Page 70 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘We spent all morning talking.’

‘Good. Tell me everything.’

35

Nick walked into his hotel suite. He’d had another nap in the car on the way back from his mum’s, but he was still tired. It was so tempting to just get into bed and sleep, but Lisa would be here in less than an hour. And he needed to speak to Adrienne. He didn’t want her to phone while Lisa was there.

Let’s get it over and done with, Nixon.He tapped on Adrienne’s number.

She answered immediately. ’Good of you to finally phone me back. What have got to say for yourself?’

‘There’s not much to say, is there? We need to discuss when you’re moving out of my house.’

‘You’re throwing your pregnant fiancée onto the street?’

‘No, I’m asking the woman who cheated on me to leave my property. Where you go is up to you.’

‘You’re moving her in here, aren’t you?’

‘Who?’

‘Your mistress. Lisa.’

‘Lisa is perfectly happy in London.’

‘So you were with her.’

Damn. He’d fallen into Adrienne’s trap. But given the detective skills she’d used to track him down to the cafe this morning, she almost certainly knew about the onlinespeculation about Jim. ‘We were both on the same chat show last night.’

‘But you said you hadn’t seen her.’

‘That isn’t quite what I said. But I haven’t phoned to argue with you about Lisa. The fact is you are pregnant, and I’m not the father. If you think I’m going to carry on feeding, clothing and sheltering you, you’ve got another think coming. I suggest you talk to your baby’s father.’

‘How can you be so cruel to someone who’s going to carry your child for the next few months?’ She started to sob.

‘I’m not being cruel. The baby is not mine. I can’t have children any more. I had a vasectomy fifteen years ago. You’ve been caught in a lie.’

The sobbing stopped. The line went quiet for a few seconds, and then she ended the call.

Nick leaned back on the sofa. Another relationship kicked into touch. How many was that now? He didn’t try to add up the total. It wasn’t a track record he was proud of. He hoped that his next attempt at love would be more successful.

Nick was in the bathroom, checking he hadn’t missed any stubble when he heard the door to his suite open.

It must be Brad with Lisa. He thought they wouldn’t be here for another ten minutes at least.

‘I’ll be out in a minute,’ he said, hastily slapping on some aftershave and doing up his shirt. He felt incredibly nervous. But why? He and Lisa had been relaxed with one another earlier. Perhaps he should stop thinking about how he wanted tonight to end.Just be normal, and things might happen organically.

‘I’ll leave you two to it,’ Brad shouted from the living room. ‘Call me if you need me.’

‘Thanks.’ Nick made one last check in the mirror before walking out into the bedroom. He could see Lisa standing in the living room, dressed casually in jeans and a pretty-coloured blouse. He walked through the doorway and greeted her with a hug. She felt tense in his arms, not like earlier.

‘Thanks for coming,’ he said.

She pulled away. ‘Thanks for inviting me. I’m sure my house felt like a slum after all this,’ she said, looking around at the ornate plasterwork and expensive paintings. ‘It’s a mini stately home.’

‘It’s not to my taste. Your house is lovely. It felt like home.’

She nodded. She looked as nervous as he felt.

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