His expression was soft as he looked back at me. ‘Very. My mum used to take us to the theatre. It was really her thing. When Dad was away on exercise, but especially on deployment, she’d book us tickets to see all sorts of things. Christie was her favourite. I guess I’d forgotten that until we had the conversation ages ago about how much you like her work. It was a good memory to rediscover, so thank you for that.’
I smiled in reply.
‘I think she’d have liked a lot about you.’
It was obvious by how he spoke just how much his mum had meant to him and I flushed a little at the generous compliment. ‘Thank you.’
It was his turn to smile.
‘You’ve never thought about going with your dad? Or your brother?’ I asked.
‘It never even occurred to me. But Dad was never a theatre buff. More of an outside man. Even now he spends a good part of his day in his garden or up on his allotment.’
‘Oh, he and my parents would get on well then. They like nothing better than chatting about new varieties they’re going to try and concocting recipes with some weird new veggie they’ve discovered.’
‘Exactly! I got given some purple potatoes last year. Purple!’ he shook his head. ‘So weird.’
‘What did they taste like?’
‘Just like normal potatoes, actually, which was oddly disappointing.’ His smile broke into a laugh and I loved the sound of it, its deep rumble washing over and relaxing me even more. There was something about Seb. He had a calmness. A stillness in his soul that you couldn’t help but be affected by. The only thing that worried me was just how much I was affected by it.
‘Want one?’ He offered the box of chocolates he’d bought.
‘Ooh! Any I’m not allowed to take?’
He wrinkled his forehead. ‘No. Of course not. Choose whatever you like.’
I took the orange cream and bit in, closing my eyes in delight at its yumminess.
Next to me, Seb laughed. ‘You look like you’re enjoying that way too much.’
I bumped against him. ‘Oh shoosh. I just haven’t had one of those for ages.’
‘Because some were off limits before?’
Glancing briefly from under my lashes, I saw him watching me. ‘It wasn’t that they were off limits. More that I knew my ex really liked them, so I just always left them for him.’
‘Even though you liked them too? Surely he wouldn’t have minded sharing.’
I shrugged. ‘I guess.’ Honestly, I wasn’t so sure, but as all that was in the past now, it didn’t seem to matter too much.
‘There’s another one there. Have that too.’ Seb pointed to the corner of the box.
‘Don’t you want one?’
‘Nope. I eat pretty much everything in this box and having seen how much you enjoyed the first one, I don’t think I could now deprive you of another.’
I laughed, taking the sweet and popping it in my mouth. ‘Thanks,’ I said, around it.
‘Pleasure.’
Seb picked another chocolate out of the box without looking as the lights began to dim in the theatre. Without thinking, I squeezed his arm in excitement and he momentarily, and very gently, laid one large hand over mine in response.
The room quietened, the curtain rose and up on the stage, the set for act one was illuminated. I sat in the low light, feeling the warmth and strength of Seb’s shoulder against mine as his broad frame filled the seat and did my best to concentrate on the action about to unfold in front of me, and not the man beside me.
* * *
Exiting the warm fug of the theatre into the cold, brisk air of the night took my breath away. The clear sky of earlier had been replaced with a layer of cloud from which hung the vague threat of snow. I shivered and wrapped my coat tighter around me.
