If the Shoes Fit

by Pauline Lawless

  She rang her old friend, Luke O’Brien, a pilot that she’d often worked with and a real sweetie. He was delighted to hear from her and she told him what she was doing.

  “So, I was thinking that maybe you’d be interested in buying shoes for Emma this Christmas. I remember how you never knew what to get for her,” she laughed.

  Luke was silent for a moment. “Haven’t you heard, Amber? Emma and I divorced earlier this year.”

  “Oh my God, Luke, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t heard,” she said, her voice shocked. “How are you coping?”

  “Fine – considering,” he said.

  He didn’t sound it.

  “I understand, believe me. I’ve been in the same boat,” Amber told him, her voice gentle. “You know Dermot and I divorced last year?”

  “Yes, I heard and I’m sorry, Amber,” he said guiltily. “I should have contacted you but with the problems in my own marriage at the time . . . Well, you know how it is.”

  “I sure do! We must meet up some time and compare notes. I take it you won’t be in the market for designer shoes then?”

  “Actually, I might. I need to buy a present for my co-pilot, Fiona. I’ve been racking my brains trying to think what to get her this Christmas. Designer shoes might be just the thing for her.” He sounded relieved.

  “Great! Would you like me to call around and show you what I have?” Amber asked. “I’m free Thursday night.”

  “Yeah. Look, why don’t I try and get some of my buddies round for a beer. Who knows, maybe they’ll be interested in buying for their other halves too. You know how hopeless we men are in that department,” he laughed. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

  Amber was delighted. What a pet he is, she thought. That Emma was a damn fool to let him go. She must ask Susie to fill her in on the details.

  Luke rang back that evening. “Thursday night it is,” he told her. “The guys all think it’s a great idea.” He hesitated. “Would you like to come around for a bite to eat first?”

  “That would be lovely. It will give us a chance to catch up. What time?”

  “Six okay?” Luke asked.

  “Great. See you then!” Amber said, looking forward to meeting him again.

  Lesley came off the phone smiling broadly.

  “Yeeesssss!” she cried, punching the air with her hand.

  She’d been talking to her sister, Yvonne, giving her a blow-by-blow account of her date last night with Pete. And what a night it was! Yvonne had been green with envy when she’d heard about Pete. She’d never scored with an accountant and Lesley could hear the jealousy in her sister’s voice. There was fierce rivalry between the two sisters. In fact, there was fierce rivalry between Lesley and whoever else she came up against. She was ambitious and greedy and always had to be top-dog. Scoring with Pete had been a huge feather in her cap.

  She’d seen him chatting up Niamh the night of the dinner but to her relief Niamh had turned him down primly. Why were men so stupid? They all fell for that little-girl-big-vulnerable-eyes look that Niamh had. They felt that she needed protection. Bah! She was stronger than any of them. Then she saw him chatting up Amber and realised that he fancied her too – the stuck-up cow. Ha! She’ll realise soon enough that she has me to reckon with, Lesley thought. Thank God, Amber hadn’t come to La Cave after the dinner that night. She hadn’t and now Pete was all hers.

  They’d been so hot for each other in the nightclub that the bouncers had asked them to cool it on the dance floor. She smiled, remembering, and then they’d had sex in the back of his car afterwards. It had been so exciting. She shivered at the memory. They’d met for a drink last week and had sex again – in the back of his car – again. Okay, it was a gorgeous BMW but she was beginning to want more. She would like him to take her out somewhere nice and have sex somewhere other than the back of his Beamer. When he’d rung on Monday to ask her to meet him last night, she’d decided to put her foot down. He had to show her some respect.

  “I’d really like to go out somewhere nice and make love in a bed for a change,” she’d informed him.

  “Sweetheart, we have to be discreet,” he’d replied. “After all, you’re a married woman. We have to be careful.”

  “It doesn’t bother me,” she’d said sulkily.

  Pete felt a little alarmed at this but his need to have her again overcame his fears.

