Never Say Never (Lakeview Contemporary Romance Book 3) (10 page)

T
he following lunchtime
at Olivia’s invitation, Leah called with an armful of Sunday papers and a rumbling tummy. Josh was working Sundays at the DIY store he managed, and Olivia was glad of the opportunity to get Leah on her own. Although she often invited her best friend to Lakeview, this time she had a particular motive – she desperately wanted to confide in someone about Matt.

So over a leisurely lunch, she confessed all.

“So, what are you going to do about him?” Leah wanted to know.

“Leah!” Olivia blushed.

“What? You’re the one going around with the glazed look in your eyes…”

She blushed. “I just can’t stop thinking about him. He just has this lovely way about him and he’s so friendly –”

“But he’s married,” Leah interjected. “He might be lovely, he might be friendly, and Ellie might have taken to him, but he’s married.”

“I know,” Olivia sighed. “It’s just typical, isn’t it? The only man who has made my heart beat faster in years and he has to be taken.”

And it was true. Olivia couldn’t remember the last time she had even looked at a man with anything other than a passing interest. The few men she’d been out with recently hadn’t really appealed to her all that much – she’d gone out with them more for the sake of moving on than anything else. But Matt Sheridan was different. There was a definite attraction there and despite the fact that he was probably very happily married, Olivia suspected that it wasn’t just one side-sided. She remembered the way his eyes lit up when he recognised her in the car. And how he had said “See you again sometime” before she drove away. There was meaning there, definitely. Matt wasn’t just being nice to her – he liked her too.

When she mentioned this to Leah, she wrinkled her nose. “If that’s the case, he doesn’t sound like such a nice guy to me. Chatting up and flirting with other women – would you like to be married to a man like that?”

“It wasn’t like that Leah,” Olivia insisted, although she supposed she was right. Still, who knew what his wife was like? She might be an awful cow and poor Matt could very possibly be stuck in a loveless marriage. “He just seemed really, really nice, that’s all.”

“This
really
isn’t like you.”

“What?”

“Going all gooey-eyed over some balding, aging and married Lothario.”

“I told you – Matt is
not
a Lothario and he’s definitely not aging – about thirty-five, I’d say. And he’s not bald.”

“Which means that he probably hasn’t been married long enough to use the old ‘my wife doesn’t understand me’ line.”

“Leah, he hasn’t used any line,” Olivia’s heart sank. She’d been out of the game too long to even recognise any such line. Anyway, Matt hadn’t exactly said anything remotely like that, had he? He had just been friendly because he recognised her and was probably taken aback that they lived in the same area – end of story.

“Oh I suppose you’re right – I am being stupid,” she admitted. “I mean, the man is probably just being nice because he feels sorry for me and then I desperate, lonely idiot that I am, immediately want to jump on him.”

“Is he
that
good-looking?” Leah asked, surprised that she was even having a conversation like this with Olivia.

Olivia imagined Matt’s sparkling eyes and his open, laughing face. “Yes,” she said, dreamily, “he is.” Then, aware of how stupidly childish she sounded, she burst out laughing.

“Oh, dear – you definitely have it bad then.”

After lunch, they decided to have coffee in the living-room.

“So Andrew’s in good form then?” Olivia asked, putting a plate of chocolate marshmallows on a tray and then remembering that Leah, who was surrounded by delicious handmade chocolate on a daily basis, would have no interest in high-sugar mass-market choco-mallows.

“Mmm I love these,” Leah leaned against the work-top while waiting for the kettle to boil, “but I’m stuffed after all that lunch.”

Olivia wondered how on earth someone who never seemed to stop eating and was surrounded by such temptation every hour of the day could manage to stay so slim. Not that Leah was stick-thin, but she had a nice figure, and could still get away with wearing a white T-shirt with slim jeans, unlike Olivia who these days looked as though she was wearing an inflatable swimming-aid around her middle.

“Yes, Andrew was in flying form,” Leah answered. She had met up with him the previous night for a drink and as was so often the case with Leah, ‘one’ had turned into much more than that. “We had a great old chat – and he was asking for you.”

