Page 24 of Love ad Lib
‘Okay, Libby.’
She squeezed his hand. ‘Thank you.’
He released it and took a couple of steps back.
She hesitated, as if she wanted to say more.
‘Go!’
She ran up the stairs, pausing at the doors to give him a wave, her red dress lit up like a flame from the lights behind her.
He held up his hand, only dropping it when she disappeared from view.
Well, that was a night. Henry turned to face the traffic and the realisation landed on him with a sickening thud. He looked at his watch. Nine fifteen. He was nearly an hour late for his date with Elizabeth.
‘Fuck!’ He called her but it went to voicemail. He left a message and sent a text, then ran back up the main road towards Soho.
Twenty minutes later, sweating and out of breath, Henry entered the restaurant. It was packed. Looking around, he recognised the back of Elizabeth’s blonde head as she stood by the bar. His shoulders relaxed. She was still here. He ran his hands over his face, straightened the jacket of his suit and weaved through the crowd towards her. She turned slightly to the side. She was laughing, a cocktail glass in her hand. She’d found someone to talk to. This was good.
‘Elizabeth?’
She turned to him and her smile disappeared.
‘I’m so sorry I’m late.’
‘Late?’ a voice cut in. ‘It’s been over an hour.’
James was standing next to Elizabeth, a look of disdain on his face.
‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ Henry snapped.
‘Fuck you, Foxbrooke.’
‘No, fuck you—’
‘Hey!’ said Elizabeth. ‘James has been keeping me company. I would have left ages ago had he not been so chivalrous.’
‘Chivalrous?Him?’ Henry spat.
‘Yes. And where on earth have you been? You didn’t call or text.’
‘I did, as soon as I finished helping get a pregnant woman to hospital.’
James snorted. ‘And I’m Father Christmas.’
‘Really?’ asked Elizabeth, disbelief evident in her tone.
‘Yes, I was at a comedy show, and one of the performers went into labour. I went to get her husband, then took them to St. Bart’s.’
Elizabeth sighed. ‘That sounds ridiculous.’
Henry addressed James. ‘It was Claire, the woman from the training session at work the other week. You remember? She was heavily pregnant? It was her I took to the hospital.’
Elizabeth looked at James, her eyebrows raised in question.
James shrugged. ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about, mate.’
The only thing stopping Henry from launching himself at James was the fact that Elizabeth was in the way.
