Looking for Love (15 page)

“
On and off. Maybe once a month or so from now on. She’s
basically set up. I help her with her appointments and keeping
organised.”

“
So, what do you do during the
week to keep yourself busy?” He smiled at her to put her more at
ease.

“
I work, of course.”

“
I know that. Where?”

“
Well.” She sucked in a breath
and braced herself, her gingery curls bouncing around her slender
neck and he thought she really was an attractive woman. “I work in
a crafts shop. Sounds boring, yes, but I love it. I design recipes
and do a food blog on the side.” She blushed.

“
Doesn’t sound boring. Retail can
be interesting and challenging.
And it’s good you find time for your
interests, too.” He fiddled with the flash drive in his hand. “Have
a good week then, Pauline.”

“
You too, Ross.”

He walked out and met Ella right by the
door. Had she been eavesdropping? He wouldn’t put it past her, the
imp. Maybe, just maybe, he could make her insanely jealous after
all and then she would leap into his arms.

“
I’m leaving now.”

He composed himself to look
serious and stern with her, like he didn’t crave the contact and
closeness they’d shared for years.
Pretending they weren’t best buddies
anymore was incredibly hard.

“
You finished?”
she
asked.

He tried to
read her but failed. Was she closing her emotions off just as much
as he? Oh, the games they played.

“
Done. You probably won’t require
my services anymore.”

“
Oh, okay.”

Now
, the disappointment was obvious. Whether
it was because she couldn’t push him in Pauline’s vicinity or
whether she missed him, he wasn’t sure.

“
Don’t go yet, Ross. Stay for a drink or something.”

“
No, I’d better go. I’m getting ready to paint the toilet room.
Got to sand down the walls this afternoon.”

“
Oh. That sounds horrible. Can I help you?”

“
No, I don’t think so.” He shook his head and narrowed his eyes
at her to remind her they weren’t supposed to be friends at all
now. “And besides, you’re very busy.”

“
I’m sorry. It’s unfair that you help me and I don’t help
you.”

“
You paid me.”

“
Still.”

“
Bye, Ella.” He turned around
before he said anything stupid, like yes, he’d loved to stay for a
drink. The need to kiss her burned pretty strong too, not a good
idea at all.

“
Bye.”

She gave a half-hearted attempt
at greeting him as he went out the door
, not making it easier to leave. What
good reason could he have for coming back now that his job was
done? What had he been thinking fixing up the website so
fast?

“
We have to think of some way to
get Ross back here,” Ella said to Carol the following evening. She
sat on her desk, her insides tied in knots. Maybe Carol visiting
her and chatting about
The Album
would get her mind off how awful she
felt.

“
Why?” Carol paged through the blank album
wistfully.

Ella wondered
if she really did have a man she wanted to try opposite her picture
but she never asked.

“
For Pauline
, of course.”

“
You really shouldn’t interfere.
As much as you like happily-ever-afters.”

Of course,
Carol didn’t need to know exactly what was prompting her to bring
Ross over. She didn’t even want to face up to the dark and
disturbing direction her emotions were going.

“
I still have my doubts about
happily-ever-afters. One of my clients is unmatchable. Another one
matches every single guy on file except for ‘him.’ Now how do I
choose which one is best? I’ve studied each picture story of her
life with each different guy so many times, I almost know them off
by heart. I’m telling you, those album pages are getting so worn.
What if they tear or break? What will I do, then?”

Carol
toyed with a page between her finger
and thumb. “Feels pretty sturdy to me. I wonder how old this book
is. Have you found out why your uncle sent it to you?”

“
Great-uncle. No, I’ve been too
busy.” Too swept up in confusion. She’d even cancelled the date
with Dirk for Sunday night. “It could be something to do with his
sister—my gran—as we’ve corresponded a lot over the years. She’s
very approachable and easy to talk to, or rather should I say,
write to. And I appreciate still getting snail mail. Nothing like
receiving a pretty envelope in the post with her old-fashioned
swirly writing on it and inside it. It always kind of smells of
her—that rose petal, talcum-powdery smell.”

Carol laughed.
“I don’t think I’ve received a genuine letter in years. Maybe your
gran told him something about you.”

“
What, though? That I used to
like matchmaking my friends in school? Not exactly reason enough to
entrust me with
The Album
.”

“
I’d be curious to know. Why don’t you write her and ask
her?”

“
I should, I suppose. I haven’t
written to her in months. It’s bad. I hope she’s okay.”

Ella’s heart squeezed. How many
times had Gran helped her through her difficult times but she
hadn’t said much, except for a brief phone call, even though
Gran’
s
brother Uncle Stan had passed away? Was she coping with her grief?
Ella slumped her head onto her palms, digging her elbows into the
desk. Sometimes, she could be so self-absorbed. And busy. And
exhausted.

“
I think I need to take a break
from the business for a weekend. Go away. I’m so tired and I’ve
only been running it for two months.” She sat up straight. “I know.
I’ll visit Granny in Mpumalanga. Surprise her.”

Carol smiled. “Good idea. Now
tell me, will you let me put a photo in
The Album
? I know we said—” She frowned and
dipped her gaze.

Not often that
Carol appeared embarrassed. Ella loved her vulnerability and
honesty.

“
Of course, I’d love to. Who?”
Her heart hammered with excitement.
Maybe this time, Carol would find the love
of her life.

“
He’s been a family friend for so
long. I’ve always wondered about him. I only see him every couple
of years but he catches my eye every time. Cliff has such a way
about him—controlled and self-assured
, yet warm and friendly. I’ve befriended
him on social media in recent months and discovered he actually
lives here in Richards Bay. I printed off a photo of him to bring
here. I know we said we wouldn’t put our pictures in, but why not?
It’s not like we’re not supporting you by making use of
The
Album
’s
magic.”

“
Of course. I thought it was a
silly idea
,
anyway. I want to help my friends find love.”

“
Andrea came up with the idea. She thought we may go crazy and
want to try out dozens of men and then distract you from the
business.”

Ella nodded. “She has a point, but right
now, I wish I hadn’t started it straight away as a business—just
used it to help people out but we couldn’t see how to do that in a
controlled way. But you three ladies are my best friends and I
don’t care how many pictures you want to try. If it speeds up the
time in finding true love, why not?”

“
Well, here goes.” She handed Ella a printed out black and
white photo—a bit blurry but you could make out his
features.

Ella pencilled in their names and pressed
the photos onto the page, waiting for the usual jolt of power and
suck in. Carol watched, her face pinched with tension or was it
hope against hope?

Once the magic
had eased and only a few misty splotches of light remained, she
opened up the first couple of pages. Then her heart stilled. Her
tongue went dry and her stomach clenched.

She didn’t want to know Carol’s
future. What if she died prematurely? What if one of her kids ended
up a delinquent? Maybe
Carol wouldn’t choose the future with Clifford,
but what if she did? And then Ella would know all this about her
life. Would she warn her friend that her son would commit a crime
one day? That she would die of cancer in her late forties? That her
husband would become a famous painter and sell for millions at the
age of thirty-eight? She slammed
The Album
closed and pressed her hand upon the
leathery cover.

“
No.”

Carol stood opposite her, peering down at
the ancient book, her body language revealing her deep need to
know.

“
We can’t do this, Carol. I
cannot know your future. It’s dangerous. What if you choose
Clifford and I’ve seen your whole future? You can’t see it, either.
Who wants to know what happens in their life?”

Carol stumbled back and sat down
on the guest’s chair. She covered her eyes with
trembling hands. “Good grief, I
never thought of it like that. Good thing you stopped me from
looking. Prevented yourself from seeing. What if you saw something
tragic?”

“
I know. I
mean
, if
something happened to you or one of your kids, it may not have
anything to do with the man you chose. It may just be what happens
in your future. It’s best
The Album
remains totally hidden. Andrea was right. Good
thing with Pauline, Roan was a totally failure.”

Carol nodded and stared into
space a moment. She probably wished things were different. Ella
opened
The
Album
and
removed the photos, then rubbed out the pencil markings. She placed
the photos down at the far end of her desk and sat down, at a loss
on what to say or do.

For the first time since she’d
assumed ownership of
The Album
, she didn’t want it anymore. There were times it had
caused confusion and other times joy, but this time, she was afraid
of it.

Time to visit
Gran.

What if Gran knew nothing about
the offending item? Did it really matter? The thing weighing
heaviest upon her was the new feelings for Ross. Every time he came
near her, a strange tingle would wash over her whole body. So much
for pushing him away or insisting
they remain friends. She just couldn’t
talk about her confusion to any of her friends, especially Pauline.
The soft red-head hung on every word he spoke. She now could see
why. Ross had so many good qualities. How had she taken them for
granted so long?

Problem—he was her guy friend.
Once again, despite the heightened awareness of his body, she still
wasn’t sure they could sustain a long-term sexual
relationship
,
and really, he just wasn’t that ideal guy she dreamed about—in so
many ways. If someone could read her thoughts, they may think she
was so mean and demanding, but really, he wasn’t. This man would
sweep her off her feet—take her on a romantic adventure, a happy
courtship that would be full of never-to-be-able-to-forget moments.
How could she have that with a man she’d known for a large portion
of her life? Yes, sexual feelings
may
come, but romance? With Ross? Or were the two
interchangeable? What did she really know? She’d studied up on
relationships, but really, there were so many conflicting
views.

Carol stood up
and stretched. “I’m going to head on home.”

“
Don’t you want to stay for
supper? I’ll make mac and cheese or heat up some left-over potato
and leek soup.”

Carol smiled. “No, sweetie. I can see
you’re yawning away. You need to rest. You have work in the
morning. Are you driving up to your gran?”

“
Don’t know. I hate driving long distance. Think I’ll catch a
bus or bum a lift off of someone. I haven’t even
thought.”

“
You regretting assuming
ownership of the book?” She pointed at
The Album
, untouched for the last few minutes
although it needed to match several couples for Ella before she
went to bed.

She shrugged.
“In a way.”

Carol looked
down at her warmly. “I’m sorry. I should have listened to Andrea.
She has a lot of wisdom.”

“
She does. But she didn’t know
this would happen. Anyway, it’s not your fault at all. I just don’t
like playing god. I’ve always wanted to match people up but now,
it’s got too freaky for my liking. Pity how a dream come true can
often turn out different than you planned.”

“
Life’s never straightforward. But you must have gotten it for
a reason.”

She shrugged. She still wasn’t sure about
that. Wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Except maybe her girly
friendships. Although her one with Pauline stood on shaky ground at
present.

“
See you Saturday. Let me know what happens about your
traveling plans. If you want, I could drive you up
there.”

“
You serious?”

“
I could do with a change of scenery.”

“
I’ll consider it. You’re the best.”