Page 36 of Taking A Chance

“Are you shitting me?”

“Did you drink on the plane?”

“Not a drop, I just slept.”

“Then why not? If you want to that is? Don’t you have a sporty car at home, anyway?”

“Sure, I have a Corvette Stingray, but this?” I walk towards her and take the keys from her hand, a mischievous smile across my face. “But this is Isaac’s car. You do know he’ll go crazy?”

“Well, I won’t tell him if you don’t,” she laughs, skipping around to the passenger side.

My Corvette is pretty neat, but the interior of this car is pure class. The cream leather with quilted trim is soft like butter. The centre console and dash are a sleek, shiny black with a touch of silver. Not in your face opulence. Clean, sharp and super stylish. Once I manage to get my 5’11” frame into the space set for Amy’s 5’ nothing, I adjust the seat to suit me. It’s when I go to start the car that I realise its shift drive and although I’ve driven shift before, I know this ride is going to be like a bucking bronco, until I get comfortable with it.

By the time we hit the M4, I’ve got the hang of it and Amy’s controlled her fits of giggles at my inexperience with gears.

“Thank God for that,” she sighs, rubbing the slight roundness of her stomach. “This little mite must have thought it was on a trampoline.”

“Jesus, are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay,” she laughs. “I’m from Yorkshire don’t forget, and I’ve had rougher rides.” I don’t quite understand what she means until I catch sight of the wink and the flush of her skin.

“You are extremely beautiful, Mrs Rice, especially when you blush. Underneath, I think you are a contradiction to your innocent outer exterior. One, I’m sure, of which my brother takes great delight in.”

“Cade! Are you flirting with me?”

“That, my sweet sister-in-law I can categorically say, I am not.” I fake gasp. “Although I do think you lost out when you picked the inferior brother and not the superior one.”

“Ben wasn’t interested, so I went for the next desirable option.” She quirks back, with a highly impressive straight face.

“Shit!” I shake my head at her. “You’re good.”

“So, brother-in-law. Let’s cut the crap. Tell me, what’s going on between you and Petra?”

“Petra?” The mention of her takes me by surprise. “Why would you think there was something going on? I hardly know the woman.”

“Bollocks!” she sniggers. “At Sam’s party, it was as obvious as a fart in a lift that you two had something going on. And after I met her yesterday for coffee, our little chat, it just confirmed it.”

I sigh, realising that my attempts at avoiding the subject are futile.

“Your guess is as good as mine. We got on so well at your wedding. In fact, we spent most evenings together.”

“And nights,” Amy interrupts with a smug look on her face. I neither confirm nor deny.

“We both agreed to carry on seeing each other, calling, texting and when she got home, everything was going great. Then one minute she’s telling me she can’t wait to see me, the next.” I take a couple of deep breaths before I continue. “She called the whole thing off.”

“What did you do, Cade?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I gasp. “If I knew, I could at least… What did she say, anyway?”

“Nothing. Deny, deny, deny. She wouldn’t budge an inch. Kept changing the subject.”

“But you said…”

“I said I’d spoken to her. The fact that she wouldn’t talk, confirmed my suspicions about you two.”

Silence fell between us, and I welcomed it. But it was short-lived.

“She’s changed,” Amy blurts out.