He grinned and Suzie gave an exaggerated shudder. ‘God forbid,’ she muttered, gulping her wine.
‘Have you ever thought about it?’ Rob asked, propping his elbow on the back of the sofa and resting his cheek on his hand. ‘What our kids might look like if we’d stuck it out, I mean?’
‘No.’ Suzie pulled a face. ‘It’s never even crossed my mind.’
‘I have,’ Rob said. ‘I reckon the first would be a girl who looked like you, and then we’d have a lad who looked like me.’
‘And would they tear each other to shreds like us?’ Suzie sniped. Immediately feeling guilty when Rob withdrew his arm and took a swig of lager without answering, she said, ‘Sorry. That was uncalled for.’
‘No, it wasn’t,’ he replied quietly. ‘I was a cunt, and you’ve got every reason to be glad we never got that far.’
‘We both had our faults. It wasn’t all you.’
‘Yeah, it was. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I blew it big time. Worst thing is, I don’t even know why I treated you like that. You hear people talking about a red mist coming down when they get mad, but with me it was like a raging inferno, and I couldn’t see or hear anything till I snapped out of it. I know it’s too late for us, but I am sorry. I hope you can believe that.’
His gaze was intense, and Suzie nodded and looked down into her glass. He sounded sincere and her instincts were telling her that he genuinely meant it. But she was starting to feel a little tipsy and wasn’t sure she could trust her own judgement.
‘I think I’d best go.’ Rob sat forward. ‘I came to apologize, not rake up all that old shit and make you feel uncomfortable.’
‘You’re not making me uncomfortable,’ Suzie insisted. ‘It’s all water under the bridge now. Forget about it.’
‘Wish I could,’ he said wistfully. ‘Truth is, you’re all I’ve thought about for weeks. That’s why I’m moving to Scotland: ’cos my mentor told me I need to get away from you.’
‘Cheeky sod!’
Amused by her indignation, Rob said, ‘He meant for your sake, not mine. He reckons you deserve the chance to move on without worrying about seeing my ugly mug every time you turn round. Anyway, I bumped into an old mate who works on the rigs and he told me they were hiring, so I applied online. They rang yesterday and asked me to go over for an interview. If I get it, I’ll be starting straightaway.’
‘On the rigs? As in oil rigs? In the middle of the sea?’
‘Well, that’s where the oil is, so, yeah. My mate reckons the weather gets a bit hairy at times, so I’m not looking forward to that. But the money’s top whack, and I won’t have any expenses while I’m offshore, so I’m sure I’ll get used to it.’
‘Sounds good,’ Suzie lied, unable to think of anything worse.
‘Not so good for the old love life, though, eh?’ Rob quipped. ‘Subject of, how’s yours these days?’ Laughing when Suzie almost choked on her wine, he sat back and crossed his legs. ‘I’m asking as a friend – honest. You deserve a bloke who treats you good, and I’ll be made up for you if you’ve found someone.’
‘I’m not looking for anyone,’ Suzie said, plucking a tissue out of the box on the table and wiping wine off her chin.
‘Same here. No one’ll ever match up to you, so what’s the point?’
‘Don’t say that. You’ve got a lot to offer the right woman.’
‘Already had her and lost her,’ said Rob. Then, grinning again, he said, ‘But I thought we were supposed to be giving that subject a swerve, so what did you think of the match the other night? Cracking goal, wasn’t it?’
‘Seriously?’ Suzie screwed up her face.
‘Neutral ground, baby.’ Rob winked at her. ‘Unless you’ve turned into a secret City fan behind my back? ’Cos that’d be a step too far, that.’
‘Idiot,’ Suzie snorted.
Laughing, Rob drained the last of the lager out of his can and nodded at her glass. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve got any more of that knocking about?’
‘The bottle’s in the kitchen,’ Suzie told him. ‘Help yourself.’
‘Not gonna join me?’
‘No, I’ve had enough. And it’s getting late, so I think I might try to get some sleep.’
‘Awww, don’t go yet,’ Rob moaned. ‘I’m wide awake here. Have one last drink with me. Please?’
He jutted out his bottom lip and gave her the puppy-dog eyes, and Suzie felt the butterflies stir in her stomach again.
‘OK,’ she heard herself agreeing as she rose unsteadily to her feet. ‘One more, then I’m definitely going to bed.’
That one last drink had inevitably turned into two, and then three, until, before Suzie knew it, they had finished two bottles between them and it was almost 4 a.m.
The alcohol, added to the cosiness of the room – and Rob’s presence in it – had slowly dismantled the wall Suzie had built around herself in his absence. She’d found herself relaxing as they reminisced about the past – focusing on the good bits while studiously avoiding the not-so-good. The sexual tension in the air had been so thick by the time the wine was finished, she fully expected Rob to make a move on her. But he was now stretching, and she guessed she’d read it wrong when his gaze drifted to the clock on the wall.
Think yourself lucky, the sensible part of her brain whispered. You’re pissed, and you’d regret it big time if you slept with him.
Unsure if that was true, because her body was crying out to be touched, Suzie drained the dregs of her wine and placed her glass on the coffee table.
‘You look as tired as I am, so I think it’s time we called it a night,’ she said, half hoping Rob would disagree.
‘Yeah, you’re probably right,’ he said, covering a yawn
