by Jill Mansell
Upstairs in Lola’s living room, clutching his motorcycle helmet and looking sheepish, Marcus said, ‘All right, mate? The thing is, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.’
‘Go on then,’ prompted Gabe.
‘Well, me and Carol are back together, she’s giving me one last chance. And I’m taking it. Turning over a new leaf. Cool, right? So that’s the good news.’ An embarrassed grin spread across Marcus’s shiny face. ‘But that means I won’t be moving in here after all, mate. Sorry about that.’
Gabe shrugged, having already pretty much guessed what Marcus had come here to say. ‘Well, I suppose I can’t blame you. Bit short notice, seeing as I’m off next week.’
‘I know. Sorry, mate.’
‘I’ll have to register with a lettings agency now.’
‘I might know someone who could move in.’ Eager to help, Marcus said, ‘There’s a guy at my motorcycling club whose parents are keen to get rid of him. He could be interested.’
Lola pictured a spotty gangly teenager inviting hundreds of his spotty gangly mates round for parties. ‘How old is he?’
‘Terry? Early fifties. Don’t look like that,’ Marcus caught the face Lola was pulling at Gabe. ‘Terry’s a good bloke. And he works in a slaughterhouse,’ he went on encouragingly, ‘so you’d never go short of pork chops.’
***
The car, a gleaming black Mercedes, arrived at seven thirty on the dot. It wasn’t a stretch limo, but it was without a doubt the cleanest, most valeted car Lola had ever been in, and knowing that she wouldn’t have to pay a huge taxi fare at the end made it an even more pleasurable journey. She sat back as the car purred along, feeling like royalty and quite tempted to wave graciously at the poor people trudging along the pavements on the other side of the tinted glass.
The house, when they reached it, was a huge double-fronted Victorian affair in Barnes, as impressive as Lola had imagined. There were plenty of cars in the driveway and discreet twinkling white Christmas lights studding the bay trees in square stone tubs that flanked the super-shiny dark blue front door. Lola was hoping to be sophisticated enough, one day, to confine herself to discreet white Christmas lights; as it was, she was more of a gaudy, every-color-you-can-think-of girl and all of it as über-bling as humanly possible.
She tried to tip Ken, the driver, but he wouldn’t accept her money. Which felt even weirder than not having to pay the fare.
Even the brass doorbell was classy. Lola clutched her Accessorize sequined handbag to her side—as if anyone was likely to steal it here—and took a couple of deep breaths. It wasn’t like her to be on edge. How bizarre that attempting to beat up a couple of muggers hadn’t been nerve-racking, yet this was.
Then the door opened and there was Mr Nicholson with his lovely welcoming smile, and she relaxed.
‘Lola, you’re here! How wonderful to see you again. I’m so glad you were able to come along tonight.’ He gave her a kiss on each cheek. ‘And you look terrific.’
Compared with the last time he’d seen her, she supposed she must. Not having uncombed, blood-soaked hair was always a bonus.
‘It’s good to see you too, Mr Nicholson.’
‘Please call me Philip. Now, my wife doesn’t know I’ve invited you. You’re our surprise guest of honor.’ His grey eyes sparkled as he led her across the wood-panelled hall to a door at the far end. ‘I can’t wait to see her reaction when she realizes who you are.’
Philip Nicholson pushed open the door and drew Lola into a huge glittering drawing room full of people, all chattering away and smartly dressed. A thirty-something blond in aquamarine touched his arm and raised her eyebrows questioningly; when he nodded, she grinned at Lola and whispered, ‘Ooh, I’m so excited, this is going to be great!’
‘My stepdaughter,’ Philip murmured by way of explanation. Nodding again, this time in the direction of the fireplace, he added, ‘That’s my wife over there, in the orange frock.’
Orange, bless him. Only a man could call it that. The woman, standing with her back to them and talking to another couple, was slim and elegant in a devoré velvet dress in delectable shades of russet, bronze, and apricot. Her hair was fashioned in a glamorous chignon and she was wearing pearls around her neck that even from this distance you could tell were real.
Then Philip said, ‘Darling…’ and she swiveled round to look at him. In an instant Lola was seventeen again.
