Page 55 of Love Me Till Wednesday

Lisa reposted Ed’s photos and then began scrolling through the trending topics. There was the usual stuff about politics and celebrity gossip. She was just about to put her phone down again when a text message appeared. It was from Nick:

Are you awake too? Can we talk before I see Jim later? xx

Two kisses at the end. Her heart skipped a beat. For god’s sake, Lisa Jones. You’re not a lovesick teenager. Focus on what he’s asking.

She’d prefer to talk to him in person. She’d be able to gauge his reactions better that way, but when could they meet? She didn’t want to drop out of the radio interview.If he’s awake and you’re awake too, you may as well meet now.But not here. That would be too weird. She had an idea.

31

Nick sat down at the table furthest from the counter, cradling a mug of strong tea in his hands. The cafe’s plastic tablecloths were covered in pink polka dots now, not the garish red and grey diagonal stripes that they had when he was last here in the 90s. They’d looked outdated even then. Everything else looked the same, though, even the plastic chair he was sitting on.

He pulled his baseball cap down low so the other two customers wouldn’t recognise him, then checked his watch. Lisa should be here by now. He hoped she hadn’t changed her mind.

He felt his phone buzz in his coat pocket. That could be her. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. Adrienne again. What marvellous timing! He was tempted to ignore it but it must be important - even she wouldn’t pester him about wedding plans in the middle of the night. He tapped the green button. ‘Hi, darling.’

‘So you are still alive. Why haven’t you been answering my calls?’ She sounded extremely agitated.

‘I just have.’

‘Yeah, but you’ve ignored all the others today.’

‘I’ve been busy. You know what it’s like when I come back to England. It’s just one meeting or interview after another. Anyway, what’s wrong? You do realise it’s 4 am here.”

‘I was worried about you.’

‘I’m fine. Just tired. I need some sleep.’

‘You sound like you’re trying to get rid of me.’

‘Like I said, I’m tired. Can we talk tomorrow? Well, later today, I suppose.’

‘And how are you planning to get some sleep?’

What sort of a question was that? ‘I thought lying down in bed might do it.’

‘Are there many beds in the cafe?’

‘What?’ How the hell did she know he was in a cafe?

‘You’re in Eduardo’s Cafe, George Street, London NW1.’

He looked up to check who was around. ‘Are you stalking me?’

‘No. I used the device locator on my phone.’

Shit! He’d allowed her to see his location when she was meeting him on set a few weeks ago, and he’d forgotten to turn it off afterwards.

‘Why are you looking at that?’

‘Because you weren’t answering your phone. I thought you might be lying dead in an alley somewhere. Or perhaps just lying?’

‘Oh god. Not this again.’ Despite numerous opportunities, he’d never cheated on her, but recently, she’d started getting suspicious. ‘I’m not lying. I am tired.’

‘And you thought going to a cafe in the small hours of the morning would help with that?’

‘Christ, Adrienne, I’ve got jet lag. I was wide awake. I needed some fresh air.’

‘So you walked more than two miles from your luxury hotel suite to a cafe with a two-star rating on TripAdvisor?’

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