Tell That to My Heart Page 10

  ‘Same here, and looking at him, anyone would think he’d had a couple of pints, too.’

  Since Mim had shared her news about Caspar, a subtle air of awkwardness had hovered between the two friends. Mim felt torn; the attraction to Caspar was powerful, drawing her in, already she was totally in his thrall. But she valued her friendship with Anna-Lisa. She and Aidey were the best friends Mim had ever had; they had each other’s backs and were loyal to the core. Certainly, they’d helped her recover from a broken heart more times than she cared to remember, taking her out when all she felt like doing was hiding under the duvet, making sure she ate well when all she wanted to do was stuff her face with crisps and Dolly Mixtures. The pair had developed quite a repertoire in an effort to cheer her up, particularly after her painful split from Rick, with Anna-Lisa doing silly dances and pulling funny faces, and Aidey telling his seemingly never-ending supply of eye-wateringly bad jokes that were so corny you couldn’t help but laugh. Or wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight when she broke down, making her feel the world wasn’t such a bad place. Mim was all too aware how lucky she was to have such loyal and caring friends, and she’d do all she could to hang on to them; they – along with Josie – had become the constants in her life since her grandparents had died, and she valued them enormously.

  ‘I love this house.’ Anna-Lisa broke the silence. ‘It’s always sunny and bright. It must’ve been hard for Josie to leave it, especially after they spent so much time and money doing it up.’

  ‘I think it was, but the job offer was just too good for Russ not to take up; he’d been head-hunted so it was a bit of an honour really. And the fact that they didn’t have to sell it helped; I think it would’ve been a different story if they had. Josie likes the idea of coming back here in a few years’ time.’

  ‘Ah, another one, I seem to be hearing more and more about that.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Head-hunting; don’t forget, according to the Pallister-Biggs, they headhunted the Dark Count,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  ‘Oh, right, yeah, I suppose.’ Ordinarily Mim would be desperate to use mention of her latest romance to wax lyrical about it, relishing the feeling as her heart filled with happiness. But since Anna-Lisa wasn’t exactly giving off positive vibes about Caspar, she resisted the urge and bit the words back, even though, at times, her enthusiasm almost got the better of her and they got precariously close to slipping out. Mim decided a change of tack was needed. ‘Actually, I need to get the place tidied up a bit before Josie Skypes. She’d have a fit if she saw the state of this room.’

  Anna-Lisa giggled, looking around her at the piles of dirty crockery littering the surfaces, the bin spilling over and the dirty paw marks covering the Amtico floor. ‘It is a bit of a pigsty, but at least you keep the living room tidy-ish, I suppose. Tell you what, why don’t I give you a hand to tidy up now? It’ll save me from falling asleep in my coffee which I’m at serious risk of doing, then I’ll struggle to wake up in time to go to Carly’s.’

  ‘Really? You want to tidy? Well, personally, I can think of better ways to spend my Saturday afternoon.’ Mim felt a wave of tiredness wash over her; she sat back in her chair, stretched her legs out and yawned. Hmm, maybe Anna-Lisa has a point.

  ‘Clearly.’ Anna-Lisa arched an eyebrow at her friend, making her laugh. ‘Well, what else can we do, other than fall asleep? We’ve got a good few hours before we go to Carly’s; we could get this place looking spick and span in that time.’

  ‘Great,’ said Mim, putting little enthusiasm into the word; she was as messy as her friend was tidy.

  ‘Brilliant! Let’s get cracking.’ Anna-Lisa jumped up and clapped her hands. Mim watched as she made her way to the iPod dock, selected a playlist of motivational dance music and turned the volume up. ‘Come on, you scruff, lead me to the dusters.’

  Mim got to her feet with a groan.

  A couple of hours later, the friends were standing in the newly-gleaming kitchen, admiring their handiwork. ‘Wow! This place has never looked so good since Josie left,’ said Mim. ‘I’ll be able to bring my laptop in here without worrying about what she thinks if she Skypes tomorrow.’

  ‘Told you you’d be happy you listened to me.’ Anna-Lisa stood, hands on hips. ‘And, I know you’ve had a lot on your mind this week, so I’ll make allowances for you not being in the mood to tidy up, but please try not to let it get into such a state again. That mug was absolutely gross! I reckon I’ll be having nightmares about it. I’ve no idea what was in there, but I swear you could have a conversation with it. And the gunk in the bin was literally fermenting; I’m surprised you aren’t sharing the house will all sorts of vermin. You’ve got to promise me you won’t let it get as bad as that again.’

