for the first time, her excitement completely overshadowed by self-doubt. Jack was forty three. She was eighteen. Jack would have had many lovers. She had been with three boys and two of them had been merely fumbles. Jack had an ex wife. She had an ex seventeen year old boyfriend. Sexually, she knew he’d be able to show her allsorts of things. She wouldn’t be able to show him anything.
But Jack had completely blown her away. She’d never felt this way before. She couldn’t wait to be with him, couldn’t stop thinking of him, dreaming of the way he smiled, the way he laughed, the way he made her feel.
A vague flush of colour tinged her cheeks as she remembered what they’d done last night. It had all been too much for her when he’d removed his clothes and she’d froze, but he’d been so gentle and she’d gradually relaxed. Eventually she’d joined him in his bed. It had been an amazing experience. She couldn’t wait to try it again.
‘If you want my honest opinion,’ Lily hoped she didn’t sound too condescending, ‘he’s too old for you. Maybe it would work, but it would be hard work. There are a lot of prejudiced people out there, me included, I’m afraid, who are going to want you to fail because you’re not conforming. It’s up to you to prove them wrong, to make sure he doesn’t use you as a trophy to show off on his arm and then discard you when he’s had enough.’
‘He won’t have time for any of that,’ Chloe grinned, determined not to let Lily’s doubts influence her. ‘He’ll be too busy keeping an eye on me!’
Just then the door flew open and Kate walked in, throwing Chloe a look of pure evil before sitting down next to Lily on the settee.
‘You’re back early,’ stated Lily. ‘It’s only half past nine.’
‘Bad period pains,’ Kate fibbed, at the same time glaring at Chloe. Then she got to her feet again. ‘Drinks anyone?’ Milky coffee always made Lily sleepy.
Except that it didn’t work. Lily kept dozing and then pretending that she hadn’t. It was nearly eleven when she finally said good night.
‘How could you!’ Kate said as soon as the door closed behind her.
‘He told you then.’ Chloe gulped. ‘I can explain.’
‘Yes, please do. Please tell me how you found out, how you contacted him to let him know without telling me. How you’ve ruined my weekend away and any plans I had for the future.’
Chloe’s mouth gaped open. ‘I…I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t find the words. And it was all Will’s fault. I thought I should give him the chance to explain first.’
‘Hang on.’ Kate grabbed the remote control and turned down the sound on the TV. ‘Let me get this straight. You knew and didn’t tell me. You decided, in your wisdom, that he should tell me so that you didn’t have to.’
‘No, I –’
Kate ignored the tears welling in Chloe’s eyes. ‘You made me look a complete fool. At least if I had known, I could have gone prepared.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry! Is that all you can say? How do you think I felt? He took me out on the false pretence that he fancied me and all the time he wanted to find out about the coffee shop.’
‘Did he say that?’ said Chloe.
‘No,’ admitted Kate. ‘But he must have done. As soon as we sat down in the wine bar, he confessed everything.
‘Did he show you the plans?’
‘Is that how you found out?’
Chloe nodded. ‘When Will called yesterday to show you the hotel brochure, he left behind his file. As I put it behind the counter, the plans fell out. I only had time to have a quick look because he came back. I didn’t think it was my place to tell you.’
Suddenly Kate realised that not only had Will deceived her, but Chloe had too. And she trusted her far more.
She flopped down in the armchair. ‘You should have told me,’ she said.
Chloe folded her arms. ‘After all you’ve been through with Nick, I didn’t know how to tell you. You have to believe me!’
‘I don’t know who to believe. Can’t you understand that?’
Chloe looked across at Kate. She had an air of defeat about her, something she had never seen before.
‘What are you going to do?’ she asked.
Kate needed time to think things through, work it all out and figure out what to do next. ‘I’m not sure. He did seem sincere when he saw how upset I was.’
‘Was that before or after he tried to get into your knickers?’
Kate gave Chloe a warning look.
‘Well, the guy’s a creep,’ she continued. ‘He should have come clean from the beginning.’
Kate stood up quickly. ‘There you go again. You always try to blame other people. It’s never you, is it?’ She moved towards the door but turned back just before she got to it. ‘This is your fault as much as his, Chloe, and don’t you forget it. I feel pretty sick about the whole episode without you rubbing my face in it.’
Kate was still awake when her phone vibrated on the bedside table, just before midnight. She fumbled for it in the dark.
‘Kate, it’s Will. Please don’t hang up. I can’t stop thinking about what’s happened. I’m so sorry I hurt you.’
Lying on her side, Kate pulled her knees up into the foetal position. She tried not to sniff and give him a clue that she’d been crying.
‘You used me,’ she said.
‘I never meant to.’
‘Maybe not, but that doesn’t change anything.’
