Welcome to My World (27 page)

Nervously, she looked at her watch. ‘I – I haven’t got long, Al. George is having one of his “bad days” and I need to make sure he doesn’t offend the others too much.’

‘Right . . .’ Alex seemed distracted, moving absent-mindedly round his kitchen, tidying crockery from the sink drainer away in cupboards, switching the kettle on, then off again.

Harri took a deep breath. ‘Look, Al, there’s something I need to—’

‘Do you think I’m paranoid?’ Alex blurted out suddenly. ‘What?’

His eyes were full of concern as he faced her. ‘Seriously, do you?’

‘Paranoid about what?’

‘Something’s been bugging me since I met your mate Justine’s friend yesterday. I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with me.’

Harri’s mouth had suddenly become dry. She swallowed hard. ‘Don’t be daft.’

‘I mean it, H. You’ve introduced me to all these lovely, completely normal women and I should just be enjoying the experience. But all I can think of – and it’s been the same with every one of them so far – is that they’re hiding something from me.’

‘Like what?’

Alex leaned heavily against the kitchen worktop and raised his eyes to the ceiling. ‘I have no idea. It’s just like their stories are – I don’t know – missing something. I mean, that girl from yesterday . . .’

‘Becky.’

‘Yeah, that’s the one. We were getting along great and then I asked her how she knew you and she just went
weird
on me. I’ve gone over and over it in my head and I can’t rationalise it at all. It was almost as if she was
guilty
about something, you know? But there was no reason why she should be guilty about anything. And then, about an hour ago, it all made sense.’

‘Ah. Well, I need to explain why—’

Shaking his head incredulously, Alex shrugged. ‘I’m projecting memories of Nina onto them.’

‘Sorry?’

‘I worked it out, Harri. I’m
expecting
them to be hiding something. Maybe it’s because I didn’t see it coming with Nina that I’m so defensive now.’

Her relief at not being found out was tempered by a sudden surge of compassion for Alex. ‘Al, honey, it’s not that at all. You’re just meeting a lot of new people in one go: you’re bound to be a little cautious.’

‘You think? Honestly, H, it’s been niggling me all morning. I don’t want to end up some lonely, old emotional cripple.’

Harri had to laugh at this. ‘Now you
are
being daft. You’re fine. Maybe three dates in a week wasn’t such a brilliant idea.’

The merest hint of a smile returned to his expression. ‘Hmm, maybe it was a bit ambitious. Still, one more date tonight and then you’ve kindly given me the weekend off.’

‘True. Charlotte’s lovely, though. I have a good feeling about her.’ She looked at the clock above the kitchen counter. ‘Blimey, I ought to get back. Are you feeling a bit better about this?’

‘Much, thanks.’

They returned to the coffee shop and Harri gave Alex a hug before saying goodbye to Brenda and walking to the door. Her hand was just reaching to push it open when it swung in towards her and a middle-aged lady wearing a bright pink beret let out a yelp of surprise.

‘Ooh! Sorry, Harriet, didn’t see you there!’

‘That’s all right, Ivy. How’s business today?’

‘Busy, I expect. It’s my day off, so I’ve left our Sid and that idiotic apprentice of his holding the fort. We’ve got five MOTs booked in. Still, not my problem. So . . .’ she gave Harri’s arm a playful jab with her elbow, ‘. . . here to check on Stone Yardley’s famous
Alex
, eh?’

Mystified, Harri nodded blankly, reasoning that Ivy Evans must be the latest in a long line of female Stone Yardley residents to join the unofficial Alex Brannan Fan Club. ‘And I’m late for work, so I’d better get back.’

‘Ooh, don’t let me keep you then,’ Ivy grinned. ‘Harri! I’m sorry, was there something you wanted?’ Alex called.

For the briefest of moments, Harri’s conscience prickled into life, Becky’s words echoing inside:
It’s wrong to lie to him . . . He seems to trust you a lot
. . . Shaking the thought quickly away, Harri called back, ‘No, just thought I’d pop in.’

Alex raised his hand in thanks as Harri began to leave. ‘Job’s a good ’un, then. Hello, Ivy. Lovely to see you this warm Thursday.’

‘No, Alex, it’s nice to see
you
. . .’

The afternoon passed quietly. George was nowhere to be seen: he had excused himself at two o’clock in order to ‘go and see a potential client’ and didn’t return.

