Don't Want To Miss A Thing (42 page)

‘Sorry,’ said Lois.

‘How do you know?’

‘She told one of the other mothers at school. Everyone knows.’ Lois nodded at the key stuck in the ignition. ‘Can we go now?’

Dex restarted the car. ‘Don’t worry. Thanks for telling me.’

She looked rueful. ‘You kind of forced it out of me. I’d make a rubbish spy. I’m usually good at being discreet.’

‘You run a pub. I’d imagine you have to be.’

‘So am I allowed to ask? Are you in love with her?’

‘With who?’ For a split second Dex was caught off guard; he’d been thinking about Molly, wondering if ‘everyone knows’ meant she was aware of it too. ‘Oh, you mean Amanda?’
God, no, of course I’m not
. But he could hardly say that aloud. Discreetly sidestepping the question he said, ‘So does the whole village think we should be together?’

‘Not quite all. I didn’t say I did. To be honest, I always thought you and Molly could have had a bit of a thing going on.’

Aware of her gaze upon him, it was now Dex’s turn to keep his eyes fixed on the road ahead as they made their way back to Briarwood.

‘Little giveaway twitch there,’ Lois murmured. ‘
Did
you two have a thing going on?’

He shook his head fractionally. ‘Never happened.’

‘Did you try?’

‘Yes.’

‘And?’

‘She wasn’t interested.’

‘That surprises me. I thought she might have been.’

‘Well,’ said Dex, ‘you were wrong. And now she has Vince.’

Perfect, car-polishing Vince . . .

Another pause, then Lois said, ‘Yes. Do you like him?’

Dex was getting better at keeping his thoughts to himself, not getting caught out. It was always nice not to end up looking like a complete idiot. Aloud, he said, ‘Vince is a nice guy. Not sure he’s right for Molly, but she seems to think he is.’

Lois nodded in agreement. ‘Oh well, there you go.’

And they drove the last few miles in silence, each alone with their thoughts. You can’t always get what you want.

At the Crown Inn in Marlbury, Dex waited at a table by the window for Amanda to arrive home from work.

It was no good, he wasn’t looking forward to the ensuing conversation but it had to be done. And ironically, this was where he’d first met her, when they’d bonded over the awfulness of the band playing up on the tiny stage that evening.

And now he was back, here to end the relationship. Not pleasant, but pretty much the only way to go. For both their sakes.

There was her car now, the sporty silver Peugeot slowing to a halt outside her house. Watching through the window as Amanda jumped out of the driver’s seat and locked the door with an electronic flourish, Dex drained his coffee and braced himself for the ordeal ahead.

Amanda’s initial delight at seeing him soon faded once they were inside her house and she learned the reason for the unexpected visit.

‘What? But why?’ Her eyes widened in disbelief.

‘Because . . . it’s not fair on you.’

‘Oh please, don’t give me that.’ Amanda shook her head. ‘It’s
the oldest line in the book. Everything’s been great, hasn’t it? We’re great together! You can’t say the sex hasn’t been fantastic.’

‘I know, but—’

‘You won’t get better than me.’ There was an edge to her voice that made Dex realise why he was going through with this; natural self-confidence was one thing, but there was a limit to the amount he could truly be comfortable with.

‘Maybe not, but it’ll just have to be my loss.’ A degree of guilt meant he had to be gentle with her. ‘And I’m sorry, really I am, but it’s for the best. You’ll thank me in the long run. It’s better to make the break now, for your sake.’

‘Is it someone else?’ They were in her immaculate kitchen; Amanda crossed to the sink and filled a glass from the tap.

Dex hesitated and shook his head, wondering if she was about to chuck the cold water at him. ‘No . . .’

‘Rubbish, you’re lying. Of course there is. You’ve got the next one lined up, ready to go.’

‘I haven’t, I promise.’ Oh God, he wished he had.

‘But we’re perfect together!’

‘On paper, yes. But it has to feel right too.’ The amount of practice he’d had at this over the years, you’d think he’d be better at it by now. Unconsciously pressing his hand to his chest, Dex said, ‘It has to feel one hundred per cent, properly right.’

She gripped the glass. ‘And there’s nothing I can do or say to make you change your mind?’

Another shake of the head. ‘No. I’m really sorry. About everything.’

‘Right. Well.’ Pride kicked in, thankfully. Amanda wasn’t the type to beg. She drank the water and put the empty tumbler in the sink. ‘In that case, what a shame. I’ll miss you. And Delphi. Where is she now? Let me guess, you left her with Molly while you came over here to do the evil deed.’

