Nick laughed. ‘No. He’s a physiotherapist but it was too tempting to let it pass. We’re meeting in The Old Theatre at seven then we’ve got a table booked at The Bombay Palace at nine.’
‘Okay. It’s a date,’ I said. ‘Well… not really a date… just me and you being out at the same place, and…’
‘It’s fine,’ Nick said. ‘I know what you mean. I’d best leave you both to it. Nice to meet you, Elise.’
‘And you,’ she said.
I walked Nick to the door. ‘Are there any Stevens in Bay Trade?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘Sorry. See you soon.’ He waved as he headed down the street.
‘He likes you,’ Elise said after I closed the door.
‘Rubbish.’
‘And you like him.’
‘I do. As a friend. Because?—’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘Because he’s not called Steven.’
‘Well, he isn’t and I’m sure Steven’s about to knock on my door.’
A knock on the door made us both jump. Steven? I unlocked the door again.
‘Nick?’
‘I forgot to give you this.’ He handed me a black leather portfolio.
‘What is it?’
‘Some website ideas.’
I flicked through the portfolio to see several pages of sample layouts with little boxes explaining the logic and flow of what he’d done.
‘Nick. These look amazing. You must have spent hours on this.’
He shrugged. ‘I enjoyed it. Evenings alone in a hotel can get boring so it was refreshing to have something to do other than stare at the TV.’
‘I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Can I hang onto these?’
‘They’re yours. There’s no rush to look at them. If you like a design, let me know. If you want to pick and mix from several, I can do that too. And if I’ve completely missed the mark, please say and I’ll do some more.’
I continued to flick through image after image. ‘I think it’s going to be a case of being spoilt for choice rather than not liking them. Thank you.’
‘Pleasure. I’ll see you at Bob’s leaving do, if not before.’
‘How sweet is he?’ Elise said when I locked the door again.
‘I know.’
‘You wish he was Steven, don’t you?’
‘No!’
‘Sarah?’
‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