At five thirty, as Harri waved goodbye to her colleagues, she was interrupted by her mobile buzzing in her bag.

‘Can you stop in at Wātea on your way home?’ Alex asked. ‘Sure, but I can’t stay. I’m cooking Rob’s tea tonight.’

‘No problem. It’ll only take a minute. Let yourself in – I’m just clearing up in the kitchen.’

Five minutes later, Harri pushed open Wātea’s door. ‘Hi,’ she called out, walking past the tables stacked with chairs, the smell of disinfectant from the recently mopped floor filling her nostrils. But in the doorway to the work kitchen, she froze.

Instead of finding Alex busily wiping down the stainless-steel work surfaces as she’d expected, she came face to face with him leaning against the sink, a curling copy of
Juste Moi
open in his hands.

‘“Alex is thirty-three, six feet tall, with sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. He loves travel, long conversations and old films, but his passion is food, evident in the successful coffee lounge he owns. Having spent ten years of his life travelling the world, he is more than ready to settle down with the right young lady . . .”’

‘Alex, I—’

‘Wait, please. I haven’t finished. “Best friend Harri Langton was only too happy to recommend him to
Juste Moi
readers. ‘Alex is gorgeous, talented and caring. Any girl would be lucky to call him hers. I count myself incredibly blessed to be his friend.’ Could
you
be the girl of our globetrotting guy’s dreams? Get in touch!”
Fascinating
article, don’t you think?’

‘I – it’s . . .’

Alex’s eyes were full of accusation when they met hers. He held up the magazine and pointed to the front cover. ‘And I’m presuming this is your friend
Justine Moore
’s magazine, right? Justine Moore, for heaven’s sake . . . Seriously, I don’t know what’s worse, Harri – you lying to me in the first place or your woeful lack of imagination when making up back stories for these women.’

‘OK, look, let me explain . . .’

Alex tossed the magazine to one side and folded his arms. ‘Go right ahead. I’m looking forward to this.’

‘It wasn’t my idea. I just . . . got talked into it. I
was
going to tell you . . .’

‘Tell me
what
, exactly? That you’d decided to tell the whole of the UK about how crap I am at dating? That you thought it would be a fantastic wheeze to stick me up for public auction? An auction in some crazed meat market dreamed up by a stupid magazine for people who think Alan Titchmarsh is edgy? Or what, were you thinking that national humiliation was just what I needed to get me back on track with my love life?’

‘But you asked for my help,’ Harri protested.

Alex threw his hands in the air. ‘Yes, Harri, I asked for your help to meet women. But I kind of thought they would be women you
actually knew
, not some random girls you picked from a list.’

‘I – it wasn’t like that, Alex.’

‘Really? So tell me how it was then, Harri. Come on, I’m curious: at what point did this ridiculous plan seem like a good idea to you?’

It was time to tell the truth. Becky had been right – he deserved to know. ‘It was your mum’s idea,’ she said quietly, wishing she couldn’t see the sense of betrayal in his expression. ‘She asked me to help because she thought I would be able to choose the right girls for you. You have to believe me, I didn’t want to get involved and I’ve been dreading this moment since that damn magazine came out. I ended up spending a whole weekend sorting through all the replies and I hated every moment of it, OK? I’ve really regretted saying I’d help Viv with this.’

‘I should’ve guessed that Mum would have had something to do with it,’ he replied, scuffing at the black and white kitchen floor tiles with the toe of his red Converse boots. ‘Crazy woman. I could well understand her thinking up a scheme like that, but
you
. . .’ He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, I’m finding this all a bit much to take in. I thought we were friends.’

‘We
are
friends, Alex.’

‘Friends don’t lie to each other, H. Friends don’t do something as – as – flippin’
dumb
as this. I thought you understood me. Now it appears you don’t know me at all.’

‘Oh, Alex, don’t say that.’ Harri watched helplessly as Alex passed her and walked slowly up the stairs, leaving her alone and devastated in Wātea’s kitchen. Heart thumping, she tried to work out what to do next. Should she follow him or leave? There was something in the way he had looked at her just now that she had never seen before – hurt, disappointment, disbelief. Deep down, she knew she had to resolve the situation. She was not going to lose Alex over this. He was too good a friend let go.

Harri walked purposefully up the stairs to his flat. When she reached the living room he was sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the television, his features illuminated by its flickering blue light.

