“What shall we do today?” he asked.
“Maybe go shopping for Sandra’s list of supplies?”
“We could also visit Covent Garden.”
“What for?” Tasha asked with a confused expression. She had nothing against Covent Garden, but saw no need to visit.
“Diamonds?” he replied.
“What for?” she repeated.
“An engagement ring. For my fiancée, you, remember?” He smiled at her.
“Or not,” she replied with deadly seriousness.
“You have to have a ring, Tasha. I want to buy you a ring, so if you want any say in it—” his voice, that sounded irritated somehow trailed off.
“I won’t wear it until we’ve announced it and we’re not doing that for a while, so what’s the point?” she said a little tactlessly, knowing this was important to Jim.
“Fine, have it your way. You want me to choose one for you, but we will be announcing it soon enough and you will wear a ring.” He sounded hurt more than anything now.
Tasha felt a little guilty, having dismissed a ring with no thought for his feelings, even though she knew it mattered to him. “It’s not that I don’t want a ring, I do. You just kind of sprung it on me. But we could look and I mean, just look,” she conceded
“We’ll see,” he said, his smile and easy demeanour reinstated.
They had been to Covent Garden and were sitting eating lunch when Tasha broached the subject of the holiday Helen had spoken about, “What’s this summer vacation all about?”
“We usually have a couple of weeks away, late July,” he said as if that explained everything.
“I don’t have to come with you if you’d rather I didn’t,” she said genuinely. If it was a group of Jim’s friends, his old friends and was some kind of tradition she had no issue with him going without her.
He frowned at her and arched a brow. “Why wouldn’t I want you to come, or more importantly, why wouldn’t you want to come?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to come, but I just wondered if you wanted me there as you hadn’t made any mention of it, that was all.”
“I assumed you’d be coming, which you will be,” he said matter of fact. “Not that I’d really given it much thought.”
“Could I have details? When, where, who?” She felt like she was pulling teeth now, which made her uncomfortable because even when Jim was barking orders he didn’t hold back details or behave in a secretive way and now he was.
“Late July, ten days sailing around the Med’, you, me, Lizzie, Jon, Helen, their daughter Daisy, son Sean, another college friend of ours Joe and his wife Callie and another old friend Mickie. Details, happy?” He was still irritated and it confused Tasha because as far as she was concerned there was no reason for him to be that way.
“Have I done something to upset you?” she asked having been treading on egg shells all morning.
“Why?” he asked abruptly.
“Because you are being a complete and utter arse. Everything I say seems to be wrong. I’m going on a holiday I didn’t know existed with people I don’t know and you’re reluctant to discuss it. You want to buy me an engagement ring to wear when nobody actually knows we’ve even discussed marriage. If I have done something to piss you off, then at least give me the courtesy of telling me. No wonder you scare your staff with these moods.” She frowned at him and believed she was the one with the right to be pissy and antsy if anyone did.
“Sorry, I hope I don’t scare you. I just feel agitated today. Like I say, I hadn’t given the vacation a thought, but it’s on the schedule, our schedule. We will discuss marriage next week and you will have an engagement ring and wear it.” His irritation was subsiding, much to Tasha’s relief.
“I thought it was just time off for you on our schedule. We will talk next week about the marriage thing, as we agreed. Why are you agitated, is it me?” she asked as he moved along the bench he was sitting on until there was no space between them. “Or…are you suffering from my usual cause of crankiness?”
He laughed at her. “You think I’m horny?”
“Are you telling me you’re not?” she asked as she placed her hand on his thigh and beyond.
“What do you think?” he asked flexing beneath her hand.
“I think we should go home for me to relieve your crankiness.” She grinned.
