Page 9 of Elusive Embrace

“Nat, yes I would and you know that. We get to spend so little time together and I just want you with me, babe. I would’ve thought you’d want that too.” He cages me in against the wall, his eyes locked on me.

The straightforward answer should be “Yes of course I do,” but the words won’t come.

“Babe?”

“Let me just quickly get changed,” I say and place a kiss on his lips. He pushes off the wall and lets me slip past him with a smug look on his face because he got what he wanted. Again.

My head is throbbing from the loud music and constant chatter. We left the Fellside Tavern, which is less pub and more like a bar with disco lights, a dance floor and overly loud music. I was really hoping we’d head home soon but instead Al wants to meet up with some friends at another pub.

Al has linked our fingers and is dragging me along with him whilst talking to Caleb about cricket. Cricket is Al’s passion. He almost played for Coniston CC but was passed over for another of his school friends.

“In we go, pretty lady,” Caleb laughs as he holds the door open for me to step into the Crazy Dog. It’s a pub a bit off the beaten path, which is why tourists don’t come here. That makes it a sanctuary for locals who want a more relaxed evening.

Alistair never lets go of my hand as we walk to the back of the pub where more of his friends are crowded around the two pool tables. A few of them have their girlfriends with them but most are single and frankly they’re such pricks that I’m not surprised.

“Can you get me a beer?” Al asks and pushes a twenty into my hand before grabbing one of the cues.

I guess that’s me dismissed. I head to the bar, praying that he’ll lose the first game and we can go home. All I want is to curl up in bed with a book.

“Can I have a pint of bitter and a large lime and soda water please?” I order from the young bartender who gives me a friendly smile.

My eyes scan the pub whilst he gets the drinks, and I freeze when they land on the one person I want to avoid at all costs but have been dying to see at the same time. Lighting shoots through me when my eyes land on Matt who is sitting with a group of guys, one of them is wearing a jacket with the FMR logo on it.

Matt turns to the side and looks straight at me as if he felt my eyes on him. He looks surprised before giving me a tentative smile. I take a deep breath but the oxygen somehow doesn’t seem to make it into my lungs. I try again and this time it works.

I lift my hand and wave. Matt waves back, and it makes the guy he was talking to turn around. I vaguely recognize him; I think he’s the owner of the tattoo studio.

Matt exchanges a few words with him before getting off his stool and walking towards me. I feel panic rising. Not because of Matt, because of Al who won’t like it. But then Matt stands in front of me and thoughts of Al are gone.

“Hi Nat,” he says softly before pulling me into an embrace and placing a tender kiss on my cheek. A familiar scent hits my senses, bringing back memories.

“Hi,” I reply in a whisper. My heart is racing and I can’t take my eyes off him.

“I heard you moved back to Fellside,” I say. Fellside is small and news spreads like wildfire. The amount of people who texted me to tell me that my ex-husband was back in the village was unreal. People I hadn’t spoken to in years thought it was important information to share with me.

“City life wasn’t for me after all. Dr Hammond offered me his clinic and I couldn’t really say no,” he explains. I should have spoken up more years ago, told him what I wanted which was him in Fellside, spending time with me. But instead he was focused on building a better life for us, and I just went along with it. After the divorce I kept wondering: could we have saved our marriage if I’d sat him down and explained exactly what I needed? Instead I moped around, dropping vague hints and avoiding real conversation when he tried to fix things between us. He blames himself for the divorce but I’m just as much at fault as he is.

“Where do you work now?” he asks before pushing his hands into his pockets. He has the quirky little smile on his face he always gets when he’s nervous.

“I work at Greenview Manor. Head Gardener,” I shrug like it’s nothing.

“Oh wow that’s amazing, you always wanted to work for them,” he gently touches me on my arm and a warmth spreads from his hand through my body.

“And who do we have here?” Al’s boisterous voice causes me to flinch just as his heavy arm lands around my shoulders.

“Al, this is my ex-husband Matt. Matt, this is Al.”

“Alastair Brooke,” Al corrects me and holds out his hand to Matt. Matt eyes him before shaking the hand. Al squeezes hard—it’s a power move he likes to do—but Matt doesn’t flinch.

“Matthew Parker,” he replies with a smirk and I have to bite my lip to avoid laughing out loud.

“Are you done here babe?” Al asks me before grabbing his pint.

“I’m waiting for my change,” I reply just as Caleb calls Al for his turn. Alastair gives Matt one last glance before heading back to his friends.

“Here’s your change,” the bartender holds out a few coins and a tenner.

“Thanks.” I push it into my pocket, making a mental note to not forget to give it to Al.

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