Starr Fated (34 page)

Once the head
waiter had checked his reservation list, he started leading us over
to our table right next to the window.

I felt
Seraphina gripping my arm and holding back, so I turned to look at
her.

“I…I…can’t…”
she stuttered, as she shook her head.

“Whatever’s
the matter? What on earth…?”

“Get me out of
here, please, Liam,” she whispered. She’d gone as white as a sheet,
and I noticed there were little beads of perspiration on her
brow.

Fuck. I
realised Seraphina appeared to be having some sort of a panic
attack, as the waiter turned back to us to see what the problem
was.

“The lady is
unwell. She needs some fresh air,” I explained as I put my arm
around her waist to guide her back to the lift as quickly as I
could. Sera just clung to me and hid her face in my chest, and I
could feel her shaking and trembling. We stepped in the lift once
all the other people had exited, ignoring the way they were gawping
at us.

“Whatever is
it? What’s brought this on?” I asked anxiously.

“Heights. I
can't stand heights,” she confessed.

“Shit. And I
bring you here of all places. Don’t worry, we’ll soon be back
down.”

As soon as we
reached ground level, I headed towards some sofas in the large
glass entrance foyer.

“No, outside,
please Liam.” I guessed the glass around us made her feel as though
we were still on the thirty second floor.

“Could you
fetch us a glass of water?” I called out to the female
receptionist, as I headed for the door with Seraphina.

“Oh, yes,
right. Is the young lady ill?” she asked.

“No, no, I’ll
be fine in just a minute.” Sera still looked decidedly pale, as the
receptionist hurried over to hold the door open for me.

I pushed
through the doors and headed for a bench just outside where she
could sit down.

“Just take a
few deep breaths.” I gently stroked her hand as I sat by her
side.

“I’ll be fine
in a minute,” she smiled weakly at me.

And sure
enough, her breathing started to calm, as the receptionist brought
out a cup of water for her.

“Felt a bit
faint up there, did you, dear? Don’t worry, you're not the first
and you won’t be the last. Let me know if you need anything else,”
the woman smiled at her before heading back in.

Finally the
colour started returning to Sera’s cheeks.

“Sorry about
that.”

“No need to
apologise. I take it this has happened before?” I asked.

“Not for a
very long time, not as badly as that. It was just all that glass
everywhere made it feel so exposed when we were so high up,” she
shivered again, and took a sip of the water.

“You should’ve
said something when we got in the lift. I would’ve understood. I'm
so sorry…”

“It’s not your
fault, Liam, you weren’t to know. And I didn't say anything on the
way up because I thought it might be alright. I try to push myself
not to give in to this stupid phobia, and most of the time I'm
fine,” she explained.

“I’ll call
Greg and get him to pick us up and take you home.” I reached for my
mobile from my pocket.

“No! I don’t
need to go home, I'm feeling fine now. There’s really nothing wrong
with me now.”

“What do you
want to do then? I probably wouldn’t suggest we go back in there…”
I joked, as I nodded my head back at The Shard. Seraphina did look
much better, more or less back to her normal colour, and I was
satisfied that now the cause of her panic attack had been dealt
with, she should be fine, although I’d keep a very close eye on
her. And we still needed to eat.

“We can still
have dinner together. Why don’t you use your phone to search for a
restaurant nearby?” Sera suggested.

“Somewhere on
ground level, or do you think you could maybe manage a first floor
without fainting this time?” I joked, relieved to see her recovered
so well after such a disastrous turn of events.

“Oi!” she
prodded me. “You’re never going to let me hear the last of this are
you?”

“Not a chance.
I’d even planned on taking you up to the viewing gallery on the
sixty ninth floor. I guess that’s off now?”

“We were only
half way up?” she shuddered. “Seriously though, thanks for looking
after me, for being so calm and getting me out of there. It made
all the difference to how quickly I got over my stupid panic
attack,” she smiled and took my hand to squeeze it.

“That’s what
I'm here for, Seraphina. To take care of you,” I squeezed her hand
back.

