‘It’s brilliant, your parents must be so proud!’
Embarrassment clawed up his neck. ‘Oh, they’re not coming to see it.’ All the proof he needed to know they didn’t think him good enough.
‘Really?’ She looked genuinely horrified on his behalf.
He couldn’t take it. ‘Drink?’ he asked, wondering how best to stop this night from ending. She’d still not confirmed about the awards night. After everything that had happened with the press, would she even want to go?
She bit her lip. ‘I don’t think I can drink again after last night, and I’ve got a shift tomorrow night…’
He chuckled. ‘To be honest, I don’t think I can either. But there’s a nice Lebanese down the road that’s open till late. We could get a bite to eat instead? Unless you need an early night?’ To his surprise, he instinctively held his breath as he waited the two seconds it took for her to break out into a grin.
‘Oh, go on then, you’ve twisted my arm.’
He spotted Russell coming up the auditorium stairs, heading to the sound booth, probably looking for him, potentially with another lecture about promotion. Alex ducked down close to Ellie’s lap. She gasped in surprise, but didn’t say anything.
‘It’s my boss,’ he whispered.
‘Oh, okay.’ Her fingers clenched into fists. ‘And you don’t want to see him?’
‘No, he’ll try and convince me to do more interviews.’
Her hands relaxed. ‘I see. He’s gone past us.’
Alex grabbed her hand and her raincoat, then pulled her up. She chest-bumped against him, and he tried to ignore the tingle of pleasure that shot down to his groin at the feel of her pressedagainst him. He needed to focus, couldn’t let his attraction to her spoil things between them.
‘Got everything?’
She gave a bemused nod.
‘Let’s go.’
They hurried down the row and jogged down the steps, then swept through a closed door markedprivate.
‘I feel like we’re on the run!’ Ellie whispered with a breathless giggle.
Alex’s fingers tightened around her hand. He felt unwilling to let go of her even though they’d escaped the theatre and Russell. ‘It’s always like this.’
I’m always running away.
Chapter Eight
‘This looks lush!’Ellie didn’t even care if she couldn’t eat out again for a month; this feast was worth every penny.
Moroccan lamps hung from the ceiling of the restaurant and glittered against fringed textiles. The walls were red and gold, and a mosaic water feature bubbled gently in the centre of the room, which added to its glamorous-kitsch charm.
An array of small, pretty, jewel-coloured plates arrived, piled with delicious food. Perfectly grilled chicken shish, and lamb koftas sprinkled with coriander. Herby falafels sat in a ring of steaming rice with pomegranate seeds scattered like rubies over the top. A mountain of fresh pitta spiked with nigella seeds sat to the side of their mains, with little bowls of buttery houmos, rich umami moutabal, as well as a cool yoghurt and garlic dip.
They both dug in with happy sighs.
‘So, what made you choose nursing?’ asked Alex.
She tried desperately to chew the chunk of bread she’d stuffed in her mouth and not choke before answering. ‘To be honest, I kind of thought I’d end up in our flower shop, although Mark always seemed more interested in running the business then me. But one day, there was a bad accident a couple of streets from our house involving a cyclist and a van. It was awful.’ Her blood ran cold as she remembered the shock of walking in on that scene. The twisted bike with its wheel still spinning, the man crumpled in a pool of blood, the van driver slumped across his wheel, the front of his van buried in a lamppost. ‘Hannah and I were about fifteen and we tried our best to help. We called an ambulance and got blankets – the van driver was in shock. We tried to keep the cyclist comfortable and to stop the bleeding but he was very hurt, and everything we did was only a dropin the ocean. When the paramedics arrived, they were so calm and efficient. A few months later, the cyclist came back to thank us, he said we’d helped him just by being there. We’d made a difference, even without realising it – we’d comforted someone in one of the worst moments of their lives. Hannah felt the same as me and we decided to train as nurses when we left school. It gave us both a purpose. I’m kind of glad it happened, in a weird way.’
‘I envy you.’
She hadn’t expected that. Most people thought her career was worthwhile, but no one had ever said theyenviedher. Most of the time, they’d said the opposite: ‘Tough job,’ ‘Poor you,’ ‘You must have a strong stomach.’ And if they’d done some of her worst shifts she might have agreed with them. But Alexenviedher. ‘Why?’
‘The certainty. You know exactly what you want in life.’
