‘I already have it – a lucrative partnership with your new resort.’
He gave me a droll smile that vanished almost instantly.
‘Hey,’ I said, reaching over to pat his forearm, ‘you’re focusing on the wrong thing, Jules. You’ve got all this to keep you busy,’ I said, gesturing to the resort, ‘and it’s going to be brilliant, I just know it. You don’t need to take a massive step backwards with your ex-wife. This is a new chapter for you. Keep throwing your energies into Aetheria and you never know, you may just meet the love of your life.’
‘Youwere the lov?—’
‘Jules…’ I said, my voice just above a whisper.
He laughed gently at himself and I laughed too, the tension between us ebbing away. ‘Now, can we please eat?’ I asked. ‘I’m about to die of starvation.’
‘You always were one to hyperbolise, Ally,’ he teased, picking up his knife and fork.
‘Me?’ I asked, and his laughter rang out across the restaurant.
I shook my head at him and was about to take my first bite when he said, ‘So, does that mean you’ll take up with Christos then?’
I froze, my fork suspended halfway to my mouth. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
‘He’s a handsome bloke… you’re a beautiful woman… Absolutely no judgement, Ally, I promise.’ He popped a bite of lobster into his mouth and chewed, regarding me thoughtfully.
My fork still hovering, I was stuck on why Julian would leap from me rejecting him to me taking Christos as a lover.Was he being magnanimous – however misguided it was to offer up his employee – or was it sour grapes?
‘I told you before – I’m not planning on hooking up with Christos – or anyone for that matter,’ I said, hating the defensive edge to my voice. ‘This is a work trip and that’s my only focus.’
Well – that and ex-hubby number one.
‘I really don’t mind?—’
‘Jules, I haven’t even thought about it.’
A big fat lie – although akindlyone.
Julian seemed to take my assurance at face value, giving me a warm smile. Pleased to be back on firmer footing – amicable exes with our own special brand of friendship – I settled in for what turned out to be one of the best meals of my life.
8
Thought of the day…
You’re now free to live life on your own terms.
Anyone who says otherwise can sod off.
(This applies, even if you have no bloody idea what yourterms actually are.)
The rest of the meal was just as extraordinary as the lobster. For our main, we had slow-roasted Cycladic lamb with fava purée and roasted cherry tomatoes (without question the best lamb I’ve ever had – and I may exaggerate on occasion, but not this time) and for dessert, panna cotta with honey and fig compote, the dish I’d salivated over the night before. It was justgorgeous– I would have licked the plate clean if I’d been at home on my own.
And after we salvaged the conversation, we kept it light, talking sports and travel and our favourite books – though between us, we’d only read seven in the past year and five of those were mine.
We even ventured into ‘remember that time when…’ territory. It was a daring move considering how dinner began, but worth the risk, as we ended up in fits of laughter.
It was a trip to Morocco. Julian was there for work, and I tagged along so we could spend the weekend together exploring. We got lost in the souk – as one does – and eventually, we asked one of the shopkeepers the way out. Rookie mistake. We ended up with six hand-painted bowls, three shawls, a tea set, and a bag of almond-stuffed dates. Andheonly sold shawls. Those shopkeepers saw us coming from a mile away.Andthey sent us in the wrong direction. It was two hours before we got back to the hotel.
‘And you ate all the dates in the taxi,’ Julian accused.
‘Excuse me! I hadonedate, thank you very much. As I recall, you ate the rest because it had been a whole three hours since lunch and you were ravenous.’
He bellowed with laughter, and I chuckled along.