‘Frankie’s looking after her.’ It hadn’t felt right to ask Molly, under the circumstances. To be kind, Dex said, ‘Delphi’s going to miss you too,’ even though he didn’t think she would. ‘Look, I know how you must be feeling, but we can’t stay together just because of Delphi . . . that’d be crazy.’

‘Is that what you think? That we should break up now before Delphi’s old enough to find it traumatic?’

‘I didn’t mean it that way,’ Dex said with compassion. ‘I’m talking about you not being able to have children and Delphi filling the gap, and that being the only reason for us staying together.’

Amanda tilted her head to one side and surveyed him for several seconds. Finally she said, ‘Excuse me?’

‘Someone told me.’ Dex wasn’t going to name names. ‘Apparently everyone knows.’

‘Everyone knows what, exactly?’

‘That you can’t have children.’

‘Really? How interesting. You’d think someone would have told me that,’ said Amanda. ‘Seeing as it’s my womb.’

What?

‘OK, I’ll tell you what I heard.’ Having listened to Lois expanding on the situation, Dex did his best to recall it accurately. ‘One of your patients came to see you at the surgery, upset because they were infertile, and you told them you had the same problem, the exact same thing wrong with you.’ He gestured helplessly. ‘That’s about it. That’s all I know.’

Amanda nodded slowly, her frown clearing. ‘Right. Got it. And that’s how it happens, is it? Chinese whispers around the village? One of my patients was having problems conceiving because she was suffering from something called endometriosis. I have the same condition myself. I told her that. But endometriosis causes
lots of symptoms and it doesn’t mean you can’t have children, just that you might have difficulties. God, I had no idea she’d misunderstood what I was saying to her. So . . . everyone’s been feeling sorry for me, have they? Thinking I’m infertile?’ The corners of her mouth twisted into a rueful smile.

‘Seems that way,’ said Dex.

‘And there’s you with Delphi . . . well, no wonder all the mothers kept telling me how pleased they were that we’d got together.’

‘Were they saying that?’

‘Oh yes, all the time. It was extraordinary. Well, now we know why.’

‘I guess so,’ said Dex.

‘And that’s what scared you,’ Amanda continued, visibly relieved. ‘But there’s no need to be scared. My symptoms are only mild, the chances of me not being able to conceive are really low . . . in fact, pregnancy is one of the best ways of alleviating the problems! So there’s really no reason why we can’t carry on seeing each other and—’

‘Hang on, no, sorry.’ Dex hastily held up his hand to stop this train of thought in its tracks. ‘I’ve said everything now . . . I still think we’ll leave it as it stands.’

A wry look, then Amanda said with good humour, ‘Oh well, it was worth a try. And I still think there’s someone else you’ve got your eye on. Would you like me to take a wild guess as to who it might be?’

In the pit of his stomach, he felt the knot tightening. ‘No,’ Dex said steadily.

‘Sure?’ Amanda’s smile was brave, but tinged with sadness. ‘Because I bet I could.’

Chapter 53

The finished painting stood on the easel in the centre of her living room, covered with an old lilac pashmina, all ready for the big reveal. Molly, leading the way into the room, wondered if non-artists could ever begin to imagine the sensations she was experiencing now. It was always a nerve-wracking moment. Each time, while the sitter was studying the painting, she was watching them for signs – microsignals, sometimes – that they either loved the end result or were disappointed with it.

‘This is exciting,’ said Dex, with Delphi on his hip. ‘You’d better have made me look like Johnny Depp or there’s going to be big trouble.’

By accident rather than design, he was wearing the same white shirt as in the painting, with different jeans. His hair was a fraction longer now, his tan deeper as a result of the blazing heat of the last few days.

‘Oh no, that’s a shame, you should have said Johnny Depp before,’ said Molly. ‘I’ve given you more of a Jeremy Clarkson look.’ And reaching forward she pulled away the tatty pashmina to reveal the painting beneath it.

‘TAAAGH!’ Not remotely interested in what was on the canvas,
Delphi let out an excited squawk and made a grab for the still-billowing pashmina. Molly exhaled with relief and let her have it to play with because Dex was happy, she could already tell, with the end result.

‘Well, I have to say, Jeremy Clarkson never looked better.’ Moving closer in order to study the fine detail, he shook his head in appreciation. ‘Seriously, this is amazing. Look at Delphi . . . look at me. You’ve made us look more like ourselves than we do in real life.’