We ended up
eating at a restaurant around the corner called Quarter. It was
fine, even if it wasn’t exactly the type of place I’d planned for
our first date, but in the end it didn't really matter. We spent
the whole evening talking, and focussing on each other. It made me
realise that the simple pleasure of being in Seraphina’s company
was far more important than any impressive venue. I couldn’t take
my eyes off her as we laughed and joked together, her eyes
sparkling with her wit and humour as she teased me about the total
lack of any kind of art work hanging in my office.

“Liam, there
are so many different types of art out there waiting for you to
discover. There’ll be something that you like, you just haven’t
found it yet.”

“Works of art
are not an area I've ever had any interest in exploring I guess,
and I would never invest large sums of money in something I know
absolutely nothing about.”

“You don't
have to spend large sums of money to enjoy art. That’s not what it
should be about. It should be about having pieces that give you
pleasure every time you look at them, rather than considering them
purely a financial investment. What’s the point of having a
masterpiece locked up in a safe where you never see it?”

“That’s a fair
point. I’ll have to set you the challenge of educating me about
art, Seraphina. I freely admit to being a total novice on the
subject.”

“That’s a
challenge I'm happy to accept, and I think it’ll be fun. Liam, one
way or another, I’m determined to get some artwork on the walls of
your office,” she laughed. I loved hearing her carefree laugh, and
much to my surprise the idea of wandering round art galleries with
her did sound like fun.

“So are there
any other phobias or allergies that I should be aware of, to
prevent me from organising a disastrous second date?” I queried as
I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You think
you’re still in with a chance of a second date, do you? I’ll have
to see about that. But phobias – nothing else really, you’ve seen
the worst. Allergy wise, I have sensitive skin, so I have to be
quite careful what I use – no heavy perfumes, only very light
hypoallergenic makeup, that kind of thing. Otherwise, the only
other thing I’m not very keen on is great big dogs; you know, the
type who jump up at you and try to lick your face.”

“Ah, right, I
bet you’re more a cat person. Everyone knows witches prefer little
black cats with green eyes,” I chuckled. “And clearly you come from
a long line of witches who cast powerful bewitching spells over
hapless men like me.”

“We did used
to have a little black cat as it happens. We called her Marmite. As
for being a witch – well, you’ve met my Grandmother,” she joked
back.

“You certainly
have the same colour eyes as her. You know, you have the most
unusual eyes I think I've ever seen,” I informed her matter of
factly.

“You mean I'm
a freak? Thanks for that.”

“You’re the
most beautiful freak I've ever come across,” I found myself saying.
This was not like me. I don’t do slushy compliments. But this was
the effect Seraphina had on me.

As we relaxed
and chatted while she ate her fish and I ate my steak, I found out
that she enjoyed running, just as I do. And I asked her about the
yoga classes I remembered she’d mentioned, so she explained how
yoga helped her to relax and unwind.

“Then I’ll
organise membership for you at the complex fitness suite if you
like, because you have to be recommended. They also run all sorts
of classes that you might like, including yoga,” I suggested,
pleased that she was no couch potato.

“Thanks, I’d
like that, although I prefer to run outdoors whenever possible.
It’s a good way to see more of London,” she said.

“A good way of
getting mugged,” I frowned. “If you’re going to run out on the
streets, I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t need
a personal bodyguard, Liam, I’m perfectly capable of looking after
myself. But it might be nice to run together sometimes, although I
imagine I’d struggle to keep up with you.”

“I can pace
myself in line with you. I also like to swim every day, so maybe we
could do that together sometimes?”

“Maybe,
although I'm not so keen on swimming, because my hair is so thick
and long it takes ages to dry. I'm still toying with the idea of
getting it cut; it would be so much easier sometimes,” she sighed,
as she toyed with a curl that had come loose.

“Please don’t
cut your beautiful hair, Seraphina. I like that it’s very long, and
how it’s rather wild and likes to do its own thing, just like you.
If I could, I'd forbid you to have it cut, but that would probably
push you to do exactly the opposite, wouldn’t it?” I’d worked this
out as I was slowly beginning to get her measure. I reached over
and tucked the rebellious curl behind her ear.

