Page 36 of Always Beth
Oh hell.Think fast, Beth. ‘Of course, I need more friends around the village.’
Poppy let’s out a quick yap and his expression falters as he looks back and forth between us. ‘Friends, of course.’
‘Thank you so much, David.’
‘I’ll collect her tomorrow afternoon?’
‘We’ll be waiting.’
Glancing over his shoulder, he hurries down the path. I bounce on the spot in anticipation as the thought of a weekend alone with James flashes through my mind.
‘Well done, Pops, you nailed it.’
I take the stairs two at a time as I race to my bedroom and pull the contents of my wardrobe on the bed. As I rifle through my clothes, panic sets in as I realise that marriage was a real dampener on my style. I collapse on the bed and claw at my hair in desperation.What the hell am I going to wear?Rolling on to my side, I open my bedside drawer and pull out my underwear. A wave of relief crashes over me as I spy the lace and silk lingerie. After I’ve emptied the contents into my suitcase, I spy my vibrator out the corner of my eye. After yesterday, using it will never be the same again. James Taylor has shown it up for the cheap bit of plastic it actually is. Butterflies swirl in my stomach as I wonder what the weekend is going to bring, because if our night together is anything to go by, then I’m in for the weekend of my life.
James
I’ve been waiting in the car for twenty minutes. From the position I’m parked, I can just about make out the cottage from the lane. As soon as Jacob arrives, I’m gone. I’m close enough to make sure Lauren’s okay, but far enough that he won’t see me. The noise of tyres on gravel rumbles behind me and I see a car approach in my rear-view mirror. Typical. Some flash sports car. I don’t know why I expected anything less. I hold my breath as he emerges from the driver’s seat and pauses as he stares up at the cottage. He hasn’t been here in years. Whilst we all moved on, it’s stood still, preserved in time, the same as it was when we were children. Turning, he looks out towards the lane, but doesn’t spot me and I slowly exhale with relief. He’s exactly the same and for a moment my chest tightens as I remember how I used to feel about him. Before Grace. As the door opens, he locks Lauren in a tight embrace and a pang of jealously emerges from nowhere. I turn the key over in the engine so forcefully that I’m surprised it doesn’t break clean off in my hand. I’m over this reunion already. They’ve got each other now.
I pull up outside Beth’s in under a minute and sound the horn. I’ve barely drawn a breath, now she’s standing by my window, clutching enough luggage for a week.
Stepping from the car, I take her bags. ‘Here, I’ll pop that in the boot.’ She races past me and slips into the passenger side. Through the car, I catch her eyeing me from the rear-view mirror, grinning at me like a Cheshire cat. Our night together must have had the desired effect as I usually receive a frostier welcome.
‘Ready?’ I say as I slip back into the driver’s seat.
Nodding enthusiastically, she clicks her seatbelt into place. ‘Yes, let’s go.’
We settle into a comfortable silence, which suits me fine, because as hard as I try, I can’t shift Jacob and Lauren from my thoughts.What are they doing now? Is my absence even noticeable?
‘Sweet?’
‘Huh?’ I spot a packet being thrust towards me from the corner of my eye. ‘No. Don’t get sugar everywhere either.’
‘Sorry, grumps.’ She wrestles the packet forcefully back into her bag.
I exhale heavily and glance at the time on the dashboard. We’ve another hour at least of this journey and unless I pull myself out of this mood, we’ll be turning around and going home before we get there.
‘Sorry, I’ve just got a lot on my mind.’
‘I know how you feel,’ she whispers.
It’s then I remember that I’m not doing this for me, this weekend is a chance for us both to forget.
‘Let’s put our worries aside until Monday. We’ve got all weekend, let’s make the most of it.’
Drawing her gaze away from the motorway traffic, she looks at me quizzically. ‘I thought we were preparing my case for Monday’s meeting?’
‘Beth, we’ll deal with that Monday. Do you really think I asked you to London over the weekend so we can bury ourselves knee-deep in paperwork? We’re going to relax, eat, drink, and not worry about anything.’
Her laughter fills the car and eases any remaining tension filling my body.
‘I’m glad I brought going out clothes,’ she says, finally.
My thoughts return to her copious baggage in the boot and I can’t help but think she’s over packed completely. Her eyes burn into me, settling on my wicked grin.
‘What?’ she says suspiciously.
‘You didn’t need any clothes for what I have in mind.’
