Page 41 of A Chance in a Million
The blue eyes smiled. ‘She can be very persuasive.’ Then he said something that came as a considerable surprise to Jane. ‘I would have come for your sake anyway, but I haven’t been in the mood for socialising for quite a while now.’
So, he would have come for her sake. That sounded promising, but she didn’t comment.
‘That’s good news. Now, have you got time for a drink? Go on round and sit yourselves down. I’ll organise wine for us and something for our canine friend.’
She closed the front door and went through to open the French windows before hurrying back to the kitchen to grab a bottle of Prosecco from the fridge and two glasses. By the time she got back out to the garden David was sitting on the fine old wooden bench out on the back lawn, looking down over the town. Beside him, panting like a steam train was his dog with David wisely hanging onto his collar to stop him rushing into the house and soaking everything. Jane set the bottle and glasses down on the low table.
‘Here, if you’d like to do the honours, I’ll go and get something for Dino.’
Leaving him to open the wine she went back inside, filled a bowl with water and dug out a dog biscuit for Dino. She also prepared a plateful of grissini along with some local ham and cheese as nibbles for David and herself. After giving the dog his food and drink, she sat down in her turn. Resisting the temptation to take a seat on the bench beside David, she pulled up a folding chair and positioned herself directly opposite him, the plate of food on the table between them.
‘You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble…’ He sounded genuinely uncomfortable, but she waved away his objections and accepted a glass of wine from him.
She took a sip of wine and decided to engage him in conversation in the hope that he might loosen up a bit more. For starters, she relayed the contents of an email Veronica had received earlier today. ‘Has your mum told you that the Hollywood people she’ll be meeting in September might even include a couple of Hollywood A-listers they want to star in it?’
‘Sounds like they mean business. I wonder who they’ll cast. I’m delighted for her. I’ve always thought her books would make great movies. By the way, you and I don’t talk that often but I’ve been meaning to thank you for everything you’ve done for her. The girls and I agree that Mum’s come on remarkably since your arrival. We really are grateful to you.’
‘I’m just doing my job, but she’s a lovely lady, very kind and generous and remarkably easy-going. I like her a lot and I’m as pleased as you are that even in the short time I’ve known her I’ve seen a real improvement in her mood. Here’s hoping the next step will be the return of her muse. It must be burning her up not being able to write.’ She took a deep breath and risked getting personal. ‘Now all I need is to see you looking and sounding more cheerful and I’ll be really happy.’ She took another mouthful of Prosecco and waited for him to tell her to mind her own business.
But he didn’t. Instead, he surprised her with what looked like a little smile. ‘But I am.’ Evidently sensing her scepticism he explained. ‘You haven’t known me long but believe me, I’ve been in a really bad place for the last few years.’
‘I had gathered that from what your mum said.’
‘What you’re seeing now is the new cheerful me.’ It looked as though the eyes were grinning now. ‘The fact that I’m actually sitting here drinking wine and chatting to a beautiful woman still comes as a surprise to me. I’ve hardly spoken to anybody for ages, unless it was for my research.’
She decided to let the ‘beautiful woman’ comment pass, but she could feel her cheeks reacting to the compliment all the same. Instead, she had another go at finding out just what had happened to make him so morose. ‘So why the unhappiness? Was it what happened to you in the army? Did something bad happen? You were wounded, after all.’ This time she felt sure he was going to tell her to keep her nose out of his affairs but, again, she was wrong.
‘A number of bad things happened; one in particular.’ The light went out of his eyes in an instant and he lapsed into silence while she searched desperately for a way to loosen his tongue. To give herself time, she reached over, picked up the bottle and topped up their glasses. She set the bottle back down again and decided she had nothing to lose by taking the plunge.
‘Can I ask you something? Don’t answer if you don’t want to, but were you in the SAS?’
He raised his eyes very slowly until he was looking straight at her. To her relief she saw that he was smiling again, albeit wryly. ‘It was when I told you I’d been stationed not far from the Beacons, wasn’t it? You don’t miss a thing, do you? Anyway, yes, I was stationed in Hereford and I did two years in the regiment.’
‘Active service?’
‘Some of the time. Partly in Afghanistan, partly in Iraq.’ He still had that same inscrutable half-smile in his eyes. ‘And before you ask, yes, I know Fallujah.’
‘How did you find life in the SAS? I know a few guys who’ve been involved in special ops and they said it gave them the most amazing adrenalin rush.’
‘More than defusing a landmine? I don’t think so. But yes, I did get a kick out of it in a masochistic sort of way right up until the last few months.’
‘And then?’ She did her best to prompt him as gently as possible. ‘Was it then that things changed?’
She saw him nod his head. ‘They changed.’ He hesitated for a few seconds. ‘Or, rather, I changed.’
She waited in vain for him to say more, but all he did was slowly shake his head.
‘I’ve been trying hard to put it behind me. Sooner or later, I’ll manage.’ He drained his glass of wine and stood up. ‘Now I’d better get back.’
She stood up as well. ‘Well, just remember I’m here if you need a shoulder to lean on. Any time.’
‘Thanks.’ He hesitated for a few moments. ‘And I really am a whole lot more cheerful than I have been… honest.’
Chapter 23
Jane’s parents arrived on Friday evening and she was delighted to see them. But not as delighted as they appeared to be at the sight of her. Her mother in particular was almost beside herself with joy.
‘You’re looking so much better – not just because you’ve got a bit of sun on your skin but you look so much happier, so much more serene. The dark rings under your eyes have disappeared and there’s a spring in your step that hasn’t been there for a long time. We’ve been praying that you’d be able to sort yourself out and it looks as though that what’s happened.’