“Was he?” Olivia was pleased. She and Andrew had always got on well at college, although they were never particularly close. She remembered him phoning her once or twice after Peter, and although she was sure it was just a polite duty call, she appreciated the gesture. Some of her and Peter’s so-called social circle had all but ignored her afterwards and Olivia would never forget it.

Back then, Leah had been away, Robin had been away and she and Kate had kept in fleeting contact, but by then both had their own lives. It was only when Leah returned that the three of them had become friendly again. Leah was somehow the heart of the group, the one that kept them all connected even after all these years. She supposed it was different too, because she and Peter had been so close back in college that no one else had ever really got a look-in.

“So what does he make of this Mums-to-Be party?” Olivia asked with a slight grin. She and Leah hadn’t quite made up their minds as to whether they were going to attend Amanda’s little soiree, but as neither of them were expectant mummies – nor likely to be, Olivia thought wryly – it was unlikely.

“Taking it all in his stride, as usual,” Leah answered. “Oh, she overdoes the helpless kitten act and all that, but you know Andrew, he doesn’t take the blindest bit of notice of her.”

“Is he still so easy-going then?” It was still hard to believe that Andrew had done so well. Unfortunately a knee injury had prematurely ended his hopes of becoming a professional rugby player. However, his computer studies had served him well and he was one of the few people who had actually made any money out of the dot-com boom at the time. He was a rare technological entrepreneur in that he had a real business idea and the wherewithal to follow it through, rather than having just a fancy website and catchy buzzword. Andrew had come up with a web-based business-to-business software solution. Like all the best ideas, his was simple and easy to operate and he had little problems in raising venture capital for it. He also showed great vision, as he had sold the company for a small fortune, just before the tech bubble burst. Since then, he had wisely invested his money in various tax-incentive properties across the city, earning him a comfortable living with little effort. Which is exactly how Andrew Clarke liked it. Now it seemed he was quite happy to just sit back and enjoy life. Which was nice work if you could get it, Olivia thought.

“So what else is new with him?” she asked now.

Leah grimaced guiltily. “I’m not too sure. We were so out of it I can’t remember much to be honest. He kept buying rounds of tequila, which is why I was so twisted last night.”

“Oh dear,” Olivia smiled, trying to remember the last time she had been ‘out of it’, “were you that bad?”

“I must have been, because Josh barely spoke to me before he left for work today. Apparently, I nearly woke up the street coming home last night. I can barely remember getting home. Andrew was just as bad.”

“But Josh knows that Andrew’s an old friend, doesn’t he? He doesn’t think –”

“Oh, no – Josh knows it was nothing like that – he was just annoyed that he had to clean up after me this morning.”

“Oh dear,” Olivia said again, thinking she sounded like her mother. Leah’s exploits were beginning to make her feel positively ancient and there was only a year between them. She really should start getting out and about more.

“I’d say Amanda wasn’t too impressed with Andrew either – he was worse than I am.” Then she put her head in her hands. “Oh my goodness, I’ve just remembered!”

“What?”

“Oh, I’m such an eejit.”

“What? What did you do?” Olivia asked again, getting worried.

“I starting shooting my mouth off about work, about how it was impossible to get anywhere in business here in Ireland because it’s impossible to qualify for a grant, and all sorts of rubbish like that.” She paused. “And then Andrew …” She trailed off, shaking her head in embarrassment.

“Andrew what?”

“Andrew offered to help me out. Well, no, knowing me I probably
asked
him to help me out. And we had this long conversation about him putting money into the business, and I told him all about my dream of opening a shop and basically plans for world domination!”

“You didn’t?” Olivia laughed.

“Oh I hope he didn’t think I was serious. He’s probably sick to the teeth of friends going on at him looking for a leg-up.”

“Don’t be silly. Andrew’s your friend – he knows it was only the drink talking. Anyway, if the two of you were as drunk as one another, then chances are he won’t remember either.”

“I hope not. I’d hate him to think I was being a leech.”

“He won’t think that, don’t be silly. Anyway, if I were you, I’d start worrying about what you’re going to say to that poor boyfriend of yours. I don’t think he signed up for cleaning up your sick when you two set up home together!”

