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“Seriously? I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“I’m sure there are worse ways to be described. But I’m just saying, I don’t see you like that. You’re not brooding at all. I find you very warm and funny.”
“You bring out the best in me,” he says, and smiles, and I smile back. He probably doesn’t mean it, even though he promised he doesn’t give false flattery, but it’s a nice thing to say.
Eventually we reach the river, and cross over the bridge to The Monolith. He crosses the lawn to the standing stone.
“Over four thousand years old,” he says in awe. “Unbelievable.” He reaches out a hand to touch it.
“Careful,” I warn, “or you might go die or go mad. Mind you, not sure how we’d tell.”
“Haha. With my luck I’d fall in love. The ultimate disaster!”
I smile, because I’m meant to, and we head into the pub. The outside is whitewashed cob; inside, it’s all oak beams and low ceilings, with a huge fireplace. In the winter the logs would be crackling merrily but today because it’s warm, the double doors are open to the beer garden, so we decide to sit outside.
Under my direction, we order two cream teas, and we let the warm summer breeze blow across us as we watch two house sparrows hopping around beneath the tables looking for crumbs, while a wood pigeon coos softly from its perch in the lower branches of a nearby horse chestnut tree.
Titus closes his eyes, tips his head back, and breathes deeply. I imagine he’s inhaling the scents from the nearby herb garden—mint, rosemary, and thyme. I study his light-brown skin, clean-shaven jaw, and Adam’s apple. When he passed women in the street, their gazes were drawn by his height, his powerful shoulders, and the fact that he walks with confidence, not stooping like some tall men do. And he’s so handsome. He looks like a movie star on vacation.
At that moment he opens his eyes and looks straight at me, catching me looking at him. Caught out, I just smile, and he smiles back.
“So tell me why you think falling in love is a disaster,” I say.
He chuckles. “I was being facetious.”
“You say that, but I sense some truth beneath it. Some girl has scarred you. Was it Claire?”
He looks at the beer mat on the table, picks it up, and turns it in his fingers. “Did you ever meet her?”
“Yeah, once or twice. I thought she was very nice. Pretty and smart.”
He gives me a wry look. “You can be honest with me, Heidi. We’re not together anymore. You won’t hurt my feelings.”
“She seemed like a bit of a bitch,” I admit. “It surprised me that you’d end up with someone like that.”
“We sort of fell into a relationship,” he says. “We met through friends and went out a few times. She started staying over. And then one day she just didn’t go home. I don’t remember talking about it, but her clothes appeared in the wardrobe and her things were in the bathroom and that was it—we were living together. I didn’t argue at the time because it was nice to have the… ah… company…”
“To have sex on tap, you mean.”
His lips twist. “Maybe. But it turned out in the end that’s all it was about. For me, anyway. Elizabeth told me she’d overheard Claire joking with a friend about hooking a rich guy at last. I confronted her about it, and she just shrugged and said I was naïve if I thought women wouldn’t be interested in my money. I ended it that day.”
I can’t tell whether he truly liked her, or if he’s more annoyed about her being attracted to his fortune.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know both Mack and Oliver have had similar problems.”
He shrugs. “It wasn’t the only issue we had. She never really got me. She thought I was being contrary when I didn’t just say yes to her all the time. She called me moody, which used to annoy me.”
“I don’t think you’re moody. I’m sure you just get preoccupied with work.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
A young guy comes out with a large tray and sets it on the table between us.
“Thank you,” I say, and he smiles and withdraws. “Shall I be mum?” I ask, picking up the teapot.
“Sure. Wow, this looks amazing.”
Four large warmed scones rest on a plate next to two dishes containing strawberry jam and thick clotted cream.
