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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.
His gaze caught hers for a second and he shook his head. ‘That’s one of the things I like about you, Lara—your idealism.’ He took another swig of his coffee. ‘So what are your plans now for the rest of this week?’
It was clear that part of the conversation was over. She couldn’t pry—she barely knew him—so she swallowed the remainder of her tart and said the first thing that came into her head. ‘I’ve decided to do some touristy stuff. I never really got the chance when I first moved to London, so it might be quite nice.’
He looked amused. He tilted his head to the side. ‘What kind of thing?’
‘I’m going to do the Buckingham Palace tour.’ Where had that come from? It was the first thing that had popped into her head and right now she didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of Reuben. She certainly didn’t want to act like a woman who’d been cheated on and mope about the place. This was the new improved version of herself.
A woman swept by their table in red-soled black patent stiletto heels and a long sweeping cream wool coat. Her long blonde hair was like a sheen from a TV advert and Lara sensed the cool blonde’s eyes sweeping over her and then Reuben.
‘Reuben Tyler?’
Perfect pouting pink lips appeared at the table, along with a waft of expensive perfume and a remortgage-your-house handbag. Lara shrank back in her chair.
Reuben froze for a few milliseconds then seemed to move into his default charm position. ‘Millicent. How nice to see you.’ He stood up for a second and let her do the kiss-on-both-cheeks move.
‘When did you get back?’ Millicent’s voice was a little sharp.
‘Last night.’
‘Really? I didn’t notice your car.’ Lara could feel the edges of her mouth start to turn upwards. Watching the body language here was a real treat. For a few seconds she’d felt intimidated by the gorgeous statuesque blonde. But while Reuben had his charm face in place it was clear the woman was about as welcome as a box of frogs.
She lifted her latte for a sip and prepared to attack her death by chocolate. Better settle in. This could be fun.
Reuben shook his head. ‘There’s work being done of the roof. Asbestos. So I can’t stay there right now.’
Millicent tilted her head to the side, the tone of her voice changing automatically. ‘Why didn’t you say? You’re more than welcome to come and bunk in with me.’ She let out a shrill little laugh.
‘I hardly think that would be appropriate,’ said Reuben. ‘Millicent, meet Lara, my girlfriend.’
The perfectly formed death by chocolate cake somersaulted out of her hand and landed upside down on the white and black tiled floor. She stared in disbelief at her little piece of heaven before shooting Reuben a laser glare.
Millicent was practically sneering as her eyes swept over Lara’s less-than-perfect hairstyle, minimal make-up and non-designer clothes.
Her recovery was swift. ‘Oh, how nice. Reuben...’ she glared at him ‘...was obviously keeping you a secret.’
She extended her expertly manicured hand towards Lara. Lara stared at her chocolate-smudged fingers and wiped them on a napkin, reaching over and shaking Millicent’s hand. ‘You too.’
‘Where do you live?’ asked Millicent quickly.
A thousand tempting answers flooded through her brain. Part of her wanted to give the world’s most exclusive address—to say Buckingham Palace—and the other part of her wanted to pretend to live in the most notorious part of London, just to see how Millicent would react.
