Page 3 of The Last One to See Him

‘I’m debating it. It means abandoning my friend, though, and I’m not sure my conscience will let me.’

‘Come and sit for a bit, then,’ he says. ‘Don’t tell the guys I came with, but I could really do with some quiet conversation. I didn’t really want to come out tonight.’ He glances back at the bar, where his friends don’t seem to have noticed he’s drifted away to talk to Kate. ‘My bed is calling me. Plus, I’ve just started Harlan Coben’s new book. That man is a writing machine, I don’t know how he does it.’ He pauses. ‘You didn’t want to be here either, did you?’ he asks.

Kate doesn’t answer.

‘Sorry.’ He holds up his glass. ‘Nosiness is a side effect of this. And speaking of being nosy’ – he points to Kate’s glass – ‘you’ve barely touched that.’

‘I’m on lemonade now, so who cares?’

He holds up his hand and smiles. ‘Sorry. It’s none of my business how much you do or don’t drink. But…there’s something about you?—’

Kate rolls her eyes. ‘Oh, please. I’m beautiful, right? Breathtaking? You can’t take your eyes off me? Give me a break.’

Briefly, he looks taken aback and his cheeks flushed, but then he smiles. ‘Actually, I was about to say that you look sad.’

For a moment, she’s unsure how to respond. She’s misjudged him, and now he’s thrown her off course. She studies his face, trying to work him out, but comes up with nothing.

‘I’m sorry,’ he continues. ‘Just ignore me.’ He holds up his glass. ‘Can I blame this stuff?’

‘Seems to me you’re blaming the drink for a lot of things.’ Kate surprises herself by smiling. ‘Drowning your sorrows? Maybe you’re the one who’s sad?’

‘Something like that, yeah.’

His words sound so plaintive that she regrets being so intrusive. ‘Sorry. Not my business.’

‘You’re right, though,’ he says. ‘Messy separation. It’s been hard. Trying to sort out all the financial stuff. Childcare arrangements. We have a son. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about that. What’s your story? Are you married?’ He glances at Kate’s hand and she instinctively pulls back, even though her wedding ring sits abandoned in her jewellery box at home; the only evidence of her marriage to Ellis is a pale line around her finger.

Something stops her explaining that she’s going through something similar; the less she gives of herself, the better, even though she’ll never see this man again. ‘Nope. Not married. Anyway, if we’re going to share a table then at least tell me your name so I can stop thinking of you as annoying chatty guy.’

He laughs and offers his hand. ‘Jamie Archer. Nice to meet you.’

Kate shakes his hand, surprised to find his skin so cool in the cloying humidity. ‘Kate Mason.’

‘I like that name,’ he says. ‘No nonsense. Means business. Assertive.’

‘Don’t forget breathtaking and beautiful!’ Kate laughs again.

‘Actually, I was going to say it sounds like an author’s name. Or a detective’s.’

‘I can assure you I’m neither of those things. I’m a vet.’

Jamie smiles. ‘Ah. I don’t think I’ve ever met a vet before. Except when I was a kid and we found an injured bird in our garden. I made my mum rush it straight to the vet, even though she insisted there’d be nothing they could do to save him.’ He frowns. ‘I actually have no idea if it was ahim, but in my mind it was.’

Now he’s got Kate’s full attention – anyone who cares about an injured bird is someone she’s happy to give her time to. And for the next hour they become so engrossed in conversation that neither of them notices when their glasses are empty.

‘I have a dull job,’ Jamie tells her. ‘Economist for the Financial Conduct Authority. I’d only just moved to London when my wife and I decided to separate.’

‘Was it amicable?’ Kate asks, thinking of Ellis.

‘No, sadly. She’s having trouble accepting that our marriage is over. I think I’ve been more ready to move on than she has. She just became really difficult to live with. Neither of us cheated or anything; there was just nothing left of us together, other than our son. And it feels lonelier to be in a broken relationship than it does being single.’ He looks away.

‘New beginnings,’ Kate says, burying her burning questions.

He smiles. ‘Yeah, you’re right. New beginnings. Speaking of new beginnings, I think I could do with another.’ He lifts his glass. ‘Can I get you another lemonade?’ he asks, gesturing to her full glass. ‘Not that I want you to overdo it or anything.’

They both laugh. ‘No, thanks – I think I’m ready to head off.’ Kate stands and holds out her hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Jamie Archer.’ As much as she’s enjoyed talking to him, she’s ready to leave now. She can’t bear the thought of making her way through the swarm of bodies on the dancefloor downstairs, so instead Kate messages Aleena to tell her she’s leaving.

Jamie smiles. ‘You too, Kate Mason, veterinary surgeon.’ He winks as she walks away, and she smothers the temptation to call him back and tell him she’s changed her mind about that drink.

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