Physically, he was indeed the perfect man for the job.
Pru sighed. What a shame he had to be Liam. Anyone else with those attributes wouldn’t have stood a chance of escape.
‘Oh dear,’ Liam murmured, teasing her. ‘Big sigh. Decisions, decisions.’
His arms were sliding around her waist. Carefully, Pru extricated herself.’No thanks, Liam.’
He looked perplexed.
‘Are you sure?’
She unclipped the earrings and held them out to him. ‘I’m sure.’
‘What are you doing?’
‘You’d better have these back,’ said Pru.
Liam started to laugh.
‘Keep them! I don’t bribe women to sleep with me. I was only trying to do you a favour.’ Still smiling, he clipped the earrings back on to Pru’s ear lobes.
‘Ouch.’ She winced as his fingers slipped. The left one pinched like a crab claw.
‘Sorry. There, that’s better. Like I said, you’re an attractive girl. All you need is that extra boost of confidence.’
I think you just gave me that when I turned you down, thought Pru, returning his smile. Good old Liam, you couldn’t hate him. What you saw was what you got. He’d certainly never pretended to be anything other than what he was – the ultimate good-time boy.
Aloud she said, ‘Thanks.’
They had been gone for almost an hour. Quite unable to concentrate on work, Eddie was pacing his office like a caged leopard when he heard the familiar sound of Pru’s decrepit Mini rattling into the courtyard. In less than a second he was at the window, his hands pressed against the cold glass.
Liam was wearing a different sweatshirt, a yellow one.
He and Pru were laughing together about something.
Now Liam was leaning across, pushing his fingers through Pru’s dark hair.
Eddie’s stomach executed a violent double somersault. What was going on? Why was Liam stroking Pru’s left ear in that uncharacteristically tender fashion?
More to the point, thought Eddie frantically, why the bloody hell is she letting him?
* * *
‘Do you know,’ said Liam, ‘I’ve never been turned down before.’
‘Oh dear.’ Pru looked sorrowful. ‘Have I blotted your copybook?’
He grinned. ‘Bloody right. Do me a favour, will you? Keep it to yourself.’
‘I won’t tell. And you,’ Pru reminded him, ‘mustn’t say anything about my ears.’
‘Deal,’ said Liam. He managed to yank open the passenger door. When he had climbed out, he turned and added cheerfully, ‘It’s our secret, sweetheart. Just between us.’
The wind had changed. Earlier when Eddie had strained to overhear Liam’s conversation with Pru, he hadn’t been able to catch any of it.
This time, having heard only too clearly more than he wanted to hear, he turned away from the window. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach like a lorryload of wet sand.
So much for thinking he had a chance with Pru. Liam — God help her – had clearly got there first.
‘Hi,’ said Pru, appearing in the doorway still breathless from the stairs. ‘I’m back.’
Her cheeks glowed pink. She looked bright-eyed and incredibly happy. Like a fresh-faced teenager in love with the school cricket captain, thought Eddie. He felt horribly old and tired in comparison.
‘Hi.’ He forced a smile. ‘Good holiday?’
Pru’s flush deepened.
‘Great, thanks.’
She wasn’t particularly brown, but she looked well. Eddie noticed she was wearing her hair differently, tucked behind her ears. All the better for Liam McPherson to fondle them, no doubt, he thought with a spasm of jealousy.’Nice earrings.’
‘Oh! Thanks.’ Pru’s eyes sparkled, and all of a sudden Eddie knew who had given them to her.
The sick feeling in his stomach intensified and he sat down behind his desk, flicking abstractedly through his diary.
‘Is everything all right?’
‘Fine. Just fine.’
‘Um ... it’s almost midday,’ Pru ventured. Something was wrong but she couldn’t imagine what.
‘Aren’t I supposed to be driving you to a meeting in Oxford?’
Eddie had cancelled the meeting. He had planned, in a surge of hopeless optimism, to whisk Pru out somewhere wonderful for lunch.
‘It’s been rescheduled,’ he said brusquely. ‘I’m seeing them on Monday instead.’