There was a long pause.
‘Look, I know I’ve done this all wrong but do you think we could talk in the morning? Please?’
‘I – I don’t know,’ she said. Then she switched off the phone.
For the next hour, Kate watched the luminous fingers on her alarm clock travel once around its face. Her mind wouldn’t settle and she kept running over things.
Will was an idiot.
But he was the sweet kind of idiot.
What did he take her for, thinking he could use her like that?
But he had been
sorry about it afterwards. Probably hadn’t even realised how hurtful he’d been.
What about the plans to develop Church Square? What would happen to The Coffee Stop? Did the plans even include The Coffee Stop?
But then again, he’d said the plans were drawn up before The Coffee Stop had opened. So maybe the plans were going to change?
Maybe there was a slight chance that he actually did fancy her? His actions seemed real as she thought back to their last date. Then there was the incident under the oak tree and the weekend they’d been planning.
‘Oh, go to sleep, you idiot!’ she whispered aloud, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.
CHAPTER THIRTY
On Friday evening, Chloe threw a critical eye over her reflection before twirling around to check her black lace-topped hold-up stockings hadn’t snagged while she wasn’t looking. Her hair was pinned up tightly into a chignon, a few wispy strands hanging down. Bronze and yellow toned shades of make-up accentuated her eyes, her skin enhanced with self-tan. The dress she’d chosen to wear was black and had a flirty skirt that fell just above her knee, a neckline that swooped down to reveal just the right amount of cleavage and was backless apart from a thick lace panel down the length of its middle. Chloe always thought she looked sophisticated whenever she wore it, yet she felt she needed a second opinion to help alleviate her nerves. She needed the encouragement to put a smile on her lips.
But she wasn’t about to get it from Kate. It was three days since the fiasco with Will and Kate was being polite and talking when spoken to – otherwise their working day would be impossible – but there was none of the old conversations, none of the giggles and good times. Even Lucy had been dragged into it. Kate was hardly speaking to her either.
Hearing a horn and hoping it was her taxi arriving, Chloe forced herself to put all thoughts of Kate on hold. Tonight was a very important night, the most important in her life so far and she had to hold her nerve.
Jack was already there when she arrived at Leonard’s restaurant. Dressed in the obligatory jacket and collar, shirt and pale-blue tie matching exactly, so used to seeing him in jeans, Chloe felt her heart flutter.
She walked across the plush reception area, feeling a little unsteady but nothing to do with the heels she was wearing.
‘You look lovely.’ Jack kissed her lightly on her cheek and took her coat as she shrugged it off. ‘Would you like a glass of wine?’
Feeling like a five year old child at a rich uncle’s house, Chloe perched on one of six cream linen settees placed around the room. Leonard’s was everything she had thought it would be. The wall in front of her had thick, wooden doors that she presumed must lead to the dining area. To her right, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the extensive grounds and car park were dressed in light brown drapes, similar to the colour of the carpet.
About fifteen people were waiting to go through to eat, including a group of seven sitting next to her. They were making lots of noise, the soft background music barely audible through peals of good-natured laughter.
‘What time will they be here?’ Chloe asked Jack when he joined her again.
He checked his watch. ‘Not for half an hour or so.’
Before she knew it, the huge oval clock chimed eight times, making her look up in a tizzy. As the party of seven were shown to their table, she wondered where that half an hour had gone.
Jack stood up. ‘Here’s Matt.’
Chloe looked up to see a slightly taller, more youthful, version of Jack. ‘How are you, Dad?’ she heard him say then looked away as he caught her eye. She felt her colour rising as she realised that Jack hadn’t told him everything about her.
‘I thought I’d be late,’ Matt continued, after they’d been introduced and he’d managed to hide his surprise slightly better. ‘Still, I managed to get here before Charlotte. Any signs of her yet?’
Chloe looked out through the windows but it was too dark to see anything except the odd headlight.
‘No,’ said Jack, checking his watch. ‘Perhaps we should go through and order? She’ll probably have her usual starter.’
They were shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. Jack pulled out a chair and Chloe sat down, taking the menu held out for her with a tremble.
Jack leaned forward to touch her arm gently. ‘Relax. It’s going to be fine. Ah, here’s Charlotte now.’
Chloe’s shoulders sank as she saw Jack’s youngest child fall into his arms, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Dark hair streaked with caramel and honey highlights was cut in a straight bob. A short spiky fringe framed eyes that seemed dark and dangerous compared to the men. Dressed from head to toe in clothes Chloe made a guess cost at least three months of her salary, Charlotte immediately made her feel inadequate in her little black dress, not to mention young.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Charlotte apologised before flashing Chloe a smile that barely reached her lips. ‘I hope you’ve ordered my usual. I’m starving.’
