Page 45 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

‘Who?’

Damn. She’d forgotten that she hadn’t told Gem about Ras.

‘A man I had a date with. Um… a week or two back. Only the one date. I didn’t hear from him again so it wasn’t worth mentioning him.’

‘Why’s he called Gaping Gill man?’

‘He drove me up to North Yorkshire…’

‘You got in his car? On a first date?’ Gemma sounded panicked. ‘Honestly, Jo. You’ve always promised you’d be careful.’

‘He’s the local GP. I saw his picture on the health centre’s website so it wasn’t much of a risk. Anyway, he took me up to North Yorkshire and we walked up to this enormous hole in the ground called Gaping Gill. It’s a hundred metres deep and I went down it.’

‘Like abseiling? On a rope?’

‘Not exactly. I was strapped into a chair and winched down. I was terrified, but it was brilliant.’

‘And the guy? What was he like?’

‘Lovely. At first, I thought he wasn’t my type but he was so easy to talk to and he’d made a massive effort to choose an activity he thought I’d like…’

Gemma laughed. ‘He thought you’d like going down a hole? What on earth made him think that?’

‘I wrote on my profile that I like adventurous activities.’

‘Oh, I see. That makes sense. Sort of. Except… why would you write that? You don’t like adventurous activities. You like Scrabble.’

‘Kate – you know that woman I met at the Your Best Life talk – she suggested that I made my profile a bit more interesting. To attract new men.’

‘You’ve got to be honest though. What if you attract someone who likes ski jumping or skydiving and he expects you to share his enthusiasm?’

‘Yeah, I suppose. But I did enjoy Gaping Gill. I enjoyed the whole date. He was lovely company.’

‘But you didn’t go on a second date?’

‘Well, no. He never asked.’

‘You could have asked him.’

‘Kate said it was better to let the guy make all the first moves. Initially at least.’

‘This is the twenty-first century, not the nineteenth!’

‘I knew you’d say that.’

‘And why are you listening to all her advice when you hardly know her?’

‘She’s kind of a dating expert.’

Gemma harrumphed. ‘Anyway, tell me more about Gaping Gill man. What was his actual name again?’

‘Ras. Only 3 points. So he didn’t fit with my Scrabble dating rule.’

‘Pah,’ said Gemma. ‘That was just a bit of fun, surely? I mean, I know I sent you that numerology article, but you can’t seriously rule out a decent guy whose company you enjoyed on the basis of how many points his name would score. What was he like? Besides being easy to talk to, lovely company and good at coming up with unusual activities for first dates. Was he attractive?’

‘Not especially. Although… he kind of grew on me. The longer I spent with him, the more I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter.’

‘Personality?’