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“Seriously? You seriously thought he and I could be a decent match?”

CHAPTER 30

Fleur reached out and took Gemma’s hand.

“It’s just nervousness, that’s all. He just lacks confidence. People can over compensate when they are nervous. You know that.”

“Fleur,” Gemma raised her eyebrows. “He’s an arse. That guy doesn’t lack confidence. He lacks humility. There’s a definite difference. Sorry, but someone who doesn’t even bother asking what I want to drink or can overlook ethics for a payday is not my type of person. I can’t imagine he’s anyone’s if I’m honest.”

She felt bad for the character assassination, particularly as Fleur glanced at Henry and bit down on her bottom lip.

“He’s not like that at work,” Henry said, trying to reiterate Fleur’s point and rescue the situation. “In fact, all the female staff think he’s delightful.”

“Then maybe he should date one of them?” Gemma shook her head. “I’m sorry guys, it’s just been a long day, and I don’t think I can deal with this, this evening.”

Fleur nodded and looked at Henry. “I get it, I get it. It’s a shame though, because I think if it was just you and him, you’d discover he really is quite a nice chap. Once you get past the bravado.” It was at those words that Gemma saw the spark lightin Fleur’s eyes. A spark that simultaneously filled her with a feeling of dread. She knew exactly what was going to happen.

“Fleur…” she said with as much threat in her tone as she could manage. “Don’t you dare.”

But it was already too late. Fleur was on her feet and tugging Henry up to standing as she went.

“I promise, you and he are going to get along brilliantly when it’s just the two of you,” she said, already moving towards the door with Henry in tow. “Let us know how it goes, won’t you!”

CHAPTER 31

Gemma couldn’t get out of her seat fast enough to follow them, and even if she could, did she want to? Angus was not a pleasant guy. That was clear, but to come back and find the table empty didn’t seem fair, even to someone as vile as he was. But what was the alternative? She couldn’t bear the thought of time alone with him. Grabbing her bag from the floor, she went to stand, only to second-guess herself. Wasn’t one of the things she prided herself on being nice? Being kind to people? If that was the case, then leaving a grown man on his own in a pub when he had just gone to the toilet didn’t fit the image she had of herself, meaning this wasn’t about what type of person Angus was, it was about what type of person she was. Which meant, like it or lump it, she knew what she had to do.

Letting out a long sigh, she took a sip of her drink, only to wince at the taste. She would have to take big gulps, she decided. Like you made children do with medicine. That way, she would finish it quickly, then she could make her excuses to leave.

It was barely a moment later when Angus returned and found, to his confusion, two empty seats.

“Henry and Fleur had to go unexpectedly,” Gemma said, hating the fact she was now having to make up lies on the spotbecause of her friend. Fleur was definitely going to be getting an earful at the next book club. “I think it was Henry’s aunt. Eunice. She lives with them and she has a couple of health issues, too.” Gemma felt the need to elaborate on the lie a little, just to make it more convincing. “I think she had a funny turn.”

She assumed Angus would say something sympathetic, the way most people did when they’d just learned their friend had a family emergency, but instead, he reached out and picked up the bottle of wine.

“Well, that means more Bordeaux for us, I guess,” he said as he topped up his glass.

Yes, Gemma thought as he began prattling away. Fleur owed her for this one. Big time.

CHAPTER 32

“So, that was why I decided to change from the Alfa Romeo to the Aston Martin,” Angus said.

Gemma glanced at her watch. How was it possible that time was moving so slowly? It felt like she was back at school, listening to her old physics teacher drone on about things she had zero interest in. It didn’t matter that, unlike the physics classes, she actually understood what Angus was on about. His tone was enough to send her to sleep. So much for thinking he had a sexy voice. Twenty minutes into this conversation, she was certain there was nothing less sexy than a man who only spoke about himself. She had been waiting for that single moment when he asked her one question about herself. One question. That was all she wanted. And yet, there was still no sign of it.

As for this wine, she really didn’t think she could stomach any more of it. She glanced at the bar, looking longingly at all the ciders on tap, when she saw someone sitting there turning a beer mat over his fingers.

“Will you excuse me for one second?” Gemma said, pushing her chair back and standing up.

“Oh yes, of course. Is everything okay?”

There it was, she thought. The first question he had asked her.

“Yes, fine. I’ll just need to speak to that gentleman. He’s a colleague of mine. I’m a bit concerned that there’s something wrong with work. He was just trying to get my attention.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

Gemma squeezed herself out of the gap between the table and the wall and sprinted across to the bar. Kent had now put the beer mat down and was sipping his drink.