Leah cringed. “I know. I’m lousy really. I told Josh we were going out for one or two. Then I arrive in at all hours of the morning twisted and telling him I’d left a present for him in the fireplace!”

Olivia couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh, Leah, how does he put up with you?”

“I don’t know, and at the same time I don’t know what I’d do without him either.” Her voice grew serious. “You know, I never could see myself settling down, Olivia, particularly not with someone like him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t know. I just thought I’d spend the rest of my life chasing after the same sort of unsuitable troublemakers that I did all throughout college. The unattainable ones, the dangerous ones, not the normal, down-to-earth good ones, like Josh.”

Not to mention good-looking, Olivia thought, picturing her friend’s extraordinarily attractive boyfriend. “Yes, but you guys are a partnership – you’ve both brought something to the relationship. He’s lucky to have you too, Leah. Not every girl would be as understanding as you’ve been.”

“I know, I know.” Leah’s face clouded slightly and she turned her attention to making the coffee.

She put the two mugs on the tray with the chocolate marshmallows and followed Olivia into the living-room, where Ellie sat playing with her toys in the corner.

“Which house did you say Matt lived in?” she asked, setting down the tray.

Olivia went over to the window. “Well, I’m not really sure now. It’s either the one with the green door …” she pointed to one of the redbrick semi-detached houses across the green, “or that one with the hanging basket.”

Although Olivia had lived in Lakeview for some time, she had kept herself to herself and knew only a handful of her neighbours. Maeve McGrath had a lovely daughter-in-law Liz, who ran a kennel service just outside the town and who, possibly due to their shared interest in animals, was probably the closest thing she had to a friend there. Cherrywood Green was a quiet, mature little mews, and a lot of the residents were older and settled with grown-up families. They liked their privacy, and generally didn’t interfere with one another – which was exactly why Olivia liked living there.

Leah gaze followed in the direction Olivia was pointing, and as she did, the green door opened and Matt stepped outside.

“That’s him,” Olivia exclaimed, jumping out of sight and feeling immediately foolish for doing so.

“Hmm,” Leah continued peering out the window. “Not much of a Lothario, I suppose – no gold medallions and, as far as I can tell from here, he does seem to have all his own hair.”

“Leah!”

“What? I’m just telling you what I think. Now, he’s getting into – oh, nice car – he’s obviously worth a few quid.”

Olivia stole a look as Matt steered his Volvo out onto the road and around the other side of the green, to exit on the farther side from her house.

“He’s not bad, although it was hard to tell from here,” Leah continued a running commentary. “I wonder why the wife wasn’t with him? Judging by the get-up, he looked like he was going off somewhere nice – for Sunday dinner perhaps?”

Olivia didn’t answer. She was too busy thinking how handsome Matt looked in his dark suit. Oh, stop behaving like a love-struck teenager, she scolded herself.

“Oh – there’s someone else coming out now,” Leah said, beckoning to Olivia to come and have a look. “Must be the wife.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this, Leah – we’re like a pair of children spying on people.” Olivia was trying to stay sensible although she had to admit she was interested in getting a look at Matt’s wife – very interested.

“Don’t be stupid – this is better than
Coronation Street
– here, take a look. She’s got the kid with her too.”

“What’s she like?” Olivia looked over, expecting to see a stunning blonde with a perfect body and an equally perfect face, and she saw, her heart plummeting, that the woman coming out of Matt’s house fit the bill exactly.

The son looked about the same age as Ellie, and was rather cute, dressed all in denim and running way ahead of this mother to chase after something in the air – a butterfly, Olivia decided.

They had definitely just moved into the area, as Olivia was certain she had never seen either of them before.

“I wonder why they’ve not gone with him?” Leah moved away from the window. She sat down on Olivia’s sofa and began spooning sugar into her coffee. “He must be one of those workaholic business types – off into the office on a Sunday or something.”

“I doubt it.” Matt didn’t come across as a workaholic type. He came across as someone energetic and fun, someone who enjoyed life. But then again, what did Olivia know? She had met him – what, twice? And it was hardly a proper meeting either time. How could she possibly make any assumptions as to what type he was?