Stirred with Love (30 page)

‘But he used me to see how well it was doing!’

‘No, he didn’t and secretly I think you know that, don’t you?’

Kate looked at Lily to see her eyes full of compassion.

‘Please take the time to listen to an old woman’s wise words. Don’t waste what chances come along in love. Because you’ll only regret it later, when you realise what could have been.’

‘But aren’t you mad at him too?’

‘Not really. I think Will has been silly not telling you who he was but I think that’s his only mistake. You should talk to him before you write him off completely.’

Kate smiled then. Maybe the last few months had taken their toll on her and she had been overreacting.

‘I’m so glad to have met you, Lily Mortimer,’ she said.

Lily pulled her into her arms once more. ‘I’m so glad to have met you, too, Kate Bradshaw.’

‘Oh, and Lily?’

‘Yes, Kate?’

‘Have you been getting Botox injections? You seriously don’t look sixty nine.’

Back at Leonards Restaurant, Chloe sat in the middle of the same settee she’d been sitting in two hours earlier, the leg draped over her knee swinging violently. Her eyes flitted across to the wooden doors before back to the clock again. She’d been there for over ten minutes and still there was no sign of Jack.

If he’s not here by the time the second hand reaches twelve, I’ll go home on my own, she fumed.

If he’s not here by the time it reaches six.

Three minutes later, Chloe stood up, smoothed down her dress and walked over to the cloakroom. She was putting on her coat by the time they all came through. Jack held out one sleeve for her and she slid in her arm.

‘What kept you?’ she whispered loudly. ‘I’ve been waiting for ages.’

‘And I’ve been waiting for a taxi.’

Sensing Charlotte’s eyes literally burning holes into the back of her new dress, Chloe couldn’t help herself when she turned around for one last dig.

‘Well,’ she emphasised the word for dramatic effect. ‘It was
fabulous
to meet you both. We must do it again sometime soon.’

Jack roughly grabbed her elbow and marched her outside. He held open the waiting door of the taxi. Chloe slid along the seat.

‘27 Martin Avenue please,’ he muttered. ‘It’s just off Raymond Street, left at the roundabout before the bypass.’

27, Martin Avenue had been a whole new experience for Chloe, in every sense of the word. For starters, she’d never dated a man who owned his own place. Not that it was much to look at yet. Jack had only recently moved to the two-bed town house and was yet to call it his own. The living room, where he poured himself a drink before sprawling glumly on the settee, had anaglytpa-papered walls which were painted puce pink. A blue-grey carpet with specks of pink the exact same colour of the walls covered the whole floor area, apart from where it was dominated by a brick fireplace. For the first time, Chloe noticed how depressing it must be to come home to.

She took off her coat and laid it over the back of the armchair before moving to sit next to him.

‘Try not to let them get to you,’ she soothed.

‘No one’s getting to me.’ Jack tossed back his drink and went to get another.

Chloe crept up behind him and kissed his neck lightly. Lost in the moment, Jack pushed back his head, so she chanced putting her arms around his waist. But then his shoulders dropped, he knocked away her hands and turned slowly to face her.

‘Oh, not
you
as well,’ her voice rose in distress. ‘You’re as bad as all the rest. I’ve had Kate and Lucy warning me off. Lily keeps lecturing me about trophy girlfriends. And now, there’s Charlotte and Matt. Everyone thinks we’re going to fail. We might as well give up now.’

Jack lowered his gaze. ‘That’s not a bad idea.’

Chloe swallowed. For a moment as she stood there in the silence of the room, she had an awful feeling he was about to finish things.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I arranged this meal tonight so that my children could talk some sense into me. Charlotte and Matt mean the world to me. My divorce was hard on them, even though they’re adults themselves now. Stupid I know, but I wanted their approval. I wanted them to turn around and say ‘so what if she is young, dad. It’s how she makes you feel that counts.’’

Chloe started to relax again. This was just a case of nerves, she was sure of it. She knew she should have gone back to the table before Charlotte stuck her nose in. Now she’d have to try twice as hard to convince him.

‘I’m sure they’ll get used to it.’

‘No! That’s why I didn’t tell them your age beforehand. I needed an honest opinion that what I’m about to do is right.’

‘But it is. We can get through –’

‘The right decision is to end this, Chloe. Right now, before it becomes even more painful. I was flattered. I’m sorry. You
are
too young. It will never work.’

‘But that’s pathetic, Jack. You’re giving up because of a few years between us?’

‘How old are you, really?’

Chloe gulped. The question, along with his acidic pitch, completely threw her.

‘I…I’m twenty-five,’ she lied. ‘I’ve already told you my age.’

‘What’s your date of birth?’

‘I’m…I…’

‘Not quick enough. It should roll off your tongue.’

Chloe bit her bottom lip. ‘I’m eighteen.’ She watched as the blood drained from his face in horror.

‘Jesus Christ! You’re barely a child!’

‘I’m old enough to love someone!’

‘No, no, no!’ Jack put down his glass and stepped backwards. ‘Please don’t tell me that.’

‘It’s true! You have to believe me. I’ve been in love with you from the moment I met you.’ Chloe’s hand went to her chest. ‘I have feelings that I’ve never had before.’

‘No!’ He sounded wretched.

‘
That’s
why I know this will work. So what if people think we can’t make it. We can say we told them so when we’re old and grey.’

Jack recoiled slightly at the reality of her words. ‘Chloe, when you’re old and grey, I’ll be decaying in my grave.’ He went to get another drink but settled for the bottle.

‘I’ll still fancy you.’

The Jack she knew treated her to a half-cocked smile. ‘You are so innocent, aren’t you, babe? I’m so sorry. I need to call you a taxi.’

‘I can stay here, if you like.’

‘It’s best we end it now.’

‘Don’t be –’

Jack spun round on his heel. ‘Look, it’s
over
. It has to be. Please don’t make this any harder than is necessary.’

Chloe’s bottom lip trembled. Suddenly it started to sink in that he
actually
meant what he said. Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed hard, trying to comprehend what was happening.

‘You can’t mean that!’ she sobbed, flying across the room into his arms.

Gently, Jack’s fingers traced her tears. ‘It has to end. I’m so sorry.’

As soon as he left the room, Chloe’s face crumpled. She grabbed her coat and ran down the hallway. Grappling with the door handle, she cried out in exasperation as she heard him shout her name. She wrenched the front door wide and ran out into the street. The biting November wind nearly took her breath away, but she didn’t stop until she got home. Only then did she realise how stupid she’d been. It was twenty minutes to midnight and she’d run through the dark, and mostly deserted, streets on her own. Anything could have happened to her.

Struggling to see where to put the key in the door, at last it opened and Chloe rushed upstairs, collapsing in Lily’s favourite armchair.

When Lily went to the bathroom just over an hour later, she noticed a light underneath the living room door and went to investigate. There she found a helpless little girl, still wearing everything from the night before, her coat wrapped around her for warmth. Chloe wept uncontrollably as Lily tried to piece together what had happened.

‘It – it hurts,’ she sobbed.

‘I know.’

‘He says I’m too – too – young for him.’

‘Shush. It’ll be okay.’

‘No, it won’t! I love him. What – what am I going to do without him?’

Lily pulled away and looked straight into Chloe’s blotchy blood-shot eyes. What could she say that would appease the wound? Soothe the sting? Dampen the pain?

‘You’re too good for him,’ she told her.

‘He called me a baby.’

‘You’re nothing of the sort.’

‘I hate him. He’s a bastard.’

Lily smiled as she hugged her tightly. ‘Well, that’s something we definitely agree on.’

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

‘Morning,’ said Lucy as she met Kate in the kitchen. ‘I’m starving. Do you fancy –?’

‘Chloe came home really upset after seeing Jack,’ Kate interrupted as she flicked the sign to open, even though there were ten minutes to go.

Lucy stopped in her tracks. ‘What happened?’

‘I think it’s over between the two of them.’

 ‘Ouch. How is she?’

‘Devastated, poor thing. She looks awful.’

Kate made them coffee as she relayed some of the details that she’d been able to extricate from Lily earlier that morning.

‘I said he was too old,’ Lucy sighed, her head moving from side to side.

 ‘Whatever you do,’ Kate pointed a bossy finger at her, ‘don’t say that to her.’

‘She can’t be that upset, surely? She’s only been seeing him a matter of weeks, if that.’