Harri wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but I want to apologise. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and I’m sorry I ever got involved. Just don’t be too hard on your mum, OK? I know she goes overboard with things but, beneath it all, she loves you to bits and she doesn’t want you to get hurt.’

Alex gave a weary sigh and looked at her. ‘A
magazine
, Harri . . .’

‘Yeah, one that nobody except your mum and Ivy Evans reads.’

‘Do you know how much of a gossip Ivy Evans is? I mean, if this gets back to the lads I’ll be a laughing stock.’

‘I don’t think you will. Especially seeing as you had so many replies – and at least fifty of them were half-decent women.’

A small smile began to dance along his lips. ‘How many replies were there?’

‘Over eight hundred. It took me hours to read through them all.’

‘You read them all?’

‘Yes. Well, Auntie Rosemary helped me.’

He laughed. ‘And where was my mother in all of this?’ Harri felt the tension easing between them and took a step closer. ‘Um, she was . . . things came up, you know.’

‘Figures.’ His eyes searched her out. ‘Who did you do it for, then? For my mum? For the magazine? Or for me?’

‘I just wanted to make sure that the people you met were worthy of you, that’s all.’

He stared at her for a long time, an odd expression playing across his face. Just when Harri was wondering if she should say something to break the uncomfortable scrutiny, he spoke. ‘What are you like, eh? Come here.’ He patted the sofa next to him and Harri sat down. He nudged her and the mischief magically reappeared in his eyes. ‘You are a nutter, Harri Langton.’

‘I know.’

Alex chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. ‘My crazy friend,’ he smiled into her hair. ‘I’m sorry I freaked out, mate. It was just a bit of a shock.’

Harri hugged him back, relieved by his words. ‘That’s OK. You were entitled to be upset.’ Breaking the hug, she looked up at the welcome sight of his broad smile. ‘We’re still friends, right?’

‘Well, it was touch and go for a bit there, you know. And you owe me big time.’

‘Oh, here we go.’

‘Yes – for mental anguish caused by Justine Moore and her friends.’

‘All of whom, you said yourself, were perfectly lovely.’

‘Well, yes, but . . .’

‘So actually, forgetting the conspiratorial nature of the plan – and the national humiliation thing – it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant experience for you, was it?’

Alex smiled ruefully. ‘I can’t believe you’re trying to win this argument, Langton, after all you’ve done.’

‘Admit it, Brannan, I have
great
taste in women.’

Alex’s laugh was loud and welcome.‘You know, you really should get a T-shirt with that on. Fine, yes, OK, your choice wasn’t half bad.’

‘I thank you.’

‘But, that said, I still think I should demand some recompense from you for the mental cruelty I’ve endured.’

Uh-oh. Harri had seen that look in his eyes before and it could only mean trouble. Come to think of it, it was almost a carbon copy of the one Viv displayed before she proposed her Big Idea. ‘Like what?’

‘Keep going.’

Harri could hardly believe her ears. ‘Pardon me?’

‘Well, now I know why the women I’ve met so far were acting so strange, I’m not worried about meeting the others. And I have to admit, you picked some stunners.’

Indignation pumping through her, Harri shook her head violently. ‘No. Absolutely not.’

Alex laughed. ‘I don’t think you have the right to refuse, given your recent deception.’

‘Yes, I have. I’ve done more than enough to help your love life.’

‘Er,
that’s
debatable, Harri. I think it’s the least you can do to make amends.’

‘No way, Al! Do you know how much of my life has been taken over by arranging those dates for you? There’s not a hope in hell of you persuading me to do this again.’

He reached out and grabbed her hand. ‘I’m not asking you to meet them and all of that stuff. Just call them up, see if they sound half sane and then give them my number. Think of it as excellent event management experience.’ His eyes became still as he added softly, ‘I really would appreciate the help, H. Please?’

Harri stared at him. ‘I suppose I could do that,’ she conceded. ‘Excellent. Consider yourself forgiven, then. Now, you better get going to see that boyfriend of yours and I need to make myself look irresistible for – um – thingy . . .’

‘Charlotte.’

‘That’s her. See, H? We make a great team. I think this could really work.’

Harri nodded. ‘I think you might be right.’

The door to the ladies’ opens and a pair of heels click in. Self-consciously, Harri lowers her breathing, as if in doing so she will somehow blend into the fixtures and fittings of the toilet cubicle and disappear altogether.