  “Okay, tell you what. I’ll book us in somewhere nice if you can organise to stay the night. Can you manage that, sweetie?” he asked.

  She was thrilled. “No problem,” she’d replied, excited at the prospect.

  It was even better than she’d hoped. She’d had a fabulous night. He certainly knew how to please a woman and she’d hardly been able to walk this morning, after all the sex. She’d delighted in telling Yvonne all the intimate details and hearing the envy in her sister’s voice. She’d been on a high all day and had expected him to call, but he hadn’t and she was getting anxious. She tried calling him but got his voicemail. She could barely concentrate on her work because of him and she absolutely had to, if she was to top the sales league and win that car. She was determined to win though she knew that Amber and that namby-pamby Niamh and even that long-legged gazelle, Tessa, were out to challenge her. She wasn’t worried about them though. She felt very confident of winning.

  Chapter 21

  Luke enveloped Amber in a big bear hug when she arrived at his house in Sutton on Thursday night.

  “God, you’re a sight for sore eyes. You look marvellous,” he said, taking her coat and the bottle of wine she proffered. “Single life is obviously agreeing with you!”

  “You should have seen me two months ago,” she replied, grimacing. “I was a mess.”

  He poured them both a glass of wine and led her into the kitchen where he was putting the finishing touches to a delicious-smelling Thai curry.

  “Let me serve this up and you can tell me all while we eat,” he said.

  “Gosh, I never knew you could cook like this,” Amber exclaimed, sniffing at the pot.

  “Necessity, I’m afraid,” he said ruefully. “I have about five signature dishes and that’s it.”

  Over dinner, they exchanged the stories of their marriage break-ups. She told him of her drinking, holding back nothing. She described her downward spiral until this job which, she said, had saved her. It was amazing how easily they slipped back into their old close friendship. It was as if they’d seen each other only last week, not ten years ago. She told him about Grace, this new venture of hers and of her great life in Italy.

  “She’s as elegant as ever,” Amber told him. He’d always been very fond of Grace but had lost touch with her also. “Mmmm – this curry is divine – best I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Thank you.” Luke glowed with pleasure at the compliment. “I’m sorry we lost contact, Amber, but I don’t know if you knew that Emma was always very jealous of you. That’s why I drifted away. It just wasn’t worth the hassle from her,” he said, shaking his head. “I remember how pleased she was when you resigned.”

  “Silly,” she replied, as she held her plate out for another portion of the delicious curry.

  “Yes, indeed,” he agreed. “How did you stop drinking? Did you go to AA?”

  “No. I just stopped. I wasn’t quite an alcoholic, though I was certainly headed that way.” She grimaced. “Funny, I’m so involved in this business now that it never crosses my mind to pour myself a drink. I love a glass of wine if I’m out for a meal or if I’m out with friends, of course, but I don’t drink on my own any more.”

  “Good girl! I could have gone down that road too but with my job that would have been suicide.

  “Now, let’s see these shoes of yours,” he said, after they’d finished coffee and rose from the table.

  Luke would not have been a connoisseur of women’s shoes but as Amber opened the boxes he could see how beautifully made they were.

  “I’m not surprised,” he smiled. “Grace always did
have exquisite taste.”

  He chose the pale gold sandals for Fiona and then decided to buy two more pairs, for his sisters. He had found out Fiona’s size from one of her friends and he now rang his mother to find out his sisters’ sizes.

  “Size 38. Same as me,” she told him.

  He wondered if that was a hint.

  “I’d really love to get the grey patent ones for my mother,” he told Amber later, stroking the soft leather. “She adores shoes. But do you think they’re a bit high for a sixty-two-year-old?”

  “You’re never too old for a pair of glamorous heels and these are quite a classic style. Even though they’re high, they’re extremely comfortable,” Amber assured him. “If she doesn’t like them, I’ll take then back,” she added.

  “Okay, that settles it. I’ll take them too.” He rubbed his hands together. “Great, that’s most of my Christmas shopping done, then.” He smiled at her, pleased.

  “You’re a gem. This is so exciting,” Amber said happily.

