Page 4 of For One Moment With You
As I stepped outside into the evening sun again, I clutched the bottle, all too aware that seeing Adam, even fleetingly, had made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt. Fishing in my pocket for my keys, I walked back to my car. Then as I reached it, I heard footsteps behind me.
‘Tilly?’
Even before I turned around, I knew it was him.
‘I’m sorry.’ Adam hesitated. ‘Look, I know you’re getting married. And you can tell me where to go, if that’s what you want. You’d be completely within your rights. But I was wondering, if you had ten minutes, or twenty even, if I could buy you a coffee – or something?’
I gazed at him, at the face I barely knew but wanted to touch, hair I wanted to run my fingers through. Given the commitment I was about to make to Gareth, I knew this was the moment I should have been walking away. But even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t have. I looked at him, wondering if he could hear my heart starting to race. ‘OK.’
He seemed to exhale visibly. ‘I’m guessing around here isn’t the best idea.’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t see why not. I mean, we’re only going for a coffee.’
‘You’re right.’ Looking relieved, he glanced across the road. ‘There’s a little cafe at the other end of the park – how about there?’
I left the bottle of wine I’d just bought in my car and locked it again, feeling oddly self-conscious as we start walking.
‘Gorgeous evening, isn’t it?’ It was one of those balmy summer evenings, the air still warm, only the faintest layer of high cloud in a sky of deepest blue. He gazed up at the sky briefly. ‘It is.’ He glanced sideways at me. ‘I’m sorry. I suppose I did rather spring that on you.’
‘You did.’ I smiled. ‘So, how are you finding it, living here?’ I was trying to hide how out of my comfort zone I felt.
‘It’s good. It’s a short commute to work – and I like the people I’ve met. So far, at least.’
As his arm brushed against mine, I felt a jolt of something. Taking it to mean it was me he was talking about, I felt my heart miss a beat. ‘So what happened with your girlfriend?’
‘It’s a long story I won’t go into. We probably stayed together too long. I suppose so much was still good between us. It made it much harder. She’s a great person.’ He shrugged. ‘But the heart doesn’t lie, does it? When it comes to love, I think it’s simple. If you know something isn’t right, you’re with the wrong person.’
I stifled a gasp. Was it really that simple? If so, what was I doing with Gareth? ‘All relationships go through rough patches, don’t they? How did you know it wasn’t just that?’
He was silent for a moment. ‘I have a theory – it’s only a theory. But I believe in soulmates. I believe we know when we meet them. It feels like nothing you’ve ever known before – in a way that defies logic. You can’t explain it, but it’s like you already know each other. You get each other, in a way other people never can.’
I was lost for words as he described what I’d never felt with Gareth, that I didn’t want to admit I was feeling for him. ‘And you didn’t feel that way about her?’ I wanted to be sure about what he was saying.
He shook his head. ‘No.’
‘Aren’t you worried you might be looking for something that doesn’t exist?’ I asked tentatively.
‘Not at all. I know it exists.’ He pauses, looking at me. ‘I’ve felt it, Tilly. Just once.’
I told myself it was probably a line he tried with all the girls. But then my eyes gazed into his. He was talking about us. I knew he was. But before I could speak, the moment was broken as a dog came running up. At the same instant, I glimpsed Lizzie across the park. Keeping my head down, I steered Adam away from her. ‘My sister – in yellow running gear. Probably trying to run off her hangover. Don’t look,’ I muttered under my breath.
But it was too late. She’d seen us. She ran over and stopped in front of us. ‘Tilly! What are you doing here?’ Even pink and flushed from exertion, my sister looked stunning.
‘I felt like a walk.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s such a lovely evening! Believe it or not, we bumped into each other.’ I glanced at Adam. ‘You remember my sister, Lizzie, right?’
‘I do. I’m Adam.’ He held out his hand.
Now, I’d been counting on Lizzie not remembering. She’d been rather more piddled than I had that night – though clearly not as piddled as I’d thought.
Giving me awhat the fuck’s going onlook, her eyes widened as she looked at me then back to him again. ‘You’re the guy from the hen party – who bought us champagne.’
‘That’s right.’ He looked at her awkwardly. ‘Well, a wedding’s a special time, isn’t it? I suppose you could say I’m a sucker for a happy ending.’
‘Gosh.’ Sounding slightly shocked, Lizzie met my eyes. There was astonishment in them; confusion, too.
‘I should leave you two to it,’ Adam said quickly. ‘You must have plenty to talk about – with the wedding coming up, I mean.’
‘Don’t go on my account.’ Lizzie glanced at her watch. ‘Shit. I’m going out this evening – again, glutton for punishment that I am. And I’m going to be late. Nice to see you, Adam. And I’ll see you in the morning, Tills. Don’t be late.’