Kate’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Can you remember falling in love at eighteen and being dumped?’

Lucy frowned. ‘I’m only
twenty-five. Of course I remember.’

But Lucy thought back anyway to when she had cried for weeks when her first proper boyfriend had called it a day after eight months.

‘It hurts when it’s over,’ stated Kate.

‘Yes, but it’s usually after six months, or a year, even. Not after a few weeks.’

‘Who are we to judge how quickly she’s fallen for him? And imagine how it feels when everyone’s been telling you that it will never work.’

 ‘I suppose so,’ relented Lucy, remembering how many times she’d turned the knife since Chloe had finally confided in her.

They finished their coffee in silence while both women thought more about the situation – even if it isn’t love, at eighteen you really think it is.

Was it just a tiff, Kate wondered? Although from what Lily had been able to tell her, it seemed pretty serious stuff. Annoyed for being too wrapped up in herself, she realised she should have been there for Chloe. Kate had only found out second hand from Lucy yesterday that she was even dating Jack. Still, whatever the outcome, she knew they’d both be there for her.

‘She must be going through hell,’ she broke into their silence, reaching for a polystyrene cup as she spotted Serle walking across the square.

‘I know,’ Lucy agreed. ‘We’ll look after her, poor kid.’

‘Whatever we do,’ warned Kate again. ‘We mustn’t mention the kid word either.’

As Chloe’s hurt changed to humiliation, Kate thought it better that she missed her lectures for one week. But she was determined that Jack wasn’t going to stop her from attending college. Besides, she wanted to get things over and done with. Sooner would be the adult thing to do.

She arrived just in time for her first lecture so that she didn’t have to see him during the lunch break. Unable to explain her feelings to Fran, at their dinner break she bought a sandwich from the canteen and made sure he saw her in the queue before heading for her car. She knew he’d route her out. As he drew near, she popped up the passenger lock.

‘I wanted to see you,’ he said, ‘to explain things a little better.’

Chloe shifted her gaze. Now that she’d got this far, she couldn’t bear to see his face so close to hers. She longed to touch him yet at the same time she knew she wanted to punch his lights out, push him to the ground and kick him in the balls, where she knew it would hurt the most. Instigate as much pain as he had caused her.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Jack continued. ‘I put my feelings first. I knew you were too young when I met you, but you blew me away with your innocence. You were everything I wanted to be – young, free, exciting. You made me come alive for the first time in months. But I didn’t understand how I was messing around with
your
feelings.’

Chloe stared ahead, unsure what to say. The rehearsed speech had gone. The hurtful things she was going to say, just to make herself feel better. The lies she had conjured up to spite him. What was it that she was going to call him? Oh, yes, an unfeeling bastard with a bitch of a daughter.

‘I should have thought of you and what this would do to you when –’

‘I trusted you.’

Jack nodded. ‘I never meant to hurt you.’

‘Oh, like you never meant to fuck me? What was I, Jack? A playmate who you could use for a few nights and discard until an older model came along that took your fancy?’

Jack’s expression was grim. ‘Ouch, you sound so grown up.’

‘That’s rich coming from you.’

‘I should never have said that you were a child.’

‘No,’ Chloe’s words were so soft they were barely audible. ‘You really shouldn’t have.’

Later that evening, Kate held two mugs of hot chocolate in one hand as she stood in front of Chloe’s bedroom door. She knew Chloe would probably want to be alone with her thoughts, but she knocked softly anyway.

Chloe sat on top of her bed in her pyjamas and dressing gown with her back against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees.

‘How are you feeling?’ Kate asked.

‘Like shit,’ Chloe replied.

Kate sat down on the bed beside her. ‘I wish I could help you.’

Chloe wished that too. ‘Did you feel like this when Nick left you?’

‘Yes,’ said Kate, although really it was hard to remember feeling that way now.

‘Kate, I’m so sorry about what happened with Will. I didn’t know what to do for the best.’

‘I know. I’m sorry I over-reacted too. I don’t know what I would have done in the same position. But it wasn’t down to you, it was down to Will.’ She held her arms out for a hug. ‘You will get over Jack, you know.’

Chloe hugged her back. ‘I feel so stupid, though,’ she said. ‘I’ve made such a fool of myself.’