And then, I can’t resist. ‘I heard you were a plastic surgeon?’
‘That’s right,’ he says distractedly, tearing off a new piece of towel and dipping it in the water.
‘So . . . which bits do you do?’
He gently smooths it over my skin and looks up at me. ‘Which bits?’
‘You know,’ I shrug. ‘Hair transplants? Nose jobs? Eye lifts? I’m asking for a friend, obviously.’
He lets out a laugh. ‘None of those are really my area, I’m afraid. I’m in reconstructive surgery. Bone and skin grafts, tissue expansion surgery, that kind of thing.’
‘Oh. I see.’ I feel slightly silly now. ‘And here I was thinking you spent all day creating beautiful cleavages.’
A hint of amusement appears at his lips. ‘I’m sorry to disappoint you.’
‘Never done a boob job?’
‘Never. A few noses in my time though,’ he says, before looking up. ‘So how long have you been in retail?’
‘Oh, forever. I started at M&S years ago. That was where I met my husband.’
He smiles. ‘What’s his name?’
My lips part momentarily as I realise he clearly only caught half the story. Or maybe that’s all I’d given.
‘Ed,’ I say, softly. ‘He . . . was called Ed.’
Sam blinks, puts down his towel and looks up at me. ‘Was?’
‘He died. Five years ago.’
He’s still for a moment, taking this in. ‘Oh, Jules. I’m so sorry to hear that.’
The door opens. It’s Liam.
‘Hi partner!’ I smile, but immediately realise he looks upset.
‘Hey, buddy, what’s up?’ Sam asks.
Liam raises his gaze to me.
‘I’m really sorry if I hurt you,’ he mumbles, his lip trembling, apparently convinced he’s done something very wrong.
‘Oh, you don’t need to worry!’ I reassure him brightly. ‘It was just an accident.’
But tears are brimming in his eyes now. Sam stands up and walks over, rubbing his arm reassuringly. Liam wipes his eyes, clearly embarrassed.
‘Sorry,’ he mutters.
‘Hey,’ Sam says gently. ‘It’s okay to cry, buddy. Crying just means youfeel.’
Liam sniffs again and looks over at me. ‘Are you going to be okay?’
But by now, all I can think about is how it felt when Sam touched my skin, as if he ignited something inside me that now feels like a bonfire. I force a smile as I look back at Liam.
‘Absolutely,’ I say, sounding strangulated. ‘I’m going to bejust fine.’
Chapter 21
