Page 96 of Lie For Me

He played with the edge of the tablecloth and started again. His voice low, he leaned across the table towards her, his eyes locked on hers.

‘Luce, I had an amazing time last night.’

Her heart leapt in her chest, and she was sure he must be able to see it trying to beat its way out of her throat.

‘Me too,’ she managed in a strangled voice that didn’t sound like her own.

His mouth turned up at the corners, but the smile didn’t meet his eyes.

‘And I think you know that’s not the sort of thing I would,’ he cleared his throat, ‘normally do.’

She could feel the but in the air, hanging there like a neon sign flashing between them.

‘Mmhmm,’ she squeezed out.

Here it came. She could feel it crashing into her, taking away all the good words that came before. She wanted to fling the coffee cups to the floor, leap across the table, cover his mouth with her hand and say, ‘Stop! Don’t say anything else. Let’s just stay here. Let’s stay in the part where we both just acknowledge what an amazing night it was.’

Instead, she stayed glued to her seat.

‘But there’s something I’ve been trying to tell you…’

Oh my god, he’s met someone else. I’m the other woman. No wait, it’s Suzy—she’s leaving her husband for him. Or he’s got a serious illness and only days—or hours—to live. Or—

‘… and part of the deal,’ Jack took a breath, ‘is that they want me to move to New York for a year.’

Lucy stared at him, not understanding and realised she had missed something important.

‘Why are you moving to New York?’

‘Like I said,’ Jack repeated in the voice one would use to explain something to a small child, ‘as part of the sale of the company to Casston Media, they want me to move to New York and work with them for a year to ensure a smooth transition.’

There was a ringing in her ears.

‘New York’, Lucy said, in a stupefied tone, as if it were somewhere in Narnia or Middle Earth.

‘Yes,’ Jack said, his eyes dark, his face pale. ‘For a year. The plan is to fly out in a few weeks.’

31

‘So, there isn’t anyone else?’ Lucy said after a moment.

Jack was confused.

‘No, there’s no one else. I just,’ he leaned back and ran his hands through his hair, his breath ragged, ‘I have a lot on. Things are complicated. I was talking to Suzy about the move and—’

‘Wow,’ Lucy said, half under her breath. ‘You talked to Suzy about this, and yet I didn’t even know you were going?’

Jack fiddled with his coffee mug handle.

‘I haven’t signed the contract yet. And sometimes it’s easier to talk to people you don’t know because—’

‘You would rather talk to a stranger than me?’

‘I didn’t say that,’ Jack said, his voice firm. ‘I said it can be easier. Because strangers don’t have their own agenda for you.’

Lucy’s neck was flushing. ‘I have an agenda for you?’

‘Not exactly,’ Jack said, wishing he could find the words to make himself clear, ‘but I know you, Cassie, Pete and Aislinn and the football gang and everyone. Some of the gang will try to get me to stay in Yorkshire, and some will think it’s really exciting and tell me I should just go and damn the consequences, because that’s what they would do. And,’ he studied the pepper pot, then raised his eyes to meet Lucy’s, ‘I needed to make this decision on my own, without people trying to influence me.’

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