“But I thought
you preferred blonde hair anyway? All neat and perfectly coiffed,
not a hair out of place, that’s the look I imagine appeals to you.
So why on earth you like this messy barnett is beyond me,” she
said, as she ruffled her hair.

“I didn't know
what I really liked until I met you, Seraphina. You’ve already
changed my outlook in so many ways. The women I picked before were
all the same, just empty sex symbols, not real people. I know that
sounds really bad, but I'm trying to be as honest as I can with
you. A woman equalled sex for me, nothing more.”

“You make your
previous partners sound like nothing more than blow up dolls, Liam.
Active blow up dolls. So, you said you’d be happy to answer my
questions about your ex’s?”

“I did, yes.
So what do you want to know?” At least we were tucked away in a
fairly private corner of the busy restaurant. Sera leaned on the
table so that she could focus on me, while I sat back and folded my
arms. I wasn’t looking forward to this inquisition, but I knew it
was best to get it all out in the open. Then hopefully we could
move on.

“Do you have
any idea how many women in total you’ve had sex with?”

“ Not really,
no. I suppose for the last few years I must have had a new partner
every couple of months or so - when I was in the country that is.
So probably on average about four women a year, for the last six or
seven years. That would make about twenty eight or thirty in that
period,” I calculated. I didn’t bother to add in all the other
woman before that. By the look on Sera’s face, I was sure she’d be
rounding up the numbers anyhow.

“Have you ever
picked up a sexually transmitted infection of any kind?”

“No, because I
never take risks. I've always practised safe sex, and as I told
you, I always have regular checkups, just to be on the safe
side.”

“So how do you
find all these women who are so willing to be your fuck toy?”

I frowned at
Sera’s use of such a coarse term, but knew I was hardly in a
position to make any comment.

“Through
various discrete connections with like minded people, who are all
prepared to keep to similar standards of sexual protocol.”

“Like a
‘friends with benefits’ club or something?”

“Something
like that.”

“So, are you
just keeping your membership on hold for a while to see how things
pan out between us?”

“No! Of course
not. It’s not an actual membership, and as I keep telling you I’m
not interested in that kind of an arrangement anymore.”

“You’re
prepared to give up that kind of lifestyle, just like that,
virtually overnight, after years and years of considering it a
perfect arrangement?” she asked sceptically.

“In a
nutshell, yes. I realise now I haven’t been content with it for
some time, but it wasn’t until you walked into my life that I
discovered what was missing. What can I do to convince you that I'm
serious about changing?”

“There’s
nothing really you can do, Liam. It’s just going to take time,
isn’t it? So don’t make any rash promises, let’s take one day at a
time, and see how it goes.”

“I guess I
don’t have any option on that, do I? So, are we done with all the
questions?”

“Not quite.
Have you ever been in any kind of a committed relationship, had a
long term girlfriend when you were younger, maybe when you were a
teenager perhaps?”

“No, I was a
pretty wild teenager actually. I got into all sorts of trouble, and
I admit I did some things when I was younger that I'm not very
proud of. There’s very little I haven’t at least tried - drugs,
gambling, drinking, - all those kinds of things. But at least now I
can say with absolute confidence that those experiences hold no
interest whatsoever for me.”

“So what
changed you?”

“Everything
changed the day my father died. Suddenly I had to grow up and start
acting responsibly especially as Jamie was only nine. First thing I
decided to do was take over the family business, which meant
dropping out of university.”

“How old where
you?”

“Nineteen. I
thought I might as well put into practice what I was studying at
university a few years earlier than planned rather than sell the
company, but I don’t deny it was a wrench.”

“And your
mother died when you were only ten, I heard you telling Nana?”

“Yes. But
enough with all this family history. I really don’t want to get
into all that right now.” My mother’s death was too painful a
subject to casually discuss over a dinner date. “My turn to ask you
for some information. So, tell me more about your visit to the
doctor.”