Page 15 of The Player

“You’ve never said that before,” Con says, putting his glass down and staring at me as if I’ve suddenly become a stranger.

I shrug. “He wasn’t, and you know it, and so did he. He wanted variety. I didn’t fit into that, and I didn’t want to. We’d have split if he hadn’t died.” I lean forwards. “But we’d still have ended up friends. Maybe we should have stuck at that rather than marrying. We’d have been better off.”

“He loved you,” Con says solemnly.

“And I loved him, but it wasn’t a forever thing. I’ll always remember him as a wild part of my life. A man of a moment in my life rather than the whole thing. But he brought me here, and this is home.”

“I’ll always be grateful for that,” Con says in a low voice.

“And I’ve made a decision,” I say, waving my hands as if I’m conducting an orchestra.

“What’s that?” Max asks lazily.

“I’ve decided that it’s time for me to date.”

There’s a muffled curse from Con and the sound of a smash as his glass falls to the flagstone floor. “Sorry,” he says immediately as some of the locals give a muffled cheer and the landlord calls to him to kick the glass under his chair. Con immediately turns to me. “What did you say?”

“About what?” I say blankly. I have to think for a second as my mind is rather hazy. “Oh, I said it’s time for me to date.” I consider my words and nod for good measure. “I need to get my life back on track, Con. I did mourn David probably more as a friend than a husband, but I grieved either way. And for the last three years, I haven’t had time for men anyway because of the money problems. But they’re almost sorted now, and I know David would tell me to get on with it. I think it’s time to get back to being me again.”

I look anxiously at him to find him watching me, his brown eyes bleary. “I cannotbelieveyour fucking timing,” he says slowly. Max laughs, but I don’t know what he finds so funny.

“Oh my god, you don’t approve, Con,” I gasp. “You think I should wear black and retire from public view and still put his clothes out every day.”

“I think that was Queen Victoria,” Max offers helpfully, but I ignore him.

“Con?” I say and gulp when he takes my hand. His eyes are glowing.

“I think it’s the best fucking thing you’veeversaid, Frankie.”

I cock my head. “Are you sure because I’ve said some fairly stupendous things in the past.”

“I’m sure,” he says, and the finality of it makes me stop my flood of words. “Frankie, I—” He stops and runs his handsthrough his hair. Max is leaning forwards so far that he’s going to be in his pint glass soon.

“What?” I ask, biting my lip. Con opens his mouth to say something, but the light catches on his watch, and I jerk. “Shit, what about Tim?”

“Who?” Con asks blankly, and Max snorts.

I shake my head. “Your boyfriend, Con.”

“Mywhat?” he says. “Tim’s not?—”

“So here you are,” a voice snaps from behind us. We all spin to find Tim glaring at us with his hands on his hips. “I’ve been looking everywhere in this bloody village for you,” he says shrilly.

“You should have started with the pubs,” Max advises him, and I snort.

Tim’s nostrils flare. “Are you ready?” he says to Con.

“Ready for what?” he asks.

“To go home,” Tim snaps. “Where you’ve left me on my own all night.”

“Max said you’d gone off in a taxi,” Con says in a puzzled voice.

“I haven’t been anywhere.”

As one, we all turn to look at Max. “Oops,” he says cheerfully. “My fault. Now I come to think of it, it was Mrs Simpkins getting in the taxi. What a silly goose I am.”

He shrugs, but it sets his balance off, and he lists to the side. I put my hand out to steady him, and he gives me a bleary smile of thanks.

---