‘Jen!’ called a warning sound from Sam, who appeared, putting his arm around her. ‘Leave your brother alone.’
Kate looked from one to the other, before shooing Jen and Sam back into the rear of the house. She closed the door on them and Liam, and then turned to him with a smile. ‘Have a lovely evening.’
‘Thanks Mum.’
A few minutes later he drew up outside Augi’s house. She must have heard the car because she stepped out the front door before he could turn off the engine. She either didn’t want him to come into her house, or more likely, had been ready and waiting early. Augi was always punctual.
He got out of the car anyway and smiled at her across its roof. ‘Hey, Augustini,’ he said. She smiled back. ‘Hi, Daniel.’
He came around and opened the car door for her. It was a bit old-fashioned, but his father had always done it for his mother and had instilled the habit in him.
‘Thanks for agreeing to come,’ said Dan as he got into the driver’s seat.
She kept her gaze straight ahead, avoiding his. ‘How could I resist?’
He glanced at her, as he pulled up at the intersection before turning right to take the old road into Wellington. ‘My note?’
‘The classical music concert.’ If it hadn’t been for the slight tweak at the corners of her mouth he would have doubted himself.
He laughed, realising she’d been teasing him. He decided to run with it. ‘I have to confess I got Mum talking about music and might just have turned the conversation to you. She mentioned how much you liked Bach, so I thought you might enjoy the concert.’
‘Bach is my favourite composer. I’ve always liked his work. It’s orderly, contained, and yet complex.’
Like her, he thought. But he wasn’t about to make such a personal comment, not when they’d only just started talking again.
The half-hour trip into Wellington passed easily enough. Better than Dan had anticipated. The conversation was relaxed and flowed without difficulty. He even made Augi laugh a few times. If Augi had had any doubts about the date, she was keeping them to herself. But she seemed happy enough, even relaxed and comfortable in his company. It was almost as if she’d come to terms with something, even if Dan didn’t know quite what that was.
He parked in the basement car park under the Michael Fowler Centre and they took the lift up, emerging in the foyer where he collected the tickets and some drinks before guiding her to a quieter spot outside the bar.
‘So,’ she said, settling back. She was wearing a black silk dress which looked as though it came from a bygone era — one where people attended cocktail parties. And it looked just right on her. ‘You’d like to know me better,’ she tilted her head with a shy smile. ‘We only have half an hour before the concert starts. Perhaps you’d like to ask me questions?’
He shook his head. ‘This isn’t an interrogation, Augustini. I just want to spend time with you, get to know you the old-fashioned way.’
He took a sip of his drink and watched as she pressed her lips together and looked down as if thinking through how to respond. Her hair flopped forward a little and his stomach tightened in fear as she hid behind the curtain of hair.
Then she flicked away her hair and smiled. ‘Sounds good to me. I’m looking forward to it.’
‘The concert?’
In response she lifted her glass to his. ‘To getting to know you better.’
He released a tightly held sigh. It was going to be alright.
Chapter Fourteen
The evening passed without any great revelations or deep soul-searching, which he suspected they were both thankful for. And in the course of it he learned that, while she might be reserved, that reserve, as he’d imagined, hid a depth of emotion he could only guess at. Tears had shone in her eyes during the slow movement at the end of the concert. He’d found it hard to keep his eyes on the stage. His gaze kept shifting to her. In the end he didn’t bother to pretend he was watching the musicians, because she seemed unaware, lost in a place where he couldn’t reach her.
It was only when the music stopped, the applause began to fade and the lights came on, that she turned to him after a brief swipe of her eyes.
‘Music always gets me.’
He nodded. ‘It’s sneaky like that. Bypasses the defences.’
She nodded and looked back to the stage where the curtain had finally closed on the musicians. ‘That was lovely, thanks, Daniel. I really enjoyed it.’
They rose and walked out into the foyer. One exit led to the car park, the other to doors that opened onto the street, lined with cafés and bars.
‘Would you like a drink? Coffee?’ he added hastily, thinking that sounded less date-like.