  Mim giggled. ‘I’ll do my best. Promise.’

  ‘Good. Right, we’ve got ten minutes to get ready. Let’s get cracking – and don’t forget that wine from the super-sparkly, newly-gleaming fridge.’

  ‘I won’t, and by the way, thanks, Anna.’

  ‘You’re welcome, chick.’

  11

  ‘Come in, lasses.’ Carly stood back, holding the door wide open to let Mim and Anna-Lisa into the hallway of Wisteria Cottage. Maisie shot out, dancing around Herbert’s legs like it had been years since they’d last met, before running back inside with him hot on her heels and heading straight for the kitchen. ‘What are those two like?’

  ‘Love’s young dream?’ Mim laughed.

  ‘Something like that,’ said Carly. ‘It’s been a lovely day, but it isn’t half nippy now, get yourselves in out of the cold.’

  ‘You’re not wrong, even though we’ve only walked about two strides from Mim’s I’m absolutely nithered.’ Anna-Lisa’s words hung in a plume of condensation.

  ‘I know, I can’t believe how chilly it’s got since lunch time,’ said Mim, shivering. ‘Where are the kids?’

  ‘Tucked up in bed, fast asleep. They’ve had a busy day, what with swimming lessons and a birthday party. It was a case of a quick bath and bed when we got home; the pair of them were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.’

  ‘No wonder after all that,’ said Mim. ‘Actually, I could’ve gone to sleep myself this afternoon but Anna-Lisa had us cleaning.’

  Carly closed the door behind them, shutting out the cold night air. ‘Really? Cleaning what? Ooh, thank you, girls.’ She took the bottles handed to her by Mim and Anna-Lisa, freeing them to hang their coats up and kick their boots off.

  ‘Mim’s place, or should I say, Stig of the Dump’s. It was like a right pig-sty; I’m still traumatised.’

  ‘Cheek, it wasn’t that bad,’ Mim said with a giggle.

  Anna flashed her a look that said “really?”.

  ‘Well, maybe it was just a little bit.’

  ‘It so bloody-well was, and now I’m desperate for a drink to help me recover from the whole shocking experience.’

  ‘Right, let’s go and crack open one of these little beauties then.’ Carly headed down the hallway that led to the large contemporary kitchen.

  ‘Ooh, it’s so lovely and toasty in here,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  'Mmm, it is. And it’s good to see Herbert doesn’t waste any time in making himself at home.’ Mim smiled at the sight of him curled up with Maisie on the brightly coloured mat in front of the Aga.

  ‘Right, ladies, park your bums wherever you fancy,’ said Carly.

  ‘I like the look of your new stools at the breakfast bar, how about we sit there?’ Anna-Lisa made her way over to them.

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ said Mim.

  ‘Ah, yes, they arrived the other day; I’m chuffed to bits with them.’

  Anna-Lisa pulled out one of the metal and oak bar stools and sat down at the huge island unit. ‘This is my dream kitchen, Carly. I have serious kitchen-envy whenever I come here.’

  ‘Thanks, chick, it’s been a real labour of love sourcing everything, but we got there eventually.’ Carly turned to reach fo
r glasses in one of the wall cupboards. ‘What do you think we should have first, fizz or wine?’

  ‘Oh, I’m easy, I’ll drink anything,’ said Mim.

  ‘Er, tell us something we don’t know, Mimbo,’ said Anna-Lisa with a chuckle.

  Mim stuck her tongue out at her friend.

  ‘Exactly what I was going to say.’ Carly giggled. ‘How about you, Anna? Are you fizzing or wining?’

  ‘Ooh, I think, as it’s Saturday, we’ve got to start with a bit of fizz, don’t you?’

  ‘I like the sound of that,’ said Mim, rubbing her hands together.

  ‘Couldn’t agree more; Saturday night should always start with fizz.’ Carly grabbed three flutes and placed them next to the bottles on the island. She picked up the Prosecco, eyeing it warily. ‘Have either of you got any better at opening these things since we last tackled a bottle? I seem to recall most of it ended up on the floor; I was sorely tempted to get down there with Maisie and Herbert and lick it up.’

