Page 37 of A Night with Damien Spur

Damien rang the bell again.

‘Shall I let him in?’ David shouted up the stairs.

‘Yes,’ she shouted back, ‘but for goodness’ sake, just say hello and go.’ Anna knew that David wasn’t going to make it easy. He still loved her.

So here was David, face to face with the urbane, successful Damien Spur. And who was he? A has-been restaurateur who’d pissed away his life on the gambling tables.

‘Hello,’ Damien said. ‘You must be David.’

‘Yes, for my sins.’

‘Anna’s told me about you.’

‘Probably given you all the bad bits.’ David gave a bitterlaugh.

‘Not at all. She said you were a terrific restaurateur – and I must tell you that I remember your fabulous restaurant very well. When I was a young man, my stepfather took me to Valentino’s. Such a glamorous place. And I can’t forget the lobster with port wine sauce and the fabulous roasted duck breast with spring rolls.’

‘Ah! Those were the two dishes that put us on the map,’ David said. ‘That, and the fact that we were a favourite haunt of all the high-class hookers in Mayfair who insisted that they ate with their clients first and the sex came later. And in the main room every night there were at least three geezers who were ready to go down on bended knees.’

‘Well then, I’m sure you might remember my stepfather. His name was Teddy McDermott. In fact, I think he proposed to my mother at your restaurant.’

‘Of course I remember Teddy!’

David’s face lit up. He looked alive again. He had the keen expression of a man who had woken up to the days when his life mattered. David Rose, the great bon viveur.

‘And I remember your mother, Virginia, too.’

‘Funny to hear her name,’ Damien said. ‘I always called her Mummy, which didn’t suit her at all. Couldn’t stand the maternal stuff.’

‘Maybe I saw her in a different light,’ David replied. ‘She was gorgeous, like a film star, very Rita Hayworth with that silky auburn hair and those flirty brown eyes. So elegant and charming. When he proposed to her, everybody stood upand clapped and then Teddy sang “It Had to Be You”. It was beautiful.’

‘Teddy was so romantic,’ Damien said. ‘I really adored my stepfather.’

‘They were regulars after they married. Sometimes they would ask me to sit at their table. Teddy had a great sense of humour. Made me and your mother laugh with his funny quips.’

Anna appeared. She stood watching the two men who were fired up by their exchange and, for the first time since the demise of her marriage, she saw the David that she’d married. As if the memory of Teddy and Damien’s mother had suffused him with fresh blood, recharged him.

Here was the David who had charmed her.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘what a coincidence! But we have work to do. And you don’t want to keep your friend waiting, do you, David?’ She gave him a tight little smile.

‘Sorry, but that was such a great surprise. Thank you, Damien. You brought back fond memories.’

‘Good to meet you too, and if you can dig up some of the recipes, I’d really appreciate it if you would send them to me. I love cooking. It’s my passion.’

‘And I’d love to hear more about your adventures,’ Damien said.

Anna was losing ground. Eyes narrowed, she threw David a killer glance.

They were both ignoring her. Maybe Damien was more interested in her ex than her story. Never mind, best to be charming.

‘Perhaps you can come over to dinner one night,’ she suggested politely. ‘I’m sure David would be delighted to tell you all about his life. But not now,’ she added somewhat sharply.

‘Love to,’ Damien replied.

‘Well, I’d better go, before she throws me out.’ David picked up his overnight bag and turned to Anna. ‘See you Monday,’ he said with a twinkle in his eye. ‘Goodbye.’

Anna blushed as he left. Why did he have to say that?See you Monday.

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