Page 20 of The Affair
She read the message and heard herself give a small gasp. For a moment she just stared at the words, glowing bright in the darkness.He’s here?She felt panicky.
Worrying that he might go into the hotel and ask for her, Connie hurried the two minutes around the corner. She saw him before he saw her. He was waiting quietly, hands in his jeans’ pockets, staring out over the water, the street lamp under which he was standing lighting up the blond streaks in his hair.
Reaching him, Connie said, ‘What are you doing here?’ She was angry. ‘You can’t keep turning up like this, Jared. It’s really weird.’
Jared turned at the sound of her voice, but he didn’t seem offended by her words. ‘Hey, Connie. Sorry … You said you were staying here and I thought a glass of something might be fun. It’s such a beautiful night.’ He was smiling, and her heart seized in her chest.
She frowned. ‘Did I say I was staying here?’
‘Yeah, don’t you remember? You told me all about Bianca and her sons.’ When she didn’t speak, unable toremember telling him, but knowing she must have done, he went on: ‘I was on my way to Milan for a meeting and had some spare time. I realized I’ve never seen Desenzano.’ He lifted his arms outwards, palms up. ‘So I thought, What the heck?’
Connie was calming down. ‘It’s just a bit unsettling, you popping up out of the blue like this, twice in one week.’
Jared looked abashed. ‘I can see that. I’m sorry. I don’t want to freak you out.’
They stood in silence. Connie’s tiredness had vanished in the adrenalin hit of seeing Jared. Her heartbeat was hurtling round her chest, like a runaway train.
‘Now I have, though,’ he went on, unable to keep the amusement out of his eyes, ‘will you at least let me buy you a drink?’ He indicated a vacant table by the water.
Connie hesitated. She was flattered by his attention, she couldn’t deny it. But she was also wary of it.There’s no harm in one drink, she told herself, unable to stem the pounding in her chest. ‘Not an Amaretto,’ she said. ‘I’m not really sure I like that stuff.’
Jared disappeared into the restaurant that owned the waterside tables, leaving her sitting nervously on a cushioned aluminium chair, which wobbled on the old stone of the harbour. She noticed the chill and drew her pashmina closer around her.
The waiter set two small balloons of brandy and two tumblers of water on the table. Jared raised his glass, smiling at her as he waited for her to do the same. She touched her glass to his.
Jared said, ‘To Italy. The country we both love.’
Connie smiled and nodded her agreement.
They sat in silence. Connie knew it should feel awkward, being there, late at night, in that magical setting with a virtual stranger. But Jared obviously didn’t feel the need to make conversation. And his ease made her relax too. She took a sip of brandy and felt the pleasant burn as it hit the back of her throat. It made her cough, though, and her eyes water.
Jared raised his eyebrows.
She laughed. ‘Not used to it.’
‘This is my favourite thing,’ he said. ‘Sitting outside on a beautiful evening, in my favourite country, with a wonderful woman.’ He accompanied his words with a slow smile that made her heart beat even faster.
But Connie was taken aback. If he had used a word such as ‘gorgeous’ or ‘beautiful’ to describe her, it would have sounded flirtatious. But ‘wonderful’ – spoken so sincerely – implied a whole different level of admiration.
‘You barely know me, Jared.’
He looked surprised. ‘Don’t you have people like that in your life? The instant you meet them you feel a powerful connection?’
Connie thought of Devan, thought of Neil. ‘I suppose, yes.’
‘Well …’
Those eyes again. He was gazing at her, his expression solemn and considering. She felt a tremor pass through her body as she gazed back, as if a touchpaper had been lit. Her breath was faint, like a whisperingbreeze … that kiss. And suddenly all she wanted him to do was kiss her again.
She turned from him, looked out towards the dark lake, wanting to hide the heat bathing her cheeks. When she glanced back, he was laughing. Connie laughed, too, and somehow the tension dissolved.
Still trying to control her pounding heart, she said, with as much firmness as she could muster, ‘Go away, Jared.Please, just go away.’ Although even she could hear the quiver in her voice.
‘Charming,’ he said good-naturedly, tipping the last drops of brandy into his mouth and standing up.
For a moment she thought he was taking her at her word and leaving. But no. He came round to her chair and held out his hand, as he had two days ago in the piazza. But this time, hardly thinking about what she was doing, she took it.
They didn’t speak, she didn’t question where they were going, but before she knew it his arm was around her waist and he was turning her away from the harbour and the lights into a smaller, darker street, narrow, lined with shops – closed and shuttered and silent at this time of night. She knew she was trembling. She knew what he was going to do.