Before she sat down, Chloe caught the glance that passed between brother and sister and a rush of despair shrouded her bare shoulders. She shot Jack a look of help-me-out-here, but he continued his conversation with Matt.
‘So, when did you meet my father?’ Charlotte enquired as the waiter poured her a glass of house wine.
‘At the beginning of the autumn term. I’m studying for a diploma in business studies.’
‘You help to run a coffee shop in Somerley,’ Matt said as he turned to face her. ‘Dad says it’s getting quite a good reputation. Are you enjoying it?’
‘Very much,’ said Chloe, relieved he had joined in the conversation. ‘I’ve been there nearly four months. There are two of us who work full time and then there’s Lucy who works part-time – plus the owner, Lily. It’s working out well.’
‘You seem to have captured a good niche in the market. I’ll have to call around one day.’
‘You ought to pop in,’ Jack spoke directly to Charlotte. ‘You’d love the home made banana muffins.’
Charlotte raised her glass in silent tribute.
Their food arrived and the conversation slowed to strained chit-chat. By the time dessert had been eaten, Chloe wished that the good-natured ambience radiating from the rowdy seven sitting two tables away, would find its way over to their table. She wondered if perhaps she could order it from Leonard’s vast menu.
‘That was lovely,’ she patted her stomach in appreciation once she’d finished. ‘Though there must be a thousand calories in that toffee sauce alone.’
Apart from weak smiles from the men, the comment went largely ignored. By the time Jack excused himself and left the table, Charlotte’s furious expression was enough to curdle the cream that she was adding to her coffee.
‘Just what the hell is your game?’ she whispered loudly when she was sure she was out of her father’s range. ‘You’re making him look a fool!’
‘I don’t think –’ Chloe started.
‘He’s far too old for you. He’s far too old for me, in fact. I can’t believe you’d even consider such a relationship. Just what is it you’re after? A father figure? Experience? Money? Because if you think you’re going to use him as a sugar daddy, then you’re very much mistaken.’
Chloe was taken aback by her accusations. ‘I happen to come from a very wealthy background,’ she spoke out in her defence, knowing a little white lie wouldn’t go amiss. Her dad wasn’t that rich. ‘If all I wanted was money, I’d have asked my own father.’
‘Oh, don’t play the innocent with me.’ Charlotte’s eyes bore into hers. ‘What else could you possibly be interested in apart from that?’
‘There are a lot of things –’
‘Did you know about this?’ Charlotte cut in again, turning her fury onto her brother.
Matt sat back in resignation and threw his napkin onto the table. ‘I had no idea. But, surely, you can’t blame Chloe?’
‘I’m not blaming her. I just think the whole thing is disgusting.’
&nb
sp; ‘It’s his choice, Charlotte. We don’t have to like it.’
‘Too fucking right we don’t.’
A few diners in their vicinity paused to wonder if they had actually heard her swear. Charlotte’s eyes flicked around in embarrassment. She lowered her voice before adding, ‘She’s practically the same age as me.’ She looked at Chloe again. ‘That is, unless she’s lied about that. I told you her sort will do anything to get a man with money.’
Chloe lowered her eyes.
‘How old are you?’
‘I’m twenty-five,’ she lied.
Chloe hadn’t wanted to tell Jack her proper age in case it had put him off. Now she was wondering why the hell she had lied about it. She knew it would backfire at some stage.
‘Right,’ said Charlotte. ‘And my hair’s purple with red stripes. Tell me the truth.’
‘I am telling you the –’
‘That’s enough!’ Matt said. Most of the diners had now stopped to stare over in voyeuristic interest.
Charlotte put her hand up to her mouth and drew across an imaginary zip. ‘My lips are sealed.’
‘Well, mine aren’t.’ Chloe stood up and threw her napkin across the table. ‘Is what we’re doing so terrible?’ She looked from one to the other and then back again. ‘I’ve only been out with him a few times. I’m not planning on marrying him.’
Charlotte snorted as she spat out her drink. ‘Marrying him?’ she repeated, wiping her mouth. ‘Listen, honey. There is absolutely no chance of you ever being included in this family.’
Chloe stayed headstrong, although she could feel herself crumbling inside. ‘That’s up to Jack.’
‘You’re damned right it is. He must be losing his mind to –’
‘To what? To sleep with me?’
Matt’s jaw dropping only angered Chloe more. She glared at Charlotte as she stood tall. ‘I’m not trying to trap him, if that’s what you think.’
‘You’d better not try it.’
Charlotte stared back and a battle of wills began.
‘Sit down, Chloe,’ said Matt, trying to take control of the situation. ‘Causing a scene will only make things worse. Charlotte is right. You are too young – surely you can see that? He’s forty-three and –’
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