‘Thank you.’ Anxiety over, Molly basked in the warm glow of satisfaction, the knowledge of a job well done. ‘The aim is to make you look like who you really are. I think it helped that there’s such a connection between the two of you. The way you interact with each other. It’s like . . . you can feel the love.’ OK, stop now, that just sounded over the top.

But it was true.

Delphi was wriggling to be put down. Lowering her to the floor, Dex said, ‘Watch what she does now. It’s her new trick.’

Molly’s heart gave a squeeze of love and they both watched as Delphi sat on the rug and covered herself in the pashmina like a mini version of E.T. out on his trick or treat adventure. Then Dex returned his attention to the painting on the easel, examining it closely for some time.

At last he smiled at her and said, ‘Aren’t you clever?’

Modesty aside, sometimes you just had to come out and admit it. ‘Yes, I am.’ Molly nodded. ‘I’m really pleased with it.’

‘Waaah!’ From beneath the pashmina, Delphi waved her arms at them like a small, attention-seeking ghost.

‘Thank you. It’s even more perfect than I’d hoped.’ Digging in his jeans pocket, Dex said, ‘Here, I got you this . . .’

‘Why?’ Molly saw that he was holding out a small flat leather
case. ‘You already paid me.’ He’d insisted on paying her usual commission fee in advance. She had offered to do it for nothing but Dex, typically, had refused to hear of it.

And now he was rolling his eyes in amused exasperation. ‘Can you not let me give you a present without getting your knickers in a twist about it? It’s just my small way of saying thank you. For being a good friend . . . and helping out with Delphi . . . for just, well, everything.’

‘But—’

‘Hey, do me a favour. It’s not a big deal. I like buying presents. Don’t make me feel awkward and wish I hadn’t done it.’

Had Dex ever felt awkward about anything? Molly seriously doubted it was an emotion he’d experienced in his life. Still, she gave in with good grace and took the case from him.

Then lifted open the lid and felt the breath catch in her throat.

‘Dex!’

He shrugged, half-smiled. ‘If you don’t like it, you can change it for something else.’

‘Are you kidding? I love it. Oh my God, but this is amazing . . . this is the bracelet I saw in the magazine last week when we were over at the café.’ She stared at him in disbelief. ‘But I showed it to Frankie, not you. You were taking photos of Delphi over by the window. You didn’t even see the magazine . . . oh my God, this is spooky.’

Dex, evidently enjoying her bafflement, lifted the bracelet out of the case and unfastened it, indicating that she was to hold out her arm. In a daze, Molly did so and watched him refasten it round her left wrist. The bracelet was made of rose gold and constructed from flattened links of varying shapes; some were oval, others were round, rectangular and diamond-shaped. The end result was quirky, different and an intriguing mix of modern
and antique. She’d spotted it in the magazine, on the arm of a glamorous blonde Olympic swimmer, and had looked to see if there was any mention of where you could buy it. But there hadn’t been.

She looked at Dex. ‘I don’t get this. How did you do it? How did you know?’

He looked pleased. ‘I was at the other end of the café with Delphi. I couldn’t see what you were looking at but I heard you telling Frankie you’d love one of those. So I went back later and asked her to show me what it was you’d liked so much.’

Impressed, and touched by the thought that had gone into it, Molly said, ‘But it didn’t say in the magazine where the bracelet had come from. I double-checked.’ Not that she could have afforded to buy it for herself anyway.

‘I know. I did that telepathic thing,’ said Dex. ‘You know, where you send a message out to the cosmos . . . astral projection . . . and ask the question. And the answer came back to me. It just magically appeared in my head.’

She gave him a look, raised one eyebrow.

‘OK,’ said Dex. ‘I contacted the swimmer on Twitter, asked her where it came from. She told me the name of the jeweller. Luckily, when I contacted him, he had another one in stock.’

‘Well, that’s very clever. You didn’t have to do that, but I really love it. So . . . thank you.’ Molly wanted to kiss him but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Because what if she couldn’t stop?

‘Good. I’m glad you like it.’ Dex looked as if he might be waiting for a kiss. When it didn’t happen, he said, ‘You’re going to wear it, then?’

‘Of course. I’m never going to take it off!’

‘And Vince’ll be OK with that, will he? He won’t mind you wearing a piece of jewellery given to you by someone else?’