Page 62 of The Second Chance Supper Club

They’d decided to give the dining room – which had been set up with glasses and cutlery for six – a miss.

It would have felt very odd, the two of them sat there formally at the table, looking across at each other.

Will had suggested they stay in the kitchen and sit at the breakfast bar, which felt far more casual, propped side by side, and was a bit of a relief to Cath, to be honest.

‘And it didn’t take long to cook either,’ he observed. ‘Yeah, it’s really easy to be fair. You just grill the goat’s cheese, arrange salad on a plate, add a dollop of chutney, and you’re there.’

‘Hah, I think even I could manage that. And hey, fingers crossed for the main …’ He raised his eyebrows along with a smile.

‘So, what else has been on for you today?’ he asked.

‘Oh, had a short stroll down by the river. Dog free,’ she added with a roll of her eyes, remembering all too well that fateful day. ‘Ah.’

‘And hey, thanks again for all your help that day.’ She understood that it wouldn’t have been easy for him to come to her aid.

‘No worries. I did it for the lads.’

Ooh, that sounded a bit prickly.

She soldiered on with the conversation. ‘And I took a trip to the Kirkton deli for the cheese, and then later this afternoon I had a couple of online tutoring sessions.’

Will looked up at her with those dark expressive eyes.

‘You always did want to be a teacher, didn’t you.

’ His voice was soft. ‘Yes, and I was, well, still am in a way, with the tutoring … a bloody good one too.’ She was proud of her job, her achievements over the years, not just the titles but the fact that she was able to help those kids.

‘It’s a part of who you are, isn’t it, teaching,’ he added thoughtfully.

‘Yeah …’ Oh my, he got it , her, more than Trevor ever had.

She went quiet, the past tense of his previous words sinking in. ‘You remembered that, didn’t you … even before our chat the other day.’

‘I remembered it all, Cathy.’ He slipped back to his old name for her. ‘There was something about that week … about you … that stayed with me.’

His tone shifted everything between them.

She let her gaze settle on him. He then seemed to shake himself out of it, leaping up off his seat.

He took a dish of salad out of the fridge, and proceeded to cut the olive loaf.

‘Yeah, Andreas made the bread himself, it’s so nice of them.

Let’s hope Dan’s okay, that migraine sounded awful. ’

‘Yes, let’s hope so.’

He took the bake, which he’d prepared earlier, out of the oven, and began to dish out his meal.

Smells of herby chicken, roasted peppers, olives and warmed bread, filled the room.

He carried two plates over. ‘Well, here goes, Will’s Easy Greek-Style Chicken Bake.

Good luck to me … and to you for eating it.

’ He gave a warm smile, which was lovely to see.

Could they in fact move on from all this? Could she help him learn to cook, to enjoy life again … one step, one day at a time. Her heart seemed way too full.

Dinner was really tasty, though with her stomach still fluttering anxiously, she couldn’t manage to eat as much as she’d have liked to.

The cooking lessons with Dan and Andreas had certainly paid off, and the all-in-one chicken bake with new potatoes, peppers, feta and olives went down well, despite Cath’s appetite not being up to scratch.

She declined pudding, though it looked delicious, deciding that would be a step too far for her rollercoaster tummy. Was it time to go?

They’d survived the meal at least, Cath thought with a sense of relief. And they seemed to have made a bridge towards a new, slightly faltering sense of friendship, well she hoped so. They could work on things from here.

Will was making coffee for them both in his Nespresso machine. It smelt rich and aromatic. Oh, she couldn’t just up and go quite yet. But then, in just a few sips’ time, she’d be heading home.

Coffee to hand, they sat a while longer on the stools, side by side. The tension felt palpable between them.

‘Jeez, I am still finding this difficult, Cath,’ confessed Will, staring down into his cup. ‘Everything you told me the other day … it’s been hard to take in.’

‘It’s okay, I understand. And I’m sorry …

about everything that happened, that I wasn’t brave enough to explain it all to you back then.

I should have done. But I’m hoping, somehow, we can find a way forward now.

I’d love to keep the Supper Club group going …

for all of us.’ She didn’t dare tell him how much she felt for him now, too.

‘Me too.’ He nodded, looking serious. ‘But it won’t be easy …’

‘No,’ she conceded.

A few seconds of stillness followed, with just the beating sound of the kitchen clock ticking, like a heart.

Will shifted in his seat, turning to look at her.

‘It hurt so much … back then … because I cared for you, Cathy. I really thought there might be more for us. And, I really thought you felt it too … whatever was going on with you back home shouldn’t have changed that.

Ah, I guess I was just a daft young idiot. ’

‘Oh, Matty, no, you weren’t an idiot … I did care for you … I felt it all too. I’m so sorry.’ She took a long, slow breath.

His brow was creased. ‘Hey, it was all years ago, Cath. I moved on … it took a while, admittedly. I developed a thick skin; you have to in life. I learnt to stay detached …’

Cath felt awful that her youthful actions had made him feel that way, that it had been her who’d taught him how to hold back on life.

The closeness between them was breaching once more.

But it was only fair that he had the chance to say how he’d felt about everything back then, too.

