Ash was bringing Hilda over at seven-fifteen… I glanced at my watch. Oh God, in exactly six minutes’ time. All the butterflies in my stomach rose as one and I almost gasped with sheer excitement.
‘So, come on, tell me. How did the interview go?’
Ash’s eyes glowed with sudden superiority. ‘Well done. You kept it in for…’ he lengthened his arm to pull his watch out from beneath his shirt sleeve, ‘…sixteen minutes and nine seconds.’
‘Or I could pretend not to be interested at all,’ I said, and we were right back to the crossfire of the first date when we had played with each other, trying to work out who had the upper hand. I smiled at the memory. At the time we’d come out on a level playing field.
Tonight we were at the same table and I was pretty sure it was by design. The waiter had already taken our orders and brought over an expensive bottle of Chablis. Ash had dressed up – a dark grey shirt with black wool trousers rather than the nonchalant, devil-may-care T-shirt and black jeans he’d worn the first time we’d gone out – as if this time he was making an effort.
Rearranging my cutlery, I avoided looking his way for a moment but eventually, as the silence grew, I lifted my head. The satisfied glow in his eyes had intensified and he was all predatory tiger once again.
‘You got the job.’
With a nod, he picked up his glass and lifted it in toast to me. ‘I was offered the job. The formal confirmation came through this morning.’
‘And… are you going to take it or wait for the other interview?’
With a quick frown, full of thought, he paused. ‘I’ve never been a great believer in gut instinct… but this feels right. I liked the guy that interviewed me. I like the company culture. There was something about the place.’
‘Don’t they say that gut instinct is our sixth sense, a primeval ability that we’ve overlooked as we’ve developed?’
‘Would you take a job on instinct?’
‘Hard to say. I’ve been with Cunningham, Wilding and Taylor for ten years; I can’t imagine going anywhere else.’ I’d always liked being there but now I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t wake up itching to get to work anymore. My focus, for so long, had been on the next promotion. Even when I’d been signed off, the goal had been to get all my ducks lined back up as quickly as possible. Ash looked excited and animated about his new job and the new direction he was taking. I felt a touch of envy.
‘I really liked the people. It’s a very different environment to what I’m used to. The old dog-eat-dog. This is… well, it seemed almost like a family. They genuinely liked each other… I met the board. There didn’t seem to be any jockeying for position.’
‘Maybe they were on their best behaviour.’
Ash shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think they were… there was more.’
‘You might as well go for the other interview, though. No?’
‘I feel like being rash. Taking a risk. Going with my gut.’
‘You’ve changed.’
‘You think? Losing my job made me reassess a lot of things. Including relationships. They always came bottom of my pile before.’
‘Oh.’ His words made me feel nervous.
‘I never allowed them to take up much space in my life. I could only allocate so much time for dates and invariably girls got pissed off. You were the first girl I dated who didn’t mind that I wasn’t prepared to see you for nearly two weeks.’
‘Probably because I was too busy. I’m not much of a bet now with two kids in tow.’
Ash reached over for my hand. ‘Yes, but that’s not for ever is it? One day you’ll be footloose and fancy free. And then we can enjoy ourselves.’ He let out a rueful half-laugh. ‘Although I think we might be stuck with Hilda.’
‘Where would we be without Hilda?’ I said.
‘I’d still be a pathetic wreck, feeling sorry for myself and possibly drinking my way into oblivion. I’ll never forget that first run she dragged me on… I threw up at the end and she told me off for being so unfit and out of shape and for letting my body down. Not one word about pulling myself together. She’s a wise old owl. She focused on the physical, knowing it would help my mental state.’
‘Same with me. Gentle advice and suggestions all the time, or browbeating us into doing her bidding which miraculously helps with other things,’ I said as the waiter appeared with two steaming plates of pasta. Seafood linguine for me and spaghetti carbonara for Ash. ‘Mmm, that smells gorgeous.’
‘Sure you don’t want a dessert?’ asked Ash as the waiter cleared away our plates, exchanging a look laden with intent. We both knew that dessert of an entirely different sort was on the table. We’d been building up to tonight ever since he’d asked me for dinner. Now, almost by tacit understanding, the wait was worth taking the time to enjoy. Tonight there was no hurry; the prize was in sight and not an obstacle in our way. I think we were both savouring the anticipation.
‘Yes,’ I murmured as his fingers entwined with mine, giving them a gentle squeeze. ‘Another thing we owe Hilda for.’ I thought of her possibly already tucked up in my spare bedroom in the bed Ava and Poppy had once shared.
‘We owe her big time,’ he agreed.
‘I’d like to do something nice for her. I was thinking about inviting her to come away for a few days in the summer with me and the girls. Somewhere by the sea.’
‘You think they’ll still be with you, by then?’
‘I was thinking that even if they weren’t, it would be nice to take them on holiday. I’ve kind of got used to them being around.’ I tried to make it sound humorous but the thought of my house without the girls made my stomach hurt.
‘That’s a lovely idea,’ he said softly. His thumb rubbed over mine. ‘If you’re inviting Hilda, have you got room for one more?’
‘You want to come on holiday with us?’ I smiled. ‘Really?’ Once upon a time, I bet sophisticated Ashwin Laghari would not have been seen dead with a bucket and spade, two little girls and an elderly lady in tow. How times had changed.
‘Why not? I like the kids. I like Hilda. Especially now I’ve convinced myself she was once a spy. And you’re all right.’
‘Thanks.’ I acknowledged the barely-there compliment with a wry twist to my mouth. ‘But what about your mates? Don’t you have anyone you want to go away with it? Don’t you have mates who have palatial pads?’
‘No one I’d rather spend time with than you.’
Ash tossed his hair, making me smile. I really did prefer his longer hair and the way it softened the sharp angles of his face.
Now I’d started thinking about it, I really liked the idea.
‘Where do you fancy? Devon? Cornwall?’
‘Don’t know either particularly well. I’ll leave it to you. I’m very good at carrying suitcases. And navigating. Although we might have to hire a car because I’m not sure where we’d put Bill.’
It all sounded very domesticated and I giggled unexpectedly. ‘None of this sounds like Ashwin Laghari, International Arms Dealer.’