Page 5 of The Last One to See Him

‘If I’m going inside there with you, I need to know I can trust you.’

‘Fair play.’ Jamie reaches into his pocket and fishes out his wallet. ‘Here you go,’ he says, handing her his driving licence. ‘Just ignore the mugshot.’

It turns out that Jamie looks nice in his photo, his mouth on the verge of a smile. He’s got neatly trimmed facial hair in the picture but it’s clearly him.

‘Is madam satisfied?’ he asks. Anything else you need before we go in?’

‘Nope. Let’s go.’ Kate memorises his address before handing back his licence. She debates sending another message to Aleena, telling her exactly where she is, but doesn’t want to explain herself over a text message.

Inside, Jamie’s flat is even more luxurious than she’d expected. It’s open plan, with bright white walls that look freshly painted, and the furniture is minimal but it still somehow feels homely and welcoming. ‘Now you see why I was happy to give up my house,’ he says, watching Kate take in her surroundings.

They walk into the spacious kitchen area, where on the fridge Kate sees a photo of Jamie and a young boy who must be his son.

‘I don’t have many photos up,’ Jamie explains. ‘My wife has them all and I keep meaning to get some printed from my phone but haven’t got around to it.’

He makes coffee, while Kate stares out of the window at the huge communal garden, lit up with stake lights spaced around the circumference. ‘Your son must love it here in summer,’ she says.

‘I hope so. He doesn’t talk about the separation much so it’s hard to know how he feels about it all. He just throws himself into his sports and we don’t know how he’s feeling unless we push him to talk.’ He sighs. ‘Guess it’s a taste of what’s to come in a few years when he hits those teen years. And he’s just started at a new school so that can’t be easy. Not really sure yet how well he’s settling in.’

‘I have a son, too. Thomas.’

Jamie’s eyes widen. ‘Ah, I didn’t want to be rude and ask if you had kids. How old is he?’

‘Ten. He’s in Year 5.’

‘Same as Dex. Let’s sit on the balcony,’ Jamie says, handing her a coffee.

‘Isn’t it a bit cold?’

‘Not when I’ve got fleece blankets to keep us warm. Come on – it’s so peaceful out there. Trust me, you’ll love it.’

He goes to find the blankets, allowing time for doubts to set in and urge Kate to run for the door. She’s in a stranger’s house late at night, something so far removed from her normal life, and the buzz of alcohol is wearing off. But by staying right where she is, she’s conquering her fears. She will see this through because it will heal her. This thought makes her smile.

‘What’s so amusing?’ Jamie says, coming back with the blankets and handing one to Kate.

‘Nothing. Just all this. Me being here with you. A few hours ago, we didn’t even know each other.’

‘Come on,’ Jamie says, holding out his hand to her. ‘Let me show you the views outside.’

On the balcony, she realises Jamie was right – as soon as they sit on the sun loungers, wrapped in blankets, a sense of serenity sweeps over her. She tells Jamie about Ellis, and how close they’d been until infidelity had ruptured their marriage.

‘That must have been hard,’ Jamie says. ‘I was cheated on by an ex and it destroyed my faith in people.’

Kate nods, choking up. There is so much she could say to Jamie, so much of her pain she could shed but she has Rowan Hess, her therapist, for that.

‘We need music,’ Jamie says, when Kate doesn’t speak. He jumps up and reaches for her hand again. ‘Something chilled.’

In the living room, Jamie asks his smart speaker to play jazz, and even though it’s a genre of music Kate’s never understood, his passion is infectious, and she can’t help smiling. When he asks her to dance with him, though, she hesitates. ‘You’re kidding?’

‘Nope. Deadly serious. Come on, let go of your inhibitions.’

Her cheeks flush when he takes her hand and pulls her from the sofa, and within seconds, dancing with Jamie in the living room of his penthouse apartment feels like the most natural thing she could do.

And when he kisses her, Kate’s body responds, even though her mind questions whether this is sensible. She lets herself get lost in Jamie, and when after a long moment, he gently eases back, about to say something, she pulls him back towards her, searching for his mouth again, tugging hard at his clothes until she feels his skin against hers.

And she forgets all about ordering her Uber.

TWO

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