Peering through the diamond-leaded bedroom window overlooking the high street, she watched as a driver hauled the case into the back of a taxi. The next moment Caz came into view, emerging from the hotel’s front entrance in a pale sweatshirt, fuchsia-pink leggings and flip-flops. So wherever she was heading, it was warmer than here.
The next next moment, a tall figure dressed in black carried out another case. Didi’s stomach clenched in recognition, just as it did every time she clapped eyes on Shay. He’d clearly stayed here last night with Caz, escaping the post-wake chaos at Hillcrest.
Was he going with her to the airport just to wave her off? It looked like it. As Didi rested her forehead on the cold glass, Caz looked up, spotting her in the window. She nudged Shay and pointed, before waving madly and blowing Didi a kiss. After a moment, Shay raised his hand too, forcing her to smile down at them and wave back.
Then together they climbed into the taxi. Didi’s smile fell away as the gleaming black car headed off up the high street. If Shay was accompanying Caz to the airport just to see her off at this time of the morning, he must love her a lot.
Lucky, lucky Caz.
But when she made her way downstairs an hour later, showered and dressed and ready to start work for the day, Sylvia said, ‘Caz Holloway checked out early.’
‘Right.’ Didi nodded.
‘Back to South Africa. Taken Shay with her.’
Taken him with her? For how long?
‘Won’t she be working?’
‘Only for the next couple of days, she said. Then they’re heading off to St Lucia, imagine that! Caz decided he needed to get away from it all, have a proper break, so she booked everything last night. All right for some! Oh dear, apart from losing his dad. Of course he deserves a break after that.’ Changing the subject, Sylvia said hastily, ‘Ooh, did you see that photo of you and Caz in the Mail online? Didn’t she look gorgeous in it?’
‘I did see.’ Didi nodded. ‘Aaron showed it to me.’
Sylvia beamed at her. ‘Ah, and wasn’t it a great photo of the front of the hotel? What a shame you weren’t wearing any make-up!’
Chapter 43
‘There!’ Angel whipped off the navy nylon cape with a flourish and stepped back to admire her handiwork. ‘Like it?’
‘Love it.’ Layla tilted her head, her hair swinging from one side to the other; it made a nice change, being happy with the end result rather than struggling to hold back tears. ‘You’re brilliant!’
‘I know.’
‘You’re going to be stuck with me from now on, I hope you realise that.’
‘Great. Speaking of being stuck with someone, your admirer’s just turned up.’
‘He’s not my admirer.’ Layla felt her cheeks heat up. Through the plate-glass window, she saw Will expertly reversing into a parking space on the square.
‘OK, your driving instructor.’
‘Not that either,’
‘Fine then, the nice man who’s helping you get your confidence back so you can start driving again.’ Mischievously, Angel added, ‘The handsome man who’s too shy to admit he fancies you rotten.’
‘Oh don’t say that. He doesn’t.’
‘Does too.’
Layla hesitated. ‘Do you really think he’s handsome?’
‘Who, Will? Yes!’ said Angel.
‘God, yes,’ exclaimed Anthony, one of the senior stylists. ‘And in that understated way, which is what makes him so much more attractive.’
‘I know what you mean.’ Matt joined in. ‘It’s those V-neck sweaters he wears over button-down shirt collars, and those eyes behind his glasses. He’s like Elliscombe’s answer to Clark Kent.’
The older woman whose hair he was highlighting said, ‘Matt, all these years and I never knew you were gay.’
‘I’m not. But I can still appreciate the way he looks.’
‘Like a sexy chemistry teacher,’ Anthony chimed in. ‘I wish he was gay, I’d be after him like a shot.’
‘He only has eyes for Layla.’ Now wielding a giant can of extra-hold hair lacquer, Angel said, ‘Spray?’
And Layla, who always found herself politely saying yes to spray even when she didn’t really want it, had a sudden vision of herself and Will together in the car, kissing passionately. She blinked. ‘No thanks, let’s leave it as it is.’
It had been just over a month since her relationship with Harry had come to an abrupt end, but it felt more like a year and she hadn’t missed him for so much as a minute. But maybe, just maybe, she’d been missing out on someone else . . .
This was her fourth lesson in getting her confidence back behind the wheel. Somehow, because Will drove for a living and was always so calm and in control, she’d found herself for the first time considering the possibility that maybe she could do it after all. Except the first attempt had been a giant failure; all she’d done was shake and try hard not to burst into tears before giving up after twenty minutes and jumping out of the driver’s seat at traffic lights.
But the second time had been less disastrous, and during the third lesson she’d managed to drive for a whole hour. Despite it still being stressful, the waves of panic were starting to come under control. And whilst anyone else might have lost patience long ago, Will continued to be a saint, understanding and endlessly patient and . . . OK, full disclosure, she’d been finding him more attractive with each passing week.
It just went to show, didn’t it? You never knew what might happen next, what surprises could be just around the corner.
But it certainly seemed to be happening now. Now that she was no longer on the defensive, feeling the need to protect the so-called boyfriend Will had been right about from the start, Layla was able to appreciate his easy manner and dry humour. And maybe also his body, actually quite toned and athletic beneath those Clark Kent outfits.
What would he do if she suddenly launched herself at him in a frenzy of lust and kissed him right there in the car in the middle of the market square on a Tuesday afternoon in November?
Well the answer to that was nothing, because she wasn’t going to do it. She’d need at least six gin and tonics before anything like that could happen.
‘Afternoon.’ Will gave a nod of approval. ‘You’ve had your hair done.’
‘Angel did it.’ She gave her head another tilt to make the ends swish. ‘You like?’
Because how could he say no when she was looking this fabulous?
‘Very nice. Do you want to drive?’
‘Not yet.’ It was too daunting coping with this many cars and pedestrians; so far she’d only taken the wheel once the centre of town was behind them.
A few minutes later, Will pulled into a driveway and they swapped seats. Layla instantly felt her pulse begin to race; was it the prospect of driving or the faint but delicious scent of his aftershave as they crossed paths in front of the car?
‘You’re allowed to look at your phone now,’ she told him, because texts had been pinging up since they’d left the salon.
‘No need.’
‘It might be important.’ Layla felt guilty enough as it was, knowing he was giving up an hour of taxi work just for her.