Page 94 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
“Do you ever hear from her?” Kate asked.
“No,” said Matt. “We were entirely and completely incompatible. Once the divorce settlement was finalized there was really no need for our paths to ever cross again.”
“I’m sorry,” said Kate again, for want of something better to say.Ithink I’ve gotten away with it, she thought. She felt like aScooby-Doovillain without the meddling kids.
“Don’t be,” he said. “It was an impulse thing. A reflex reaction. Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Isn’t that what they say?”
“I don’t know,” said Kate. “I’ve never paid too much attention to whattheysay.”
Matt smiled.
“No,” he said. “You haven’t, have you?”
“Do you think you’d ever get married again?” asked Kate.Oh God!she thought.Stupid stupid woman, why would you ask that?
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” said Matt. “For the right woman. What about you?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out either,” said Kate. “But I’m not going to bet all my chips on it!”
Matt picked up the takeaway cup.
“Shall I stick this in the microwave, then?” he asked.
“Mmm, yes please,” said Kate.
Kate excused herself and took her freshly microwaved mocha up to her bedroom, where she internally punched herself repeatedly in the face. Her phone blipped. Another message from Richard. She would have to call him and explain why she’d been offline for so long.
She concentrated on slowing her breathing down and pushed Richard and his handsome face and sexy aroma to the front of her mind and banished Matt to a far corner, with spiders and skeletons of old boyfriends.
Kate scrolled down to Richard’s number and pressed dial. It rang almost to voice mail before he picked up;Playing it cool, thought Kate.
“Hello,” said Richard.
There was a formality to his voice that Kate hadn’t heard before.So, this is what a Richard-perturbed sounds like.His tone made her feelnervous and instead of explaining herself succinctly, she instantly began to babble.
“Hi!” she said. “I’m so sorry I didn’t pick up your messages; I had my phone on silent and it was such a long night, and partial disaster—although it turned out all right in the end, and I didn’t get in until well after five a.m. and then I was just knackered and I went straight to bed.”
There was silence on the line for a few moments.
“Sounds like you had a busy night,” said Richard tersely.
Kate didn’t like the vibes she was getting through the ether.
“Well, yes I did, actually,” said Kate. “But the date itself was a total nightmare.”
Richard instantly brightened.
“Really?” he asked. “How so?”
Kate explained.
“What an arsehole!” said Richard.
“Indeed,” said Kate.
“Would you like me to have him tracked down and pulled naked through the streets of London by a donkey?” Richard asked.
“If it wouldn’t be too much bother,” said Kate.