Adele Tennant’s gaze in turn fastened on Lola and she took a sharp audible intake of breath.
‘My God, what’s going on here?’ Her voice icy with disbelief, she turned pointedly back to Philip Nicholson. ‘Did she just turn up on the doorstep? Are you mad, letting her into the house?’
Poor Philip, his shock was palpable. Lola, who was pretty stunned too, couldn’t work out who she felt more sorry for: him or herself.
‘How did you find out where I live?’ Adele’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘How did you track me down? My God, you have a nerve. This is a private party—’
‘Adele, stop it,’ Philip intervened at last, raising his hands in horrified protest. ‘This was meant to be a surprise. This is Lola Malone, she—’
‘I know it’s Lola Malone! I’m not senile, Philip! And if she’s come here chasing after my son… well, I can tell you, she’s got another think coming.’
Yeek, Dougie! As if she’d just been zapped with an electric cattle prod, Lola spun round; was he here in this room? No, no sign of him unless he’d gone bald or had a sex change.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Philip Nicholson shook his head at Lola by way of apology. ‘This is all most unfortunate. Adele, will you stop interrupting and listen? I don’t know what’s gone on in the past but I invited Lola here tonight because she’s the one who came to the rescue when you were mugged.’ His voice breaking with emotion he said, ‘She saved your life.’
And what’s more, thought Lola, she’s starting to wish she hadn’t bothered.
OK, mustn’t say that. At least Philip’s pronouncement had succeeded in shutting Adele up; while her brain was busy assimilating this unwelcome information her mouth had snapped shut like a bronze-lipglossed trap.
‘I thought you’d like the opportunity to thank her in person,’ Philip went on, and all of a sudden he sounded like a headmaster saddened by the disruptive behavior of a vociferous teenager.
People were starting to notice now. The couple Adele had been talking to were avidly observing the proceedings. The blonde who was Philip’s stepdaughter—crikey, that meant she was Dougie’s older sister—came over and said, puzzled, ‘Mum? Is everything all right?’
‘Fine.’ Recovering herself, Adele managed the most frozen of smiles and looked directly at Lola. ‘So it was you. Well… what can I say? Thank you.’
‘No problem.’ That didn’t sound quite right but what else could she say? My pleasure?
‘It was such a brave thing you did,’ exclaimed Dougie’s sister. What was her name? Sally, that was it. ‘I can’t bear to think what might have happened to Mum if you hadn’t dived in like that. You were amazing!’
Lola managed to maintain a suitably modest smile, while her memory busily rewound to that eventful night ten days ago. Euurrgh, she had stroked Adele’s ankle, she had squeezed Adele Tennant’s thigh…
Except she wasn’t Adele Tennant any more. She was Adele Nicholson.
‘So you remarried,’ said Lola, longing to ask about Doug and feeling her stomach clench just at the thought of him.
‘Four years ago.’ Adele was being forced to be polite now, in a through-gritted-teeth, I-really-wish-you-weren’t-here kind of way.
‘Congratulations.’ Lola wondered what Philip, who was lovely, had done to deserve Cruella de Vil as a wife. Presumably Adele did have redeeming qualities; she just hadn’t encountered them yet.
‘Thank you
. Well, it’s… nice to see you again. Can we offer you a drink? Or,’ Adele said hopefully, ‘do you have to rush off?’
Rushing off suddenly seemed a highly desirable thing to do. Excellent idea. Since every minute here was clearly set to be an excruciating ordeal, Lola looked at her watch and said, ‘Actually, there is somewhere else I need to—’
‘Here he is!’ cried Sally, her face lighting up as she waved across the room to attract someone’s attention. ‘Yoohoo, we’re over here! And what sort of time do you call this anyway? You’re late.’
Lola didn’t need to turn around. She knew who it was. Some inner certainty told her that Dougie had entered the drawing room; she could feel his presence behind her. All of a sudden every molecule in her body was on high alert and she was no longer breathing.
Dougie. Doug. Whom she’d thought she’d never see again.
‘Sorry, I was held up at a meeting. Some of us have a proper job. Hi, everyone, how’s it going? What have I missed?’