  Mim giggled at the memory. ‘’Fraid not – er, and I’m sorry about that, but unless you want a load of froth around your kitchen and dripping off your walls, I’d best not touch it.’

  ‘I really don’t fancy that, especially since I’ve just painted them,’ said Carly.

  ‘Pass it here; I’ll have a go, though I’m not promising anything.’ Anna-Lisa took the bottle from Carly and began peeling the foil back before tentatively tackling the cork. All three women winced as she began carefully easing it out, their expressions changing to surprise when it suddenly shot out with a resounding “pop”. It ricocheted off the ceiling and hit Herbert square on the backside. The Labrador barked and jumped up, looking around for the perpetrator while Maisie looked on in bewilderment.

  The three friends fell about laughing. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Herbs, I didn’t mean to do that, I was trying to avoid the bi-fold doors and the newly painted walls,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  ‘You’re lethal with those things, Anna!’ said Mim. ‘If I remember rightly, the last time you opened a bottle, it hit a load of glasses and shattered them to pieces.’

  ‘Yep, I think we should leave it to Carly next time.’

  ‘Oh, bugger, I really can’t see me doing any better than you two,’ said Carly as she filled the glasses. ‘Any road, bottoms up, lasses. Here’s to Saturday night and a good old girly chin-wag.’

  The evening passed quickly, the three friends relaxing into their usual easy-going banter, sharing the events of the week. By the time they’d finished the Prosecco and moved on to Chardonnay, Mim was beginning to feel a little tipsy. It didn’t help that her contact lenses had decided to float about on the surface of her eyeballs, making it even more difficult to focus.

  ‘So come on then, Missy, are you going to spill the beans about what’s going on with you and the Dark Count?’ Carly raised an enquiring eyebrow.

  ‘That’s what I call him, too!’ said Anna-Lisa.

  Oh, bugger! Mim had been hoping the subject of Caspar wouldn’t crop up. Though, if she was completely honest with herself, she had thought it a bit too good to be true that they’d got to almost nine o’clock and there’d been no mention of him. Up to that point they’d been laughing about the growing mischief of the kinky underwear night and the fun they were having winding up Pat Motson and her cronies. But now, it seemed, it was time to discuss Caspar, and Mim was feeling torn. If it had just been Carly and her, she would’ve been able to go into raptures about him. With Carly not having met him, she hadn’t had the chance to form a negative opinion of him like Anna-Lisa seemed to have, so she wouldn’t be in a position to throw a wet blanket over her enthusiasm. But having Anna-Lisa there, and knowing how she felt about Caspar, meant she’d have to considerably restrain herself. And that wasn’t going to be easy, especially after she’d been drinking Prosecco.

  ‘There’s no point looking all innocent, like there’s nothing to tell, we both so know there is, don’t we, Anna? There’s no way on this earth that someone as hot as him can stay the night with a hotblooded, sexy little minx with legs that go on forever like you and nothing happens. If I was in your shoes, lady, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off him. Oh, and if you do actually say nothing happened, we won’t believe you for a teeny-tiny minute.’

  ‘Actually, I’m not sure I want to know,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  Mim felt a mix of relief and hurt at Anna’s response. ‘Anna-Lisa doesn’t approve, do you, Anna?’

  Anna-Lisa swirled her wine around her glass. ‘It’s not that I don’t approve, it’s just that I worry about you, after what you’ve been through, that’s all, and you were so devastated after Rick; I don’t want to see you as upset as that again.’

  ‘Well, like I’ve already told you, there’s no need to worry. Caspar’s different to the others; he’s not going to treat me badly like they did. Honestly, I know it; he’s a decent bloke.’

  ‘Ooh, so something is going on between you, then.’ Carly’s eyes widened.

  Alcohol had pushed Mim’s inhibitions away along with her regard for Anna’s concerns. She felt a rush of happiness surge through her. ‘You’ve got to promise me you’ll keep it to yourself.’

  ‘I promise, cross my heart,’ said Carly.

  ‘Well, it’s early days and I can’t really say too much, except last night, was, well, O.M.G., I seriously went to heaven and back.’

  ‘Woah, you little vixen, Mim Dewberry. Does Josie know of the soaring temperatures at Pear Tree Cottage?’

  ‘No! And she’s not going to find out!’ Mim felt a sudden pang of worry; something told her Josie wouldn’t approve of Caspar either. She glanced across to Anna-Lisa, whose expression had turned serious. ‘Can’t you just be happy for me, Anna?’

  Anna-Lisa reached across and took Mim’s hand. ‘Oh, hon, I want nothing more than to be happy for you, honestly. It’s just you haven’t known him five minutes and already you’ve fallen hook, line and sinker. After what you’ve been through, and the number of times you’ve been hurt, I just don’t want you to have to go through that again; you were wrecked after Rick, and it took you a long time to get back to your normal happy self again. You’d be exactly the same if the situations were reversed, you know you would.’

  ‘Anna’s got a point, chick, and it’s the sign of a good friend whose prepared to say things you might not necessarily want to hear.’ Carly turned to Anna-Lisa. ‘So why does Mim think you don’t approve of the Dark Count?’

  ‘Because she doesn’t make it a secret!’ Mim gave a small laugh.

  ‘Well, for one, because I’ve seen this pattern so many times before and, well, it’s not that I don’t approve of him – that’s not my place – it’s just that, well, you know when you get a feeling about someone and it makes you feel uneasy? Well, it’s kind of like that. I suppose you could say my gut’s sending me warning signals about him and it’s making me wary. Sorry, Mim.’

  The room suddenly took on an awkward mood. Carly pressed her lips together, looking at Mim intently. ‘Right, and how many times have we had conversations where we’ve said you should always trust your gut?’

  ‘Too many times,’ said Anna. ‘Just promise me, Mim, if you get an uneasy feeling about anything or anyone – I don’t just mean Caspar – you’ll listen to it and not ignore it like you usually do.’

  Mim could feel her heart pounding, partly because she felt a prickle of annoyance with her friends, and partly because she knew they were right; hadn’t she pushed that same little niggle about Caspar – and so many other boyfriends – to the back of her mind, refusing to listen to it? And what about Herbert’s reaction to him? That was totally out of character. But what the hell? You could be wrong about people, couldn’t you? Wasn’t it unfair to judge on first appearances? She liked him, he liked her, and that was all that mattered. She took a deep breath. ‘Listen, I really appreciate you both looking out for me, but in this instance I think Anna’s wrong, I really do. But, anyway, when I first kind of got an inkling he liked me, I m
ade the decision to allow myself a little bit of fun; surely you don’t think there’s anything wrong with that? He’s seriously hot, and ticks a load of my boxes, so I’m prepared to enjoy it while it lasts, and take the risk of it being short-lived.’ She shrugged. ‘When did a bit of no strings fun hurt anyone?’

  ‘As long as it is no strings and you don’t end up getting your heart broken again.’ Anna looked at her. ‘And it’s not just my gut-feeling, he’s really cocky, too, the way he struts about the office like he owns the place; I can see that slime-ball Simon and him locking horns before too long.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Mim had to agree with Anna about Caspar and Simon locking horns; there was definitely a hint of rivalry between them.

  ‘And what does Aidey think of him?’ Carly shot Anna-Lisa a loaded look which didn’t go unnoticed by Mim.

  ‘He feels the same as me; he doesn’t want Mim to get hurt.’

  ‘Well, he hasn’t said anything to me, but I should imagine he’s got other things on his mind, it can’t exactly be easy for him having to work alongside someone who he’s had to essentially give his job to.’

  ‘Yeah, that was a shameful thing your bosses did.’ Carly shook her head. ‘I know I’ve only met him a few times when he’s called in at the pub with you guys, but I got the impression that he’s a really lovely lad. Has he got himself a girlfriend yet?’

  ‘Nope, he’s still single, though from some things he’s said, I kind of think there’s someone he really likes but I’m not so sure she knows it,’ said Mim.

  Carly gave Anna-Lisa another knowing look.

  Mim took a sip of wine; her friends’ comments about Caspar had niggled her a little and she was trying to resist the urge to say something defensive. But the words were hovering precariously on the tip of her tongue and popped out before she had chance to stop them. ‘Anyway, Anna, you’re not exactly overjoyed about how your relationship with Caleb’s going, so it just goes to show no one’s perfect.’ As soon as the words had left her mouth, she wished she could snatch them back. She sensed Carly looking from her to Anna as the air of awkwardness intensified. Why did I have to go and say that?