‘Cool, no worries. I’m ready to go when you are,’ I said, even though I had the opposite philosophy when it came to travel and liked to leave everything to the very last second. Life was too short to wait around in airports.
We sat and ate our breakfast like an old married couple, passing each other the milk and sharing the jams and honey. It was the first time I’d had a holiday husband, and it was kind of nice. I only ever went away with the girls, but one by one they’d paired off: first my sisters, then Abi with Tony and Sara with Henrik. I was running out of single girls to go away with. There was nothing worse than seeing couples on holiday sitting in silence. Staring past each other into space or gorging on their phones, desperate for attention from anyone but their ‘significant’ other. I liked to gossip with the girls and fill in the blanks from the night before. It was all I’d ever really known. But being with a man abroad was quite an interesting experiment, and there was something strangely comforting about Leo topping up my juice and ordering us more coffee. He was looking after me in a different kind of way to my girlies; he was taking charge of our breakfast experience, and I liked it.
‘You’ll be pleased to hear I’m already packed,’ I said. ‘One handbag and two carrier bags.’
‘Very chic. Minimalist.’
‘Cruising through life.’
‘Nice pitch. Cruising for a bruising is our latest line.’ We both laughed. ‘It’s a shame we can’t all work on it together,’Leo said, with a smile. ‘That would throw them. If we did a joint presentation and suggested they double the fee.’
‘Heidi isn’t very good at sharing. Stranger danger and all that.’
‘You and I are hardly strangers,’ he said with a wink. I felt my cheeks burn and didn’t know where to look as his phone started ringing. ‘Cab’s here,’ he said, turning the alarm off. ‘Time to shoot.’
I wanted to soak up every last second of our fake minibreak, but Leo had already stood up and was eager to leave. He had such a commanding presence that I didn’t bother trying to wangle another five minutes, downing my coffee and wrapping a blueberry muffin in a napkin for later. We left the beautiful, marbled reception of the Harbour Club, where Leo had already settled the bill, and a spotless Mercedes had us outside Lajes Airport in less than ten minutes.
‘Is it even open?’ I peered out the window at the tiny building. ‘I hope the planes are normal-sized and not those toy ones.’
Leo leapt out and held the door, as I went to pay the driver.
‘It’s already sorted,’ he said, offering me his hand. ‘All part of theAmplifyservice.’
‘Oh, right. Thanks.’Not again!He was exasperating! Every time I thought to do something, he’d already done it. Maybe he would run the Excalibur account more efficiently than we did – he was giving me a masterclass in client service, that was for sure. Unless this was how real men treated women? It certainly hadn’t been my experience up to now; I barely got offered a drink these days – but then,maybe my lack of enthusiasm was showing. Too many bad dates to mention. Audition after audition until they all blended into one.
We had nearly two hours to kill and only a coffee hatch and a duty-free kiosk for entertainment. I wasn’t really in need of a litre of vodka or a sack of M&Ms, so I settled into one of the plastic seats and sent Heidi a quick text.
Me: We’re on our way – should be with you around 4 p.m.
Heidi: Hurry up. Doing both our jobs is exhausting.
As if.She was probably writing that from the spa while having her toenails painted.
‘How are you at cards?’ Leo asked, pulling a fresh pack out of his pocket and ripping off the cellophane.
‘What are we talking? Texas hold ’em? Blackjack?’
‘Er… Old Maid? Snap?’ He turned the cards to show me the pictures and I laughed.
‘You’ve found my level… I’m excellent at both.’
‘It was all they had,’ he said, deftly dealing them into two piles. ‘But for the record, I’m a card shark in the casino.’
‘Oh really? Casinos make me feel sick.’ I tidied my cards into a neat pile.
‘Why’s that?’
‘I just hate everything about them. The lights, the noise, everyone either off-their-face drunk or sober and desperate, slinging around money they can’t afford to lose. The one and only time I’ve been, I stood at the roulette table for an hour and watched the croupier sweep up piles and piles of losing chips, while the punters mindlessly doubled down totry and win their money back. Money’stoo hard earntto throw it away like that.’
‘What about the people who win?’ Leo asked.
‘Does anyone really win? Don’t they just gather up their chips and bet them all away again. Like kids on the two-pence machines, pushing coins into the slots, until they’ve all gone.’
‘Keeps them quiet though, no?’
‘Keeps them numb, handing all the money back to the only real winner – the big casino owner in the sky.’
‘Interesting metaphor for the Almighty.’