Chapter 8
Lola was zinging all over; now she’d completely forgotten how to breathe. Except how embarrassing if she keeled over in a dead faint in front of everyone; when a woman had done that in the shop last summer she’d lost control of her bladder.
Imagine coming round, surrounded by Dougie and his family, and discovering you were lying in a puddle of wee.
But this was the kind of situation you needed time to prepare yourself for, time she hadn’t been allowed, and now she was doing her usual thing of being inappropriately flippant. Whereas in reality she was filled with a mixture of giddy excitement—maybe twenty per cent—and eighty per cent fear and trepidation. Because as far as Dougie was concerned, she’d left him without a word, dumped him and run off abroad without a proper explanation. Had ten years been long enough for him to forgive her for that?
‘Well.’ Winking at Lola, Sally spoke with relish. ‘Philip invited along a surprise guest…’
Who turned out to be one very surprised guest. Lola dug her nails into her palms—welcome the pain, welcome the pain and don’t pass out—and turned round to look at him.
‘Hello, Dougie.’
For a split second their eyes locked and it was as if the last decade had never happened. Doug looked the same but taller, broader, better. He’d always had the looks, the ability to stop girls dead in their tracks, and now here he was, having that exact same effect, doing it to her all over again.
Except it would be nice if he could be smiling, looking a bit less stony faced than this.
OK, maybe not very likely, but nice all the same. Even if just to be polite.
‘Lola.’ Doug’s shoulders stiffened as if she were a tax inspector. Taking care to keep his voice neutral he said, ‘What brings you here?’
Oh God, this was awful, all the old tumultuous feelings were flooding back. She’d never been able to forget Dougie; he’d been her first love.
What’s more, seeing as it had never really happened again since, her One and Only.
‘I did,’ said Philip. ‘Sorry, I hope this isn’t awkward, but I had no idea you two knew each other. Anyway, surely that’s irrelevant now.’ He cast a warning glance at Adele with her mouth like a prune and rested a hand reassuringly on Lola’s shoulder. ‘Under the circumstances I’m sure we can put the past behind us. Doug, this is the young lady who came to your mother’s rescue when she was attacked.’
Dougie’s expression altered. ‘God, really? That was you? We didn’t know. That’s incredible.’
‘The police told me her name was Lauren something or other,’ Adele said prunily and with a hint of accusation, as if Lola had done it on purpose.
‘It is, but I’ve been called Lola since I was a baby. It was a nickname that just stuck.’
‘Well, thanks for doing what you did.’ There was a warmth in Dougie’s eyes now, breaking through the initial wariness. ‘From what I hear, you were pretty fantastic.’
Oh, I was. Shaking inwardly, Lola did her best to look fantastic but at the same time incredibly self-effacing. Dougie was gorgeous and now fate had brought them back together. The break-up had happened a decade ago; they’d practically been children then. Surely Doug would forgive her for chucking him. ‘Well, when someone needs help you just go for it, you don’t stop to wonder what—’
‘Ooh, I’ve got it now!’ Sally let out a mini-squeal of recognition and pointed excitedly at Lola. ‘You’re the one I never got to meet! You were going out with my little brother when I was living in Dublin with Tim the Tosser! Then you did a bunk and broke his heart!’
Oh don’t say that, please don’t say that. I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to do it, Lola longed to blurt out. It broke my heart too!
Doug said dryly, ‘Thanks, Sal.’
‘Oh, come on, it was years and years ago, all in the past now. And she did break your heart.’ Sally gave him a jab in the ribs, visibly relishing his discomfort. ‘You were a complete pain, don’t you remember? All because you couldn’t believe your girlfriend had given you the elbow and buggered off abroad.’ She nudged Lola and added cheerfully, ‘Did him the world of good, if you ask me.’
‘That’s funny,’ said Doug, ‘because I don’t remember anyone asking you.’
‘That’s enough.’ Adele intervened before the bickering could start. ‘Doug, the Mastersons have to leave very soon but they really want to see you before they go.’
‘I’ll do that now. As soon as I’ve got myself a drink.’ Evidently glad of the reprieve, Doug glanced at Lola and Sally, and said, ‘Excuse me. I’ll see you later.’
They watched Doug cross the room with Adele, while Philip went in search of a waiter.
‘That’s one rattled brother,’ Sally observed gleefully. ‘God, I love it when that happens!’
Guilt and pain swirled up through Lola’s stomach. ‘Did I really break his heart?’
‘Too right you did! Talk about miserable! Ooh, is that yours?’
Lola’s phone was chirruping in her bag. She took it out and Gabe’s name flashed up at her.
‘Feel free.’ Sally made encouraging answer-it gestures.
‘Thanks. Sorry, I’ll just take it outside for a minute.’ Longing to confide in Gabe, Lola excused herself and escaped the party. She crossed the hall, quietly let herself out of the house—better safe than sorry—and answered the phone.
‘I know, I’m early,’ said Gabe. ‘Couldn’t wait. So how’s it going? Are they showering you with diamonds?’
She grimaced in the darkness. ‘Diamonds, wouldn’t that be nice. More like bullets.’
‘What? Why?’
‘You won’t believe what’s happening here.’ Lola kept walking to warm herself up, around the side of the house and along a narrow stone path leading beneath a hand-carved wooden archway into a rose garden. ‘The woman who was mugged only turns out to be the mother of an old boyfriend of mine. And she loathed me! If I’d known it was her I’d have run in the other direction. You should have seen her face tonight when she found out I was the one who’d gone to help her!’
‘So you’re leaving? Do I feel a contraction coming on?’
‘Hang on, don’t start boiling kettles just yet. I was going to leave,’ said Lola. ‘God, it was awful, I couldn’t wait to get out of here. And it went without saying that the Wicked Witch couldn’t wait to be shot of me.’ She paused, reliving the moment her stomach had done a Red Arrows swoop-and-dive. ‘But then it happened. He turned up. Oh Gabe, I can’t describe how it felt. I thought I’d never see Dougie again, but now I have. And he’s more gorgeous than ever. It’s like a miracle… I can’t believe he’s here. So I’m not going to leave now, even though his hateful mother wishes I would. I’ve got to talk to Doug properly… he’s only just arrived and it’s been a bit awkward so far. We’re all pretty stunned at the moment. But… oh God, it’s jus
t so amazing seeing him again, I haven’t been this excited since—’
‘Hey, hey, calm down, do you not think you’re getting a bit carried away? If this guy dumped you before, what makes you think he’s going to be thrilled to see you again?’ As a heterosexual man who had dumped hundreds of weeping females in his time, Gabe said warningly, ‘What makes you think he’ll even want to talk to you?’
‘Gabe, you don’t understand. He isn’t an ex-boyfriend. He’s the ex-boyfriend. Plus, he didn’t dump me. I was the one who left him.’ Lola swallowed. ‘According to his sister I broke his heart.’
‘And now you’ve taken one look at him and decided you want him back. Trust me,’ said Gabe, ‘that’s a recipe for disaster. You can never go back. Whatever annoyed you about this guy before will only annoy you again.’
‘For heaven’s sake, will you stop lecturing me? This is my first love we’re talking about here! We were crazy about each other. Dougie was about to start at Edinburgh University,’ Lola paced up and down the flagstoned path in an attempt to keep warm, ‘and we planned to visit each other every weekend, but if that wasn’t enough I was going to move up there to be with him. You have no idea how happy we were together.’
She heard Gabe snort with derision. ‘So happy that you finished with him. That makes sense.’
‘But that’s just it, I didn’t want to finish with him. His bloody mother made me do it!’ Lola squeezed her eyes shut as the long-ago hideous encounter in Adele Tennant’s car swam back into her brain; the smell of expensive leather upholstery had haunted her ever since. ‘She hated me, thought I was a bad influence on her precious golden boy… she was terrified I’d put him off his studies or, even worse, persuade him to jack in university altogether.’
‘So she asked you to stop seeing her son. Erm,’ said Gabe, ‘did it ever occur to you to say no?’
‘She didn’t ask me. She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.’ Lola hated even thinking about that bit; had spent years doing her best to banish it from her mind.