Sex, Spooks and Sauvignon (Adventures of an Accidental Medium Book 1)

by Tracy Whitwell

  ‘Good. She seems like a top woman.’

  ‘She is.’

  We sit in silence for a bit. Then he reaches over and kisses me on the lips. It’s a little awkward.

  ‘I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but I’m going to miss you, Tanz. A lot.’

  I’ve allowed things to drift over the past week, what with one thing and another, but it’s still lovely to be liked by someone so gorgeous. ‘If you weren’t leaving the country I think I could have become a bit over-attached, Pat.’

  He takes my hand. ‘I bet you’d be a great travelling partner.’

  I sigh. ‘I don’t have the money. And I have to be a grown up and work. I can’t just run off.’

  ‘Thank God for Skype, then!’

  I look at him and smile. I am genuinely pleased for him, because he’s a wonderful lad. He deserves to see the world. But there are a lot of people and a lot of adventures out there and I doubt he’ll be thinking about Skyping me after about a fortnight of the ‘new’ him.

  ‘I reckon we’re better off thinking about tonight than the future, Pat. I’ve got you for six hours or so. Let’s make it a good six hours.’

  He beams and pulls something out of his back pocket, offering it to me.

  ‘It’s from Cait. She says she hopes you’re not offended.’

  I unseal the plain white envelope with my name scrawled on the back. She writes like a teacher. It’s a letter.

  Dear Tanz,

  You have been so lovely to me and my brother and helped us immensely in our grief. I don’t know if Pat told you, but we have money in a trust from Dad. It wouldn’t dent the pot at all to get you a return flight to Bangkok any time over the next month with a connecting flight to Koh Samui. We would love to do this as a token of our appreciation; a word from you and it will be booked. Just so you can spend a week or two on your favourite beach. Please tell me at your earliest convenience if/when you would like to go. My phone number is enclosed.

  Love, Cait x

  I stare at Pat. I’m shocked.

  ‘I told her about your love of Thailand. She says you gave her something precious so she wanted to do the same back. She says it’s a gift from Dad.’

  ‘Pat, I can’t accept this.’

  ‘Please don’t be alarmed; it’s not me trying to make you be my bird or anything. You can come as my friend, you can come as my beautiful Geordie lady or you can ignore me totally for the whole time. But I – we – just want you to have a nice time on holiday. We hope you’ll accept the tickets as a thank you.’

  I’m gobsmacked. ‘This is the nicest thing anyone has ever offered to do for me.’

  He smiles and puts his arm around me. ‘Now you know what it feels like.’

  I kiss him hard and wrap myself around him. I know there’s no way I’ll accept the tickets, for a multitude of complex and not so complex reasons.

  ‘We’re going home right this minute, Pat. I am going to sex you into oblivion.’

  Mr Tricorn Hat, resplendent in full highwayman gear, snorts loudly into his pint, which splashes onto the table, barely missing his laptop. I smile over at him.

  ‘Hello! And good night!’

  Pat has to leave soon. His sister is taking him to the airport. Almost definitely accompanied by a waterfall of tears. For tonight, at least, I am going to forget the carpet and the bluebells and the smell of death and the droopy eyed murderer with his head in a noose.

  I am going to savour Pat’s gorgeous body and his lovely face and do whatever I want with him.

  PHWOARRR.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you Don and Flynn, my two stars. Love you.

  Thank you Rebecca Lloyd for having the best taste in writers and for bringing me in to the fabulous world of Accent Press.

  Thank you Caroline Smailes for being so helpful and for believing in my book from the start.

  Thank you Roz for being so generous and helpful from the first draft. You made me take the next step.

  Thank you Lee for being Lee, I mean Milo, I mean Lee. My dear and special friend who always makes things better.

  Thank you to my family for giving me a wealth of material to work with!

  Thank you Ross Collins for dedicating your totally wonderful book to me and not getting enough thanks at the time.

  Thank you Philippa, for introducing me to all things ‘other’. What an adventure.

  Thank you Paul Burgess for being a fantastically talented fella.

  And…

  Thank you wine, sex and spooks. You’ve improved my life no end. (But maybe not in that order.)

  For more information about Tracey Whitwell

  and other Accent Press titles

  please visit

  www.accentpress.co.uk

  ISBN 9781786150332

  Copyright © Tracy Whitwell 2016

  The right of Tracy Whitwell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.