“No. Can you just tell him the call relates to his daughter and I have already tried his mobile number?”
“One moment. Natasha?” the woman at the end of the line asked, throwing Tasha slightly that anyone knew who she was. Discretion really was becoming a lost cause.
“Yes.” There was a short pause before she was connected.
Jim almost snarled, “Hello.” The single word confirmed his annoyance or maybe it was because she’d interrupted his meeting.
“It’s Tasha. Lizzie wants to know if she can go to the mall and meet her friends then go home from there.”
“Yes. But tell her to call Sara and make sure it’s okay with her,” he said sharply.
“You haven’t replied to my last message,” she replied, feeling very brave, or maybe stupid.
“Because I’m very busy, but I will respond, believe me. I have to go.”
She looked at the phone and felt shocked by just how annoyed he sounded.
“Well?” asked Lizzie.
“Sorry, yes. He said yes as long as you call your mom and she’s okay with it.”
Chapter 12
Lizzie left immediately after Sara had expressed no objections leaving Tasha alone in the house, well except for Sandra who still appeared to be a little mistrusting of her motives for being there judging by the brief discussion they’d had on how she’d spent her time out.
Sandra was pottering in the kitchen when she received a text message. It seemed to cause her to announce her departure. “Right, I’m done for today. I’ll see you at breakfast I assume.”
“I guess so,” replied Tasha for as uncomfortable as Sandra’s slightly suspicious thoughts about her made her feel it was quite nice that she was fond enough of Jim to be suspicious.
With the house completely empty at only three o’clock Tasha decided she’d put on her incredibly expensive bikini and lie by the pool and wait for Jim to make contact.
She looked at her reflection and decided it was worth more than a tenner from the supermarket but not seven hundred and fifty dollars. Surely no bikini was worth so much? She grabbed the bottle of sun lotion from Jim’s bathroom and threw on yesterday’s offending shoes. She’d been right, she didn’t need new shoes to go with the bikini, those worked just fine.
She applied her cream and lay back on the lounger. She’d been there a short time when her phone pinged. She looked to find a message from Lizzie.
Tasha smiled weakly as she replied, wondering if Lizzie’sI hope to see you soonmeant she might be on the next flight back to London. She really, really hoped not.
She lay back down and smiled at how very sweet Lizzie was. The phone pinged again and the number was unknown this time.
She had the approval of number one, which was something she supposed, but it was Jim’s approval or at least favour she was really in need of.
She sent the message and then saved Sara’s number as a new contact and entered her name as ‘Number 1’ and smiled to herself. Seeing it was just after half past four Tasha felt a little sick as she thought about Jim’s return. He was likely to blame her for Doogie Howser, but maybe he was right. Bad things had a habit of happening to her and she really was the only common denominator. Her phoned pinged again, with a message from Jim this time.
She grinned down at the screen. He was still talking about them in a long term way, the kiss was back and it made her ridiculously happy.
She picked up her phone and sun cream and put her shoes on to go back into the house when she looked up and saw Jim standing by the open sliding doors with his phone in his hand suggesting that’s where he’d text her from. She felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation as his eyes met hers, but his weren’t angry. They were happy, excited and as his eyes raked over her, up and down, she headed towards him where he smiled broadly. She attempted to enter the house, walking past him, but before she’d got her second foot over the threshold Jim pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing her gently on the cheek.
“You’re early.” Her random words revealed her nervousness.