  “Well, I’ve no doubt you’ll have many, many more sales,” he said. “You could sell snow to the Eskimos. I know you’ll be a great success.”

  She helped him clear away and set out the shoes so that his friends could see them. She should have known that Luke never did things by half. One hour later, there were twelve of his friends in the living-room, drinking beer and inspecting the shoes they were hoping to buy for their wives or girlfriends. Amber wondered if some of them were buying for both, as they bought two identical pairs, in two different sizes. Well, that’s none of my business, she decided. A sale is a sale!

  There was great merriment and joking and she had to model all the different styles for them. A few of them hit on her and she suspected that they asked for her number, not to phone in their girlfriend’s shoe size, as they claimed, but so that they could contact her.

  It was a huge success and she sold twenty pairs of shoes in total. She couldn’t believe it. Some of the guys told her that they had friends who they were sure would be interested and they took brochures with them and promised to contact her. When they had left, she hugged Luke and thanked him. “Your mother’s shoes are on me,” she told him.

  “Don’t be daft,” he replied. “I’m delighted to be able to help. And it was a great night, wasn’t it?” he smiled. “I’m delighted we’re back in touch.”

  “Me too,” she told him, kissing him goodbye.

  Pete picked Amber up at her apartment on Friday night. He let out a low whistle . . . “Very nice pad,” he said, handing her a bouquet of freesia.

  “Oh how lovely,” she said, burying her nose in their wonderful scent. “I love freesia!”

  “I had a feeling you were a freesia kind of girl,” he said, beaming his irresistible, boyish smile. He looked like a small boy who had done something wonderful and expected a pat on the head.

  Gosh, he’s charming, Amber thought. Tessa definitely has him all wrong.

  She’d decided not to say anything to any of the girls about her date with Pete, just in case it all went horribly wrong.

  They walked up to Gibney’s, her local pub, which was jam-packed as usual. They luckily found a seat and Pete ordered two glasses of Chardonnay.

  “I would have thought that you were a pint man,” she said laughingly.

  “Oh, I am,” he replied, “but when I’m out with a beautiful woman I like her to think that I’m sophisticated.” He gave her that quirky, boyish smile again and Amber laughed at his honesty.

  She relaxed then and started to enjoy herself. Pete was funny, and entertaining and charming, but she felt no sexual attraction towards him. The chemistry she felt with Carlo was missing. Pete had none of Carlo’s smouldering sexuality. He was rather more like an enthusiastic little boy.

  She enjoyed his company and she sensed that he was somehow lonely.

  “Have you never been married?” she asked him curiously.

  “No. I came close a couple of times but they had a lucky escape,” he grinned. “I suppose I’ve never met the right woman.”

  She thought she heard a wistful note in his voice.

  With a shock Pete realised, as he said this, that it was probably true. Looking at Amber, her blonde waves falling on her shoulders, blue eyes sparkling and her face alive and glowing – he wondered if she was the one. She was intelligent and bright and he loved her vivacious personality. She was certainly very different to the girls he usually dated.

  “How about you? Is there anyone special in your life?” he asked.

  “There was,” she replied, “but we divorced just over a year ago.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her. As soon as he said it he saw the closed expression that came onto her face and knew she didn’t want to go there.

  “No,” she replied.

  The waiter brought two more glasses of wine and they chatted comfortably. He told her about his sisters and had her laughing at their antics. He obviously loved them very much. She told him about her years in Aer Lingus and her travels. They were having such a good time that they decided to have one more glass.

  “I really should have a coffee as I’m driving but I don’t suppose there’s a hope in hell of getting one here,” he remarked, seeing how busy the bar staff were. “I haven’t had much to eat today.”

  “Me neither,” Amber told him. “Let’s have one more glass of wine and we can get fish and chips on the way home and I’ll ply you with coffee,” she giggled, feeling the effect of the wine.

  They left the pub in high spirits and bought ray and chips, in what Amber told him was the best chipper in Dublin.

