AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Beth hauled her lip gloss out of her bag and pretended to concentrate on renewing her make-up before she said, 'Course I do, who wouldn't? But I'm not the sort of woman who could pop into his bed now and again for a quick spot of sex, no questions asked.'
If she'd hoped to shock her sister into leaving well alone, she failed. Catherine said soberly, 'Then perhaps you ought to try and change.'
Catherine! Now it was Beth who was shocked. 'You've never advocated that sort of carry on,' she said accusingly.
'And I still wouldn't in the usual run of things.' Catherine stared at her. 'But this isn't the norm. Your life hasn't been normal for months and months. Keith was an absolute swine and I don't pretend to know how you must have felt through all that, especially with Mum and Dad going, but I think it's high time you had a bit of fun. You're thirty, Beth, not eighty odd. You've got every chance of meeting someone really nice in the future and perhaps settling down and having a family, but for now just let your hair down. Go mad, step out of char¬acter. Be—'
'Irresponsible and harebrained?' Beth put in drily.
'I was going to say flirty.' Catherine grinned at her. 'But irresponsible and harebrained wouldn't do you any harm either. And I've got the idea Travis would be a fantastic ini¬tiation into that way of life. He'd be an animal between the sheets,' she finished a little dreamily.
Beth could hardly believe this was Catherine speaking. In spite of all her extrovert ways and bubbly personality, her sister had always been somewhat on the prim side morally.
Her face must have revealed what she was thinking because in the next moment Catherine hugged her, laughter in her voice when she said, 'Go for it, girl. That's my advice. Have a summer to remember.'
'Travis said something similar.'
'Did he? There you are, then. He's a man after my own heart.'
Beth eyed her sister sternly. 'Catherine, Michael is a man after your own heart and he is nothing like Travis.'
'Ah, but variety is the spice of life.' And then Catherine's voice lost its laughter and she took Beth's face between her hands, her eyes soft as she said, 'Don't let Keith ruin another day, another hour, another moment, Neddy. He's not worth it—he never was.'
'I know.' Beth was touched by the love shining out of her sister's face but how could she explain that something had been lost when she'd found out the man she had married was a stranger? Catherine and Michael were so happy and she was glad about that, more than glad, but as her sister had said herself, she couldn't know how she felt. She was thankful Catherine would never have to./The ability to trust a member of the opposite sex had been torn out of her that night as she had listened to Anna speak and she knew she had changed rad¬ically from that point on.
As Catherine disappeared into one of the cloakroom's cubicles Beth stared at herself in the mirror. Pensive eyes looked back at her and suddenly she felt impatient with herself.
OK, so perhaps she couldn't trust a man again and certainly the possibility of ever settling down and having a family as Catherine had suggested was a non-starter, but that didn't mean she had to spend the rest of her life without male company. She had all the rest of her life ahead of her and she could make of it what she would. Travis had said he was happy to take things at her pace so she had nothing to lose. Nothing at all. It would be foolish not to at least have a stab at this.
She nodded to the reflection, feeling happier, and as Catherine joined her again she said lightly, 'OK, big sis, I'll take your advice for once. I'll date Travis for a while as long as we both want to and see where it goes, and I won't rule anything out in the bed stakes. How's that?'
'Good.' Nudging her out of the way, Catherine peered into the mirror and then straightened. 'Very good,' she added as she turned to look at Beth. 'In fact, extremely good, I'd say.' And with that she took Beth's arm and they left the cloakroom.
Although Travis—and Michael too, if it came to it—knew nothing of their conversation in the ladies' cloakroom, Beth felt as shy as if the men had been listening as she and Catherine sat down at the table. Within moments, though, Travis was making them all laugh, his manner as easy as if he'd known Catherine and Michael for years instead of just an hour or so.
It set the mood for the evening, an evening which turned out to be hugely enjoyable. Probably because of the heart-to-heart with Catherine and more especially the decision she'd made at the end of it, Beth found herself laughing more than she had since the end of her marriage. Since before then, actually, because Keith hadn' t had much of a sense of humour. Whereas Travis's was wicked and entertaining if a little on the cynical side at times.
The meal was delicious and they lingered over coffee and liqueurs for ages. Eventually, though, Beth made noises about leaving. It was crazy, really crazy, but her heart had been in her mouth the last little while at the thought of being alone with Travis again. Excitement, sexual anticipation and sheer fear were vying for first place in her breast and she was blowed if she knew which one was winning.
