All Because of You (Lakeview #2) (12 page)

No, Tara thought fondly, you wouldn’t, would you?  A sports and activities fanatic, back in Ireland (when he wasn’t stuck in front of a computer) Glenn was always off rock-climbing, orienteering or taking part in various adventure activities with like-minded friends. So it was no surprise really that he wasn’t concerned about missing out on relaxation time. Tara still had to broach the subject of their day-trip to the Pyramids, which she hoped to take towards the end of the following week, and something she was sure he wouldn’t be too happy about. 

Well, there was no point in fretting about it now, she thought, looking around for a waiter who would put the tired and hungry soul out of his misery.

As she did, she caught sight of Natalie being led to a table not far from their own.  Tara had thought the girl attractive earlier, but this evening she looked even more beautiful, dressed in a stunning jade satin dress that flattered her curves and