I gasp. ‘You got married?’ I can feel blood draining away from my face. Noah met someone who he loved enough to marry. My stomach nose dives towards the floor.
‘What’s the matter?’ He’s studying my face. ‘You look like you’ve heard someone has just died.’
I shake my head. ‘You got married – that’s a shock.’
‘Alice, you’re now a parent – that was a shock for me too.’ He flicks his eyes to his Timberland boots. We both go silent. I speak first. ‘So, you kissed me, and you’re married?’
He shakes his head. ‘Becky and I are separated.’
My mind is trying to work out what Becky looks like. I bet she’s tall, willowy, and blonde. Probably a model.
‘Did you and Becky have kids?’
Noah shakes his head. ‘No, I wanted them, but Becky didn’t.’ He takes a deep breath. He stops and lowers his head. ‘Becky looks like you. In the early days she had red hair like yours. She’s dyed it since then. When we first got together, I used to pretend she was you. It’s not been easy for Becky. We’ve not had the best marriage and…’ His words fade away. ‘She is also the daughter of my dad’s boss at work. Dad thought she was great.’
‘Oh,’ I say, ignoring the sinking feeling in my tummy. I used to pray that Dave Coombes would one day like me. It was hard having a boyfriend whose father didn’t want you anywhere near his house.
Noah fiddles with a heart-shaped menu. ‘Becky and I got married because…’ He stops and drops the stone. ‘Well, you know how persuasive fathers can be. Becky and I had some good times, but we argued a lot. We have spent half our married lives screaming at each other.’
‘That was just like it was with Pete. We could have represented our country in the Olympics for shouting matches.’
Noah doesn’t look up. ‘I was the one who told Becky I wanted to leave her. Dad’s taken it badly. We’re not speaking.’
‘Oh, Noah, I’m so sorry.’ I place a hand on his shoulder. ‘I know how close you were to your father.’
His eyes are studying my face. ‘I’ve always wanted to come back here and see you again. This sounds weird but you never left my mind. I know it’s been a long time and we’re both adults now, but I never stopped thinking about you. I knew I had to find some answers to the questions which have been in my head for years.’
‘What are those?’
His pink lips break into a smile. ‘I have spent what feels like a lifetime wondering what happened to you, Alice.’
‘Me too,’ I whisper.
He envelops my hand with his. ‘I wanted to tell you about Becky. I wasn’t sure how you’d react.’
I smile. ‘Thanks for being honest with me. How’s Becky doing?’
‘We’ve been living apart for a year. She’s okay and has been seeing a man from the next village, but I sense she’d like us to get back together.’ He rubs his forehead. ‘I know that’s what Dad wants.’
‘I’m sorry, that sounds stressful.’
His hand touches mine. ‘I need answers, Alice.’
‘Answers?’
His tanned fingers entangle themselves in mine and he gently squeezes my hand. In a flash I am back to being a teenager again. We’re holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Electricity is fizzing up and down my arm. ‘What happened to us all those years ago? We both have different versions of how we ended. I want to find out the truth and get to know you again, Alice.’
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Noah is behind the counter making two Luscious Lattes for table four. We’ve been open an hour and, in that time, we have served two newlyweds, two recently engaged couples and a couple expecting their first child. They all looked loved-up and happy.
Yesterday we only had one couple who argued in The Little Love Café and that felt like an achievement. My social media campaign about giving acts of love has proved popular. We’ve had people sharing surprise plane tickets, plates of delicious food, perfume and aftershave purchases and surprise flower deliveries at work. Our favourites are the guy who treated his girlfriend’s dog to a luxury grooming session and the woman who placed a love note inside her boyfriend’s football boots. Throughout the day I regularly check our socials and share as many customer stories about love as I can.
I am leaning on the counter waiting for Noah to finish the drinks. ‘I had to take up boxing to get over my anger of us splitting up all those years ago,’ Noah says, casting me a cheeky grin.
‘Boxing?’ With a smile I say, ‘You never had much upper body strength because I always beat you at arm wrestling.’
Noah laughs. ‘I let you win because I wanted to kiss you, Alice.’
