Page 10 of Carbon

“Mother, stop scaring Augusta. We’re only having lunch.”

I shot him a grateful glance, but his comment rolled off her.

“Nonsense. The two of you aren’t getting any younger. Now, why don’t you sit next to each other while we eat?”

My mother flashed a smile and slid into a chair opposite. “What a wonderful idea.”

Gregory pulled my chair out before settling next to me, and to give him credit, he looked about as comfortable with the situation as I felt.

“How long ago did my mother extend the invite for this little get-together?” I whispered to him after the main course.

Both of our mothers were ignoring us in favour of a discussion on flower arranging, and we’d more-or-less exhausted the small talk on current affairs and the weather.

“She suggested it a couple of weeks back, but I’m afraid I’ve been too busy with my job up until now.”

He’d told me all about his new position at the private hospital in the next town, specialising in breast augmentation. I’ll admit the thought of dating a man who spent every day with his hands on other women’s boobs made me cringe.

“Well, today was the first I heard about it.”

“Oh dear. I was under the impression you were rather keen, just a bit shy.”

“Not exactly.”

An awkward silence followed as Dorothy cleared the plates away. After the slightly uncomfortable start, Gregory had proven to be less unpleasant than I feared, and a far cry from the bratty boy I’d detested. With fifteen years having passed, I guess he’d changed, even if I still felt like a ten-year-old child intimidated by his proximity.

“With all the time I spent overseas, I forgot how meddlesome Mother could be. Until I went to university, she was forever trying to run my life.”

“I sort of wish I’d gone away to university, but as I attended Oxford, I was close enough to catch the train into town each day.”

“I didn’t realise you were an Oxford girl. Congratulations. Went to Cambridge myself. We probably shouldn’t be speaking after your boys thrashed us in the boat race this year.”

A giggle bubbled up before I could stop it. “Mainly because your team’s boat nearly sank. The wind was terrible. I’m so glad I only watched on television.”

“I stood on the banks of the Thames one year, in the rain, but I don’t remember much about it due to the pub crawl afterwards.”

“Aren’t doctors supposed to act responsibly?”

“Ah, but I wasn’t a doctor then, merely a student.”

Chatting with Gregory came more easily over dessert, and when I glanced at the clock, I was amazed to find two hours had flown by, even if half of that time was taken up by me reliving last night with Mr. M while Gregory waffled on about a recent medical conference. I’d successfully wasted most of the day, and I needed to get some editing done if I was going to meet my next deadline.

“So sorry, but I’m afraid I need to excuse myself. I promised to update Angie on a few things before she goes out this evening.”

Mother dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and gave Mrs. Fitzgerald a knowing look. “So lovely to see you two getting along. It’s a good thing Gregory’s coming to my Black and Red party a week next Saturday.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow. “I am?”

His mother fixed him with a hard stare. “Yes, Carolyn invited us both last month. Don’t you remember?”

He turned to me and shrugged. “Looks like I’ll see you a week next Saturday, then.”

“Looks like you will.”

Weirdly, I didn’t hate the idea as much as I thought I would.

4

Aweek and a half passed, and the frequency of my phone checks had waned to every two hours. Not a peep from Mr. Midnight, but someone had given Gregory Fitzgerald my number, and he’d messaged to say how much he was looking forward to the party this evening. Or at least, somebody using his phone had messaged me—I wouldn’t have put it past his mother to step in again.

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