Page 77

Lucy could feel her face burning, and her throat was so dry she didn’t trust herself to speak. How could she respond? No the ‘bolter’ hadn’t come back. I’m a single mother who barely makes enough to paythe bills, never married, never bought my own house, didn’t actually achieve anything. She wanted the ground to swallow her.

‘Lucy has two wonderful children and helps me out from time to time,’ Damien said smoothly. ‘I’m with Fenman, Stein and McCall now, as you know, and Lucy has been assisting me with the Lippet case.’

Leslie looked from Lucy to Damien and grinned. ‘Just helping you out inwork, eh?’ He winked.

‘No, not just in work.’ Damien put his arm around Lucy.

‘Well, well, Lucy, I didn’t think Damien was your type. We all used to feel sorry for Damien. The way he followed you around in college when everyone could see you only had eyes for Tom.’

Leslie had always been a spiteful oaf. It was like they wereback in college, with the ‘cool’ kid trying to get one over on Damienand make him feel small.

‘I was young and stupid back then, but I’m not any more, thank goodness,’ Lucy said, her voice dripping with ice. ‘I realize now that Damien was the real catch. He was the one I should have been looking at.’

Leslie cackled. ‘You women are all the same. When you reach a certain age still single, you’re suddenly a lot more receptive to the men you ignored in college.’

Lucy felt Damien flinch beside her. She was furious. ‘I think you’ll find that women, no matter what age, are discerning when it comes to men. I would rather die alone than spend a night with a self-satisfied, smug, ignorant prick like you. Little bald fat men like you, with ridiculous egos, make women sick. So why don’t you take your senior-counsel arse the hell away and let us get back to our romanticdinner, which you so rudely interrupted?’

Leslie’s eyes bulged. ‘How dare you insult me? Just because you slept around and made a mess of your life doesn’t give you the right to insult those of us who have made a success of ours. You’re just a pathetic, bitter college drop-out. Tom was right to run a mile. I feel sorry for you, Damien. You could do a lot better than this.’

‘You’re making a showof yourself, Leslie. Please fuck off,’ Damien said, with an icy smile.

Leslie stormed back to his table of colleagues, ready to slate Damien and Lucy, no doubt.

Lucy and Damien burst out laughing.

‘You were incredible,’ Damien managed to say at last. ‘That’s the absolute highlight of my week – no, my year. Christ, I’ve always wanted to say something like that to him, and the many others likehim. “Self-satisfied, smug, ignorant prick”. Jesus, Lucy, that’s just priceless. And so true.’

Lucy looked over her shoulder towards Leslie’s table, then smiled at Damien. ‘I’ll probably live to regret it,’ she said, ‘but he deserved it, the arrogant shit.’

‘I know you always say you wished things had been different and you’d done law,’ Damien said, ‘but you would have had to deal with a wholeworld of Leslies. It might not have made you as happy as you think.’

‘Is it really like that?’ Lucy asked.

Damien nodded. ‘Obviously there are lots of decent people too, but there are still far too many of his sort. Little men with huge egos and a ridiculous sense of entitlement.’

‘That’s a shame. If I’d made it, I’ve have enjoyed defeating him and others like him in court.’

‘And judging bythat performance, you’d have been bloody good at it.’ Damien laughed.

Perhaps, but I never made it, Lucy thought sadly, and I never will. Lucy looked at her plate and realized she’d lost her appetite. She wanted to get out of here, away from Leslie, and be alone with Damien. She wanted to lie down, close her eyes and forget about everything.

Damien always made her feel so good about herself.With him she didn’t feel like a washed-up mother of two, who worked in a shop and married or buried people for money. He made her feel like the old Lucy – intelligent, attractive, and as if she mattered in the world.

She smiled at him. ‘How about we get out of here?’

‘Wouldn’t you like dessert?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ she said, kicking off her high heel and rubbing his leg with her foot. ‘I really,really want dessert, something sinful.’

He reached under the table to stroke her foot. ‘That’s a coincidence,’ he said quietly. ‘That’s exactly what I want, too.’

Lucy felt the heat building in her body and suddenly wanted him urgently. Now. ‘Let’s go,’ she whispered.

Damien paid the bill quickly and helped her into her coat. She linked his arm as they headed outside and walked the short distanceto his penthouse apartment. In the lift to the eighth floor, Lucy nuzzled his neck and he stroked her back.

‘I want you,’ Lucy said, into his ear.

He groaned. ‘Oh, God, Lucy, you’re so sexy,’ he said, his hand dropping down to cup her bum. ‘Come on, lift.’