Page 65 of The Last Love Song
He reached out his fingers and entwined them round hers. ‘If it makes you happy to go off and do your modelling, then it’s fine by me.’
‘Thank you. It does, really.’
‘There’s something else, Sorcha, something that Todd made me think about. I know I’ve been wanting to give you this grand wedding, but I’d say it’s the piece of paper that matters. If you don’t mind, then let’s marry quietly as soon as possible.’
‘Con, I’d marry you in the drain outside if necessary. I’ve never cared. It’s always been you that wanted the big day.’
‘You’re sure you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?’
‘No!’ she replied emphatically. ‘I have a mind of my own. I don’t live and breathe completely to please you,’ she said, half laughing.
‘Then that’s settled. We’ll organise it as soon as possible.’
‘Grand.’
Con reached over and turned out the light.
They slept, their fingers still entwined.
19
Helen signed the letter with a flourish (finishing a letter was still a triumph, after all). She read the page back to herself.
Dear Aunt Betty,
I am so sorry, but I will not be able to come home to Ballymore this summer as I had thought. I have so much coursework to do and just cannot spare the time. I do hope you understand. I will try and get home in October, at the half-term break. Hope this letter finds you as well as it leaves me.
Your niece, Helen
She folded it in three and stuck it in the envelope. It was not the most expansive work of penmanship, but it would suffice. She didn’t need to explain her actions to anybody, as Tony had taught her.
Tony...Tony...Helen stared dreamily out of her window. Since college had broken up ten days ago, they had spent a great deal of time together, mostly in bed. The thought of leaving him in a week’s time to visit Aunt Betty in Ballymore was not one she could even contemplate. Besides which,shewould be back shortly. There was only another two and a half weeks left to make Tony forget the woman completely, if he hadn’t already...
Helen checked her watch. Tony was due round in an hour. Just enough time to run out to the postbox, then come back and slip into something a little more comfortable. Helen giggled at the thought of the new black silk undies and suspender belt she’d bought that morning.
As she left the flat and walked down the street, she thought how much she had learnt about men in the past ten days. The way to their heart was not through their stomach, as her Aunt Betty had always indicated. Oh no, it was through a very different part of their anatomy. She compared her feelings for Tony Bryant to those she once harboured for Con Daly. Her connection with Tony was deep, meaningful. Perhaps most importantly, her affection was reciprocated. Helen understood now that Con had been no more than a teenage infatuation. How silly she had been.
Helen popped the letter in the box and turned back the way she had come. Surely,surely, although Tony had said in the beginning that this was only a bit of fun between two consenting adults, he must have changed his mind by now? Why, only the other night she’d sat astride him, refusing to move until he uttered the three magic words.
‘I love you,’ he’d said.
Then she’d made him say them louder and louder until he’d screamed in pleasure.
Back at the flat, Helen put the champagne on ice in the freezer box of the Frigidaire. She’d also bought strawberries and cream to eat in bed as a post-coital snack.
Helen studied her figure in the mirror. Love and a considerable amount of physical exercise had meant she’d lost nearly ten pounds in as many days. Although still shapely, for the first time she could actually now see her hip bones. The new black bra supported her breasts so they spilled out over the lace edge. Helen slipped on a black mini-dress,poured herself a glass of champagne and sat down to wait for her lover.
‘You really are incredible.’
‘Thank you. Want a drink?’
‘Yeah. That was thirsty work.’
Helen reached over to the table beside the bed and topped up the two glasses with champagne. She handed one to Tony.
‘Cheers.’
‘Yes, cheers.’ He raised his glass and took a sip. ‘Well, who would have thought that you and I would end up spending most of July in bed together.’