  “Oh, you’re a real Dub,” he told her, grinning. “Do you know they don’t sell ray and chips anywhere else in Ireland? Only we Dubs are lucky enough to enjoy it.”

  “Lucky us,” she said, not able to resist picking at the fish as they walked home.

  “You’ll have to come up and see my shoes,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Oh, not your etchings?” he asked, laughing.

  “Definitely not,” she giggled. Then it dawned on her that maybe he expected her to give him more than a cup of coffee. Surely not, she thought with alarm. He must know I’m not that type of girl.

  They ate their fish and chips, both pouring vinegar on the chips. He was amazed at how alike their tastes were.

  As she was turning on the espresso machine he came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. She froze. Turning towards him, she said in a cool voice, “Pete, please. When I asked you up for coffee, I meant coffee. Nothing more!”

  Pete felt as though she’d doused him with icy water. He wasn’t used to this. They’d had a wonderful evening so why was she behaving like this? He’d half hoped that she’d ask him to stay the night. Looks like that’s not going to happen, he thought, feeling rejected. Did she not fancy him? He sure fancied the pants off her. She was perfect in every way. Maybe she was playing hard to get. That’s it, he thought. These classy birds didn’t like to let on that they had sexual feelings. She’d come round. She probably wanted to be wooed.

  They drank their coffee and got back to their previous easy conversation as if the moment hadn’t happened but Pete couldn’t help feeling a little rejected.

  Driving home he wondered whether Tim was right. Was he getting too old for this lark? Was he losing his touch? He broke into a sweat just thinking about it.

  Chapter 22

  On Saturday night Gavin answered the door to the most stunning woman he’d ever seen. He couldn’t have been more surprised if it had been Angelina Jolie herself.

  “Oh, I think you’ve got the wrong house,” he mumbled, overwhelmed by the gorgeous woman standing on his doorstep.

  “Tessa!” Niamh cried out, coming to the door and hugging this beautiful creature.

  Gavin was dumbfounded. Even Bridget was speechless for once. This woman could have been one of the stars walking down the Red Carpet on any of the awards shows that she watched on TV. She was beautif
ul. And calling for Niamh – well, I never, Bridget thought. Wonders will never cease!

  Gavin was even more impressed when he saw the car Tessa was driving. My God, a Porsche! I wouldn’t mind driving off with that babe, in that car, he thought enviously.

  “Nice car,” Niamh laughed, as she strapped herself into the passenger seat. “Gav is probably green with envy.”

  “Your husband is quite a looker,” Tessa remarked.

  “Oh, thanks!” said Niamh, blushing, but she looked a little troubled at the compliment.

  Tessa knew enough about men to recognise Gavin’s undeniable sex appeal. She wondered if Niamh had a problem keeping him for herself. She hoped not.

  As they crossed the M50 they chatted about how they’d done over the past two weeks and they both agreed that sales were much better than anything they’d expected.

  “I love it,” Niamh told her. “I can’t wait to get out of bed every morning to get going at it again.”

  “Me too!” Tessa agreed. “The response is even better than I’d hoped. I’m having a problem with my partner, however.” She sighed, her mouth turning down at the corners. “He really doesn’t want me doing it.”

  “Can’t you talk him round?” Niamh asked her. “I did with Gav.”

  “Unfortunately not. He’s a bit more set in his ways, I’m afraid. But I’ve no notion of giving it up,” Tessa said, her chin set defiantly.

  “I’m glad.”

  They arrived at Amber’s apartment just moments after Rosie and there was a great flurry of kisses and giggles as they all greeted each other. Tessa insisted that they see Amber’s shoe-room before they even sat down. They were as bowled over by it as every other woman who’d ever seen it.

  “My God, I’ve never seen the like,” Rosie exclaimed.

  “What size are you, Amber?” Niamh asked her and pretended to be crestfallen when Amber informed her that they were not the same size.

  Amber popped open a bottle of champagne and when she had handed them all a glass they toasted each other.

  “Okay, let’s hear all the news,” Amber said, looking at them expectantly.