That was the way life worked.
And, additionally, it now struck her, maybe itwouldbe a good idea to go on that skiing weekend. Maybe a burst of Curtis would get him out of her system once and for all. Maybe seeing him in fits and starts over the years had fed her infatuation. Maybe a weekend in his company would do the trick when it came to stifling all the inappropriate feelings she still seemed to harbour towards him. She would see first-hand, in the presence of all the beautiful, eligible women who would be there, just how out of reach he was for someone like her. She would be firmly reminded of her status asfriend.
It was exhausting thinking about all the permutations of the situation. A simple invitation and she’d been thrown into a tailspin that was giving her a headache.
‘The schoolwouldbenefit from your kind generosity,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll come but please don’t think that you have to stick to your promise about the money. You’re right. It would be nice to relax and to ski.’
Curtis smiled, satisfied. ‘I’m a man of my word,’ he told her. ‘By tomorrow evening your school’s bank account will be considerably healthier...’
Jess managed to keep her head firmly down over the next week and a half. The money which he had donated to the school was so greatly appreciated that she thought the governors might actually declare a day’s holiday in celebration.
When she knew that he had returned to London, three days after having arrived to see his godfather, she cycled over to William, where news of her weekend’s escapade had reached his ears.
‘I’m thrilled for you,’ he confided as they sat at his kitchen table with a plate of homemade scones between them and Earl Grey in cups. ‘You’re just like Curtis. You work too hard, my dear.’ He looked at her shrewdly and then asked whether whatever chap she might be going out with wouldn’t object to her accompanying a man for a weekend away.
‘So far—’ she laughed ‘—I’ve been on three dates with three guys and, as the song goes, William, I’m still looking...’
‘There’s always my godson,’ William returned with a sly twinkle in his eye and she coloured like a beetroot.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she huffed in an unnaturally high voice. ‘Curtis is my friend andthat’s all.’ She cleared her throat, looked at her phone for the time and shifted her eyes away from his piercing blue ones. ‘We might be going to this wedding together, but it’s only because he’s scared that some scheming cute blonde with wedding rings in her sight might make a beeline for him...’
‘He does enjoy his cute blondes, not that any of them ever seem to work out...’
‘He’s a commitment-phobe, William.’
‘You think so, my dear? I would say he wants commitment more than he thinks. He’s just in the process of making his way to the right recipient.’
‘I should get going.’ She stood up, began putting on her thick padded coat. She didn’t dare glance in William’s direction. Had boredom got the better of him? Made his imagination a little too overactive for his own good?
She would put him in touch with a few clubs as soon as she got back to Ely. She knew a lot of people and she could think of some very nice organisations that would welcome a clever retired lecturer who was also a fantastic cook. Was he too confirmed a bachelor to think about letting a suitable lady into his life? It would certainly distract him from a life without the routine of his university lecturing job.
Left to his own devices, the last thing she needed was for him to start second-guessing how she felt about Curtis.
‘There’s a lot more to my godson than meets the eye.’ He patted her arm fondly as he walked her to the door. ‘There are a lot of hidden depths there, my dear.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ Jess replied, laughing, ‘when I see him forcing himself not to flirt with all the women who will be flinging themselves at him at the wedding.’
Hidden depths?Sure, many times she had wondered at what stirred under the surface of his easy charm. She knew nothing about him prior to when he had joined her school, and now William’s murmured words had unleashed questions in her head she knew had always been there...
The last thing she needed at this juncture was curiosity, which was on an equal level with nervousness when it came to something else she didn’t need, but she was still as nervous as a kitten when, bags packed and long weekend in sight, she pushed her way through the crowds at Heathrow to spy him lounging by the First-class check-in, looking at something on his phone.
Every single time Jess saw him, it was as though she were seeing him for the very first time. He was always just so much more dramatic than she remembered.
He looked effortlessly cool in a beaten leather motorbike jacket, faded jeans, black sweater and sturdy tan loafers. On the ground was a luxury case. He looked up at her approach and straightened.
‘Thank you for the driver, Curtis.’ She launched into speech to still the butterflies in her tummy. In her layers of bulky clothing she felt frumpy and unexciting.
‘I wouldn’t dream of putting you through the hassle of getting on public transport. You should get yourself a car, Jess.’
‘I already have a car.’
He wasn’t looking at her. He had relieved her of her passport and had flipped it open to inspect her picture, while she tried not to cringe because it was a stunningly unflattering one taken when she still wore thick specs and was just a little too overweight to be called voluptuous.
‘Mmm. I was talking about one that works when you want it to work instead of when it feels like it.’ He checked his watch. ‘Not much time to kick around here. It’s going to be a long trip. No idea why I didn’t take the jet.’ He eyed her. ‘Very good idea that you chose to wear comfy clothes.’
‘You should see the stuff I’ve packed,’ Jess said, walking fast to keep pace even though she was only a few inches shorter than him.
‘Including to wear to the wedding?’
