‘Tall, untidy brown hair, amazing grey eyes?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘Lush, isn’t he?’
‘Not exactly the adjective I had in mind, Jodie. Try rude, overbearing, a real piece of work.’
‘No.’ Cat could almost see Jodie shaking her head in disagreement. ‘That can’t be him. You must have met someone else.’
‘It was definitely him,’ Cat insisted. ‘Tony Marsh introduced us.’
For a moment Jodie fell silent on the other end of the phone. Cat could hear her gentle breathing as if gathering her thoughts and then she said, ‘No, this doesn’t sound right to me. Did something happen between you two to trigger this obvious dislike you seem to have?’
‘Like what?’ Cat stalled, knowing exactly what Jodie was digging for.
‘Like you doing something to upset him, maybe?’
‘Me? Upset him? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous,’ she said, trying to laugh it off. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Cat.’ The sound of Jodie’s voice made her think of her father. He often used the same low, reprimanding tone when chastising Gussie or Gulliver.
‘Oh, all right,’ Cat caved in. ‘I couldn’t find the keys to my car,’ she said with a huff of annoyance. ‘Debbie was busy on the phone and Tony wasn’t in his office. She told me to go and see Kieran in the service workshop because he’d know where the keys were.’
‘And?’
‘Remember the other night? What I told you he did?’
‘Yes, and you swore you’d get him back kind for kind when the opportunity arose. Oh, Cat, no, don’t tell me you …’ Her voice trailed away and Cat heard the first bubble of laughter down the phone as Jodie realised what must have happened.
‘Yes, I mistook Luke for Kieran … well, how was I to know when all I could see was someone in overalls leaning into the boot of a car?’
‘Hilarious!’ Jodie hooted with laughter. ‘So, what happened next?’
‘Well.’ Taking a deep breath, Cat told her everything. She knew once she’d finished Jodie would see that Luke Carrack had a different side to his character; one which could be arrogant and condescending. Only she didn’t.
Instead she said, ‘Cat, he could have been injured,’ in the kind of voice which indicated she’d be at the front of the queue with bandages and TLC.
‘Well he wasn’t,’ Cat snapped, ‘he bumped his head that’s all … and swore. Loudly.’
‘Did you apologise?’
‘I planned to, before he decided to be patronising. He called me a stupid woman and then followed up by lecturing me about the service area being off limits to the public. I ask you. Since when have I been the public? I was about to enlighten him when Tony turned up with my keys.’
‘Oh, poor old you, all in all a bit of a bad day then,’ Jodie soothed.
‘You could say that.’ Did she detect a glimmer of sympathy on the other end of the phone? Probably not; Jodie, ever the peacemaker, usually tried the calming route to bring contentious moments to their conclusion. Despite being friends they were total opposites. Jodie hated arguments and confrontations. For her it was all about making peace, finding common ground. In total contrast, Cat, growing up in a male dominated environment, had always tended to be assertive and strong-willed.
‘Never mind, I’m sure things will be different next time,’ Jodie said, continuing to appease.
‘I’m sure they will,’ Cat agreed, too tired to argue about there not being a next time. It appeared that Jodie, like the rest of the female population of Carrenporth, had become a fully paid up member of the Luke Carrack fan club. Nothing, it appeared, would sway her from her high opinion of him. Thankfully, she was able to bring the call to an end when a black Audi SUV pulled up in front of the hotel entrance. The Abbotts had arrived; time to do her Wonder Woman spin and morph into her event planning role once more.
Chapter Four
It had been a week since the incident at the garage. Cat thought one night’s sleep might rid her of the spectre of Luke Carrack, but for some reason he still lingered, making her feel scratchy and irritable whenever he managed to intrude into her thoughts.
Last night, when she had dropped into the club to join Nathan, a few of Arcadia’s mechanics were there enjoying a drink together. They’d settled themselves at a table to the right of the bar, Kieran with his back to her.
The service boys were a lively lot, all about the harmless letting off of steam after work. However, Nathan always kept an eye on them, aware that even the most innocent actions could quite unexpectedly spill over into something more disruptive. And Ruan had shelled out far too much money fitting out this club to have it mindlessly trashed should some silly disagreement ever get out of hand. There had been one or two occasions when Nathan had stepped in to calm things down but the presence of Ship2Shore’s two bouncers was usually enough.