There were always two sides, sometimes more, to every story told.

‘That was until I met Jane,’ he admitted, and he held Cath’s gaze, his expression happy-sad all at once. ‘And slowly, bit by bit, she broke down my defences …’ He gave one of his gorgeous smiles, with the creases around his eyes deepening, as he remembered.

Cath hadn’t seen that smile in a while. ‘Will, I’m so glad that you had a lovely relationship with your wife …

a good marriage. And I’m really sad for you that it had to end the way it did …

for you and Jane. Life can be shit sometimes.

’ Will nodded, tears brimming but not quite spilling.

‘It’s why all this, meeting you again … feels so hard.

And that night at yours, under the stars, it was all too much.

There’s such a feeling of guilt too,’ he admitted shakily.

‘Just thinking about someone else … it feels like a betrayal to Jane, to our marriage.’

‘Oh, Will.’ Life was such a tangled web, of hurt, of grief, of betrayal, but ultimately of love. Instinctively, Cath reached for his hand. He flinched momentarily, but then let her take it.

Of course, their holiday romance was just fledgling, even if it had felt extraordinary at the time.

It was nothing like what Will had experienced with his wife.

But she was glad she’d finally had the courage to explain what had really gone on all those years ago.

And now was the time to try and patch up their friendship and find some way to move forward.

She so wanted to stay in touch with this lovely man, to see him sometimes, and she so wanted the Supper Club to continue in its wonderfully supportive way. ‘Will, is there a way we can be friends again?’

Will looked down. ‘Oh crikey, Cath, I’m really not sure if I can …’

Oh no, she felt a huge lump in her throat. After everything, he probably didn’t feel he could ever trust her again. What a bloody shame. But what more could she do? She’d have to accept it … even if it did make her feel raw, bruised. A crushing ‘Oh’ escaped her lips.

Will lifted his head, held her gaze. ‘I don’t think that’s enough for me, Cath … Cathy . ’

What was he saying?

He stopped talking, stood up and moved closer, taking her face gently in his hands …

What’s happening here? Cath was struggling to make sense of it. She felt him guide her to standing. They were face to face, and so very tinglingly close.

‘I’ve been wanting … and scared to do this for a long time.’ He brushed a tender fingertip slowly down her cheek, moving it towards her lips.

Every nerve ending in her body was on high alert. Was this real … ?

Without realising it, they were stood directly in line with the kitchen window.

His lips then followed his fingertip, and he was kissing her right on the lips, softly at first, then more deeply, passionately.

Cath responded … It was wonderful, and sensual, and not like friends at all.

And as he finally pulled away, it was there in his eyes.

All the affection, all those emotions, he’d kept back for all this time.

‘Oh, wow,’ was all Cath could utter. Their first kiss …

Well, it wasn’t really, was it, she suddenly realised! But after all these years, it felt very beautiful, and very much like it.

Will then stepped back just a little, with an understandable edge of caution, they’d both been through so much, after all. ‘Can we take things slowly? One step at a time, hey.’

They’d been through thirty-six years’ worth of life, in fact, since that very first kiss, and if all of that had taught Cath anything, it was not to hold back on living any more.

Yes, of course, if they needed to take things steady for Will’s sake, step by step, then naturally, Cath was more than okay with that.

Going slowly was very different to holding back.

‘Of course.’ She gave a huge grin, feeling her heart soar. ‘And well, I really liked that first step … very much.’

They smiled at each other, the love there plain to see in their eyes, a love that would now get a chance to grow.

‘Hey, maybe we can start with a few cooking lessons?’ Cath grinned.

‘Sure, sounds great … up close and personal in the kitchen.’ Will quirked a very sexy eyebrow.

‘Hmm … absolutely.’ Just thinking about the heat around tonight’s grilled cheese episode made her temperature shoot up again.

Cath was sure she heard – oddly – a round of applause coming from over the front garden wall. And, oh blimey, yes, a Nikki-sounding ‘Whoop!’

The penny then dropped. Cath and Will gave each other a bemused, yet happy look. The little – lovely – bloody Supper Club sneaks must be out there watching.

Then, a row of oh-so-familiar heads popped up to peek over the low stone wall, grinning wildly, with hands clapping and waving. Andreas gave a loud wolf-whistle.

‘Way to go, guys!’ shouted Dan, with absolutely no sign of a migraine.

‘Can we come in for dessert?’ called out Lily cheekily. ‘Don’t want to be interrupting anything, mind.’ Andreas was laughing warmly.

‘Well, someone needed to get you two together!’ Nikki stood up, baseball cap in hand, shouting triumphantly.

‘Well, you lot have spoilt the moment now, anyhow.’ Will chuckled, as he leaned out through his now open window to speak with them all.

But the moment wasn’t spoilt, not at all. With Will’s arm wrapped firmly around Cath, the two of them had time on their side and everything to look forward to.

And a few minutes later, sharing Lily’s gorgeous dessert with the rest of their wonderful friendship group, it felt like the icing and the cherry on the cake. Life was absolutely looking up.

This really was the Supper Club of Second Chances.

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