AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Can you call me a taxi?’
‘Yes, madam. Please, take a seat. I’ll let you know when it arrives.’
Thea walked over to one of the armchairs by the Georgian window and sat down. She opened the wallet. This time, she didn’t feel the least bit guilty about thumbing through. Miles was obviously staying at another hotel. She hadn’t noticed any other cards of that nature in his wallet, but she thought it wouldn’t hurt to have another look. However, aside from the normal bank cards, there was nothing else but some bank notes – all sterling. That surprised her a little. Wouldn’t someone who lived abroad most of the time have some foreign currency in his wallet?
‘Madam, your taxi is waiting outside.’
‘Oh, okay. That was quick. Thank you.’
The receptionist gave her a little bow and returned to his desk.
Thea gathered up her bag and coat and stepped back through the swinging door. A black cab was waiting by the kerb. She read the address out to the taxi driver through his open window before she got inside. ‘Do you take cards?’
‘I prefer cash.’
Thea opened Miles’s wallet and pulled out a twenty-pound note. She’d have to pay him back another time or go Dutch on their meal tonight – if he agreed to eating out, that was.
Twenty minutes later, after crawling along in the heavy traffic, they arrived at a modern apartment block in Soho. She was just reaching for the door handle, intending to get out of the taxi and see if Miles was there, when a taxi arrived and parked a couple of cars down. She saw Miles in the back of the taxi as it passed by. ‘Oh, that was well timed!’ she said, smiling as she handed the taxi driver the fare. She couldn’t believe he’d turned up the same time. Thea looked in her bag for his wallet. Any minute now, he’d discover he hadn’t got his wallet. In the back of her mind, though, she wondered why he hadn’t mentioned this address.
The taxi driver turned in his seat. ‘Who – the guy with the young woman and kids?’
Thea looked up. ‘Pardon me?’ Miles was standing on the pavement with two young children, helping a young woman with shopping bags out of the taxi.
She saw him patting down his jacket, obviously looking for his wallet. She had no clue who that woman was that he was sharing the taxi with. Thea was about to jump out of the taxi and surprise him, when she saw him lean over and kiss the young woman on the cheek. One of the young children tugged on his trouser leg. He bent down, picked the child up, ruffled his hair and handed him to the young woman, who had left the carrier bags on the pavement by his feet. She said something. He shook his head and smiled, pointing at the flats.
Thea opened the taxi door and heard him say, ‘No, it’s all right. You go ahead. I won’t be long. Must have left my wallet at the damn office. That will teach me to pull an all-nighter and be so exhausted. I don’t know what I’m doing.’
Thea stepped out of the taxi, but she was too shocked to move any further.
He didn’t notice her standing on the pavement. She watched him wait until the woman and children had entered the apartment building. Then he got out his phone. Thea’s mobile rang. Over the sound of the engine of his taxi ticking over, he didn’t hear her mobile ringing a few feet away. Thea slowly got out her phone and answered it.
‘Hey, Thea. Look, I’ve lost my wallet. I’m thinking I may have left it at yours. I’m coming round.’
‘No need,’ Thea said, ‘I’m right here.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Thea stared at him. ‘Turn around.’
He turned around and nearly dropped his phone in shock. He smiled nervously, casting a furtive glance in the direction of the apartment building. ‘Thea, darling,’ he said. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I might ask you the same question.’
‘Excuse me, mate,’ the taxi driver interrupted, leaning across the passenger seat and talking to him through the open window. ‘Are you paying for the fare – or what?’
Miles looked at Thea. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got my wallet?’
Thea got it out of her handbag. ‘I left you a message on your phone.’
‘Did you? Sorry, I’ve been so busy at work, I didn’t get a chance to—’
‘Mate? You can carry on your conversation after you’ve paid me.’
‘Oh, right, sorry.’ He walked up to Thea. ‘My wallet?’
She handed over his wallet. She didn’t know how she was holding it together. She glanced at the flats. She didn’t know why she was still standing there and why she hadn’t just thrown the wallet at him and left.
He followed her gaze. ‘That’s my sister. I haven’t got a permanent address here, obviously, so I use her address for correspondence. We meet up when I’m in London.’
