Page 50 of Three's a Crowd
Daisy gave her an awkward smile, her pulse tripping.
A terrible, intangible idea had begun to brew in the back of her mind, which she kept pushing away.
No. She couldn’t let it get a hold of her.
None of this was real. It was a Hollywood fairy-tale.
She needed to pull herself together and go and have lunch with Adam, her actual boyfriend.
Gathering her purchases in their sleek, white, cardboard bags, she thanked the shop’s staff and stepped out onto the street, pushing away a slow, sinking feeling of dread as she headed toward the lunch venue – and Adam.
12
The Petite Majestic was located behind the grand Majestic Hotel on a small back street.
It was already busy when Daisy got there, with drinkers spilling out onto the pavement in front of it. She searched around for Adam, but couldn’t locate him.
Perhaps he was inside, she thought, heading into the bar.
Nope. No sign of him there either.
She was just about to go outside again when she spotted his fair head leaning over a table tucked into the very corner of the bar. She started to make her way over to him but halted in her tracks when she saw he was sitting there with a woman – a very attractive woman. They seemed to be getting on really well and Daisy felt a sting of annoyance as she watched her touch Adam on the arm in a possessive sort of way. She was smiling into his eyes too and he was responding to her in a very positive manner.
Daisy could tell by his body language that he was deeply attracted to this person and as she watched them, she saw him raise his hand to the woman’s face and gently brush something away from her cheek. The woman laughed at this attention and leant into him, their faces barely inches away from each other.
Daisy’s gut twisted uncomfortably. Who was she? She’d never seen her before in her life and she was pretty sure she knew everyone that Adam did. He must have met her here in the bar.
She felt a surge of anger at his blatant flirting, but then checked herself. What was she complaining about? If she was being truthful with herself, she was just as bad as him, if not worse. At least he wasn’t carrying on with some bizarre pseudo friendship thing with her best friend. Even though nothing had happened with Zach recently, if anyone had seen them together last night, they probably would have assumed they were a couple, just as the shop assistant had.
They’d always had this undeniable mutual attraction that made them react in strange ways towards each other and it was barely being kept in check at the moment.
She backed away from the table slowly, stumbling slightly and knocking into a man who nearly spilt his drink into his lap. Mumbling an apology, she raced out of the bar and down the nearest street. She needed to get away and be on her own to reflect on what she’d just seen and how it was making her feel.
Down another of the innocuous-looking back streets, she came across a small, quiet café and went in, the bell jangling behind her.
She found a table at the back and slumped down into the chair wearily. It was exhausting dealing with all this pent-up emotion.
The waitress came over and she ordered a croque monsieur and a coffee.
She rubbed her eyes and sighed. What was she going to do? Her world was being turned upside down and she felt like she was losing her grip on reality.
If Adam asked her why she’d stood him up, she’d have to tell him she lost track of time and when she’d gone looking for him,she couldn’t see him anywhere, so had assumed he’d gone back to the hotel.
Her order arrived quickly and she wolfed it down, suddenly reminded of the breakfast that she’d missed. She was knocking the crumbs off her hands when she became aware of a tall figure looming over her and looked up to find a stunningly handsome man looking down at her. His dark hair, which was lighter at the very ends, as if it had been bleached by the sun – but had to have had help from a hairdresser – was worn pushed back from his face, she suspected to best show off his expressive, golden-brown eyes. He stared at her with open interest and his striking face broke into a smile as she gazed back up at him.
‘Hi there,’ he said, in a deep American drawl. ‘Have we met somewhere?’
Daisy knew she’d never met him, but there was something familiar about him that she couldn’t quite place.
‘No, I don’t think so,’ she replied, smiling politely.
‘Mind if I sit down?’ he asked, and before she could answer, he’d drawn back the chair opposite her and lowered his fit-as-you-like body down into it.
‘Er, no,’ she said, somewhat after the fact.
‘Great. All the other tables seem to be taken. The coffee’s fantastic in here and it’s so quiet. It’s really good to get away from the crowds, don’t you think?’ he asked. His manner was confident, but Daisy found him a little overbearing.
‘Hmm,’ she agreed, unsure why he’d chosen to sit with her and reluctant to give too much of herself away. There was just something a bitoffabout him.
