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She shook her head as she climbed the stairs. The jewellery section was right in front of them. ‘Let’s go upstairs for a coffee. Food shopping makes me hungry.’ Now, that she could agree with.
She wandered through the jewellery department—most of the jewellery didn’t have price tags, which told her everything she needed to know. While she didn’t know how much things actually cost, she could just do her little-girl-in-a-shop state of mind and pretend that they could all be hers.
She stopped suddenly and Reuben walked right into her. She hadn’t realised he was so close. ‘Sorry,’ she murmured.
He followed her eyeline to the side and pointed. ‘You’re looking at that?’ His face was screwed up in that a-guy-will-never-understand kind of way.
She nodded. ‘It’s gorgeous. It’s like something Cleopatra would wear.’ She moved a little closer but resisted the temptation to touch the glass. Interlocked flat panels of white, yellow and rose gold. One of the fashion magazines would probably describe it as a showstopper. And it was.
She moved further along and stopped and pointed at a large square-cut pink diamond surrounded by white diamonds. She was too scared to even breathe next to it. ‘Bet we’d really need to remortgage Caleb’s house for that.’
Reuben shook his head and steered her towards the lift. The smell of coffee hit them as soon as the lift doors opened, in perfect timing with a loud growl from Reuben’s stomach.
She laughed. ‘Trying to tell me something?’
He nodded. ‘My body is telling you that it’s crying out for another bacon sandwich.’ He pointed to the glass-fronted cabinet filled with tiny cakes. ‘But that’s not what you get here.’
She turned to face him. ‘Did you want to go somewhere else?’ She got the distinct impression he’d brought her here because he’d thought she’d prefer it. On most days she would be happy with a cup of tea in a local café. Why did she get the impression he was trying to keep on her good side?
He shook his head. ‘The coffee is great in here. Makes up for the lack of bacon. What are you having?’
She stared at the board as the barista approached them. ‘I’ll have a skinny, sugar-free caramel latte,’ she said.
‘What?’ He wrinkled his nose as the barista waved her hand.
‘I’ve got it,’ she said, as she turned to the large metal machine. ‘Triple shot for you, Reuben?’
He nodded then turned back to Lara. ‘Didn’t take you for one of those mumbo-jumbo crazy coffee girls. Not after the amount of chocolate you consumed last night.’
She slapped his arm. ‘Hey. Anyway, there’s method in my madness. The skinny sugar-free counteracts the fact I’m going to have four of those little cakes.’ She was feeling quite pleased with herself. The only problem would be choosing. She walked up and down the counter, trying to decide.
‘Only four?’ came the deep voice, right next to her ear.
She jumped. ‘Stop it.’ And turned back to the counter. The barista had finished preparing the coffees and placed them on a tray. She must be able to read minds because she was standing with an empty plate and a pair of tongs in her hand.
‘A rhubarb and custard tart, a death by chocolate, a strawberry and vanilla pastry and a pecan pie.’ The words were out before she could stop them and Reuben let out a muffled laugh behind her.
He pointed in the other direction. ‘I’ll have a piece of apple pie,’ he said, before leaning over towards her ear again. ‘Man-sized.’
Her head shot around and she felt heat sear into her cheeks. It was ridiculous. He was only winding her up. There was even a dangerous twinkle in his eyes.
She went into her bag to find her purse but he waved her away. ‘You just bought the shopping. You’ve got to let me pay for something.’
‘We’ll talk about it later.’ She sighed and made her way over to a table, pulling out one of comfortable velvet chairs and sitting down.
Reuben sat down opposite her and put the tray of coffee and plates on the tables.
She pointed at his apple pie, which was obliterated from view with cream. ‘Would you like some apple pie to go with your cream?’
He picked up his fork and speared the pie. ‘You can talk. At least I’ve only got one instead of four.’
She picked up her tiny pecan pie. ‘It’s ridiculous calling this thing a pie. Look, it’s barely bigger than my thumbnail. One bite and it’ll be gone. Two if I nibble.’ She eyed his plate again and couldn’t hide her smile. ‘You, on the other hand, could sink to the bottom of the Thames eating that lot.’
He shook his head and kept eating. There was something nice about this. Something easy. After yesterday morning she’d thought the next month would be an absolute disaster. She could write a book on the last twenty-four hours alone.
But being around Reuben Tyler wasn’t as hard or as uncomfortable as she’d first thought. It didn’t hurt that he was particularly easy on the eye. And that accent...
She watched him carefully from across the table. She could see a few women giving him a second glance then giving her a second glance too.
He may not be a footballer but he looked like the kind of guy who’d have a WAG hanging around him and there was no way she fitted the bill.
‘So what did you plan to do for the next two weeks?’ He’d finished demolishing his pie.
She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I was just going to hang out with Josh, preparing for our holiday.’ She wrinkled her face. ‘I guess that won’t be happening.’
Reuben’s dark eyes were fixed on her. ‘Do you want that to happen?’
‘What? No, of course not. Not after what I saw yesterday.’ She shuddered. ‘It’s going to take a long time to get that sight out of my mind.’
He was still watching. ‘You sounded as if you were a bit sorry.’
She took a sip of her latte. ‘About Josh?’ It was hard to find the words. ‘Part of me is, and part of me isn’t.’ She picked up her spoon and started stirring her latte. It was an unconscious act, keeping her eyes away from his penetrating gaze. ‘I guess I’ve been looking forward to the holiday for so long that I just pushed the other stuff away.’
‘What other stuff?’
Her insides started to squirm. It was bad enough having to think these thoughts to herself. They’d definitely come to fruition last night. But saying them out loud? That was something else entirely.
She kept stirring as the swirling coffee was easy to focus on. ‘Probably the fact that Josh hadn’t paid for any of the holiday. Hadn’t paid rent since we moved in together after we got back from Oz, and didn’t seem particularly bothered about finding a job. He was just happy that I was working and paying the bills.’
Her fingers clenched around the long spoon. ‘Now I just think what an idiot I was. Out working while he was at home, doing goodness knows what.’
His hand reached across the table and covered hers. ‘Don’t put yourself down, Lara. You’re a gorgeous girl who just got stuck with a loser. Lesson learned. Move on.’
She g
ulped. All of a sudden her mouth was dry and the rhubarb and custard tart had just stuck midway down her throat. It was his hand. The way it just enveloped hers. The warmth. That little touch of compassion.
After the rubbish day she’d had yesterday, she hadn’t really expected anyone to reach out to her. To make her feel valued again.
It gave her a warm feeling. The kind that had always spread over her when she used to be around her gran. Her parents had been great, but she’d always had a special connection with her gran. She’d encouraged her studies in English and had been so proud of her when she’d been accepted at university. But when her gran had died one month later it had all been too much for her. Her mum and dad loved her lots—but had never had the same ambitions for her that her gran had. She’d needed some time away—some space. She’d deferred her university placement and drifted from one bad job and bad relationship to the next, finally ending up in Australia then back here.
Tears were brimming in her eyes. Thank goodness Reuben hadn’t noticed. Was he getting a tiny pulse shooting up his arm too?
He gave her hand another squeeze and went back to his coffee. Obviously not.
She was an idiot.
It was almost as if he could read part of her mind. See that she was trying to hide the parts of her that were hurt. His tongue ran along his lips, catching some of the sugar from the apple tart, and she swallowed, trying not to stare.
‘Caleb’s been good for me.’ It was as if he chose the words carefully.
She was curious. ‘How?’
He pressed his lips together. ‘He keeps me focused. Keeps me grounded. Addison might not like me much, but when I go to their house and see Caleb with his son...’ His voice tailed off and he gave a little shrug, ‘It makes me see what a family should be like. I don’t doubt for a second Caleb would give his life for his wife or his son in a heartbeat. They’re his whole world.’
There was something about the way he said the words that sent a little prickle down her spine. She didn’t doubt for a second her mum and dad would do the same thing for her. Reuben hadn’t mentioned his family at all. ‘Aren’t all families like that?’ she asked carefully.
