‘Barry,’ said Mum firmly. ‘Are you sure he’s right for you?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Claire defiantly, although actually thinking, at this moment after he’s embarrassed me so spectacularly, no, I can’t say I do.
‘But love,’ pleaded Dad, ‘think about it. Look at this place – this just isn’t us. And to be honest, it doesn’t really seem like you. And your Barry, well he might be a nice enough lad the rest of the time, but I’m not too impressed by what I’ve seen tonight.’
‘Tonight he’d had a bit too much to drink,’ said Claire. ‘But I love him, really I do. And he loves me. I’m sorry you haven’t seen the best of him tonight, but I am going to marry him. I just want you to be happy for me.’
Claire’s parents looked at each other and sighed.
‘Well, we only want the best for you, love,’ said Dad. ‘But if that’s what you want …’
‘It’s what I want,’ said Claire. ‘Now I’ve got an early start tomorrow, so I’d better get to bed.’
*
‘What is it with people trying to interfere in my life?’ Claire moaned at Mel the next day. ‘First it’s you telling me not to marry Barry, and now it’s my parents asking me if I’m sure I’m doing the right thing. I’ve a good mind to run away to Gretna Green and do it behind everyone’s back.’
‘Oh come on,’ said Mel . ‘They only want what’s best for you. And by all accounts it didn’t sound like he behaved himself all that well.’
‘No he didn’t, but Jeez – I wish everyone would get off our backs. We’re getting married and that’s that.’
But she had to admit, she was beginning to have slight doubts herself now. Barry had behaved badly the previous evening, and though he had been attempting to make up all morning, sending her flirty text messages and emails as well as the biggest bunch of flowers she had ever seen, she did feel uneasy. Maybe she was making a mistake. Would Steve have embarrassed her like that in front of her parents? She didn’t think so. Steve would have instinctively known how to act around them, while it never occurred to Barry that they might be shocked by his behaviour. But then, as her dad would say, Steve was one of us …
‘Let me take you away from all of this.’ Barry appeared at her desk, straight from ‘some damned boring accountant’s meeting, during which you were all I could think of’ at lunchtime, looking at once apologetic, and damnably gorgeous. It was very hard to stay cross with him for long. Claire sometimes wondered about Barry’s job – he was in financial advice, so he said, but he seemed to get an awful lot of money for doing not a great deal, as far as she could tell. He often took her out for lunch, usually when she didn’t have time. But Barry was very hard to resist.
‘I don’t know that you deserve me,’ said Claire, determined to keep up a little bit of pressure.
‘Probably not,’ said Barry. ‘But I do love you.’
‘If you say so,’ said Claire, picking up her bag. It really was impossible to deny him. ‘Where do you want to take me, then?’
‘Where?’ said Barry, taking her arm and steering her towards the door. ‘More like how.’
‘Don’t start all that again,’ said Claire, as they entered the lift. ‘Look how much trouble it got you into last time.’
The lift was empty, apart from the two of them, and they looked at each other and laughed.
‘There’s something about an enclosed space …’ said Barry, and pulled her close towards him.
‘Isn’t there just?’ said Claire and responded to his kiss with passion.
Lifts and
Barry would forever be associated in her mind with sex, or at least foreplay. By the time they got to the ground floor she was quite giddy with desire.
‘Are we going to bother with lunch or what?’ she asked.
‘What do you think?’ said Barry with a grin. ‘I take it your parents have already gone?’
‘Yes, they got the first train back this morning,’ said Claire. ‘They could only cope with one night in the great metropolis.’
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ Barry pulled her out of the door, and nearly fell into the road, waving his arms like a maniac, ‘Taxi!’
‘I think,’ he said, ‘it’s time to carry on where we left off last night.’
‘Good idea,’ said Claire, sinking into his arms.
*
A week later, Claire came humming into work. Her sex life had been great for the past week. She had been getting a little worried recently that Barry hadn’t been quite as attentive to her needs as when they first met. But this past week had put paid to that notion. Which was just as well, as he had to go off on a course for a couple of days. She felt slightly better about it, knowing that Mel was going too, and had promised to look after him.
‘Any messages for me, Kerry?’ Claire asked their lank and morose receptionist, who was possibly the least welcoming person in the universe.
‘Yeah, there was one. He rang last night, after you’d gone.’
‘Who rang?’ It was always rather difficult extracting information out of Kerry.
‘Said his name was Steve. He said you’d know who he meant.’
Steve. Steve. Claire couldn’t help the traitorous little leap her heart gave at the mention of his name.
‘Did he say what he wanted?’ Claire tried to keep her voice casual.
‘Nah. Just said he’d catch up with you tomorrow.’
‘Did he leave a number?’ Claire had deliberately deleted his mobile number from her phone when she had started to see Barry. And now she had a new phone, so Steve couldn’t ring that. For all she knew he might still be at the same address, but knowing Steve, he was likely to have moved on again.
‘Nah. Just said he’d be here by lunchtime.’
‘Wha-a-at????’ Claire’s knees went weak and trembly. She had to hold onto the pillar beside Kerry’s desk. ‘He’s coming here? When? How?’ she croaked.
‘That’s what the man said,’ said Kerry looking up for a moment from the all-important task of filing her nails. ‘And lunchtime, is lunchtime. So I dunno, I expect he’ll be here after 12.’
Claire went upstairs to her office, and sank down at her desk, in a total state of shock. Steve coming here? What on earth was she going to say to him?
Claire spent a nervous morning twitching every time the phone rang in case it was Kerry to say that Steve was there. She should refuse to see him. That was the most sensible course of action. Except … it would be good to see him again. And she was curious as to why he had come.
She waited till 1pm, but he still hadn’t turned up, so in the end she went out to get herself a sandwich. He probably wasn’t coming. It must be a wind-up. She was just turning back down the street where her office was, when she heard the sound of a revving engine, and a blur of silver and black roared past her, heading for her office entrance. She swallowed hard. Typical of Steve to want to make a grand entrance.
He mounted the pavement in the square in front of her office, and sat legs astride his bike, the engine still throbbing, a vision of masculine beauty in his black leathers. He took off his helmet as she arrived, and shook out his tousled mane of black curls. He gave her his wonky grin, and his green eyes sparkled with delight as she approached him. Claire was having difficulty breathing. She had forgotten he could have that effect on her. After Barry’s rather pretty boy looks it was quite a shock to reencounter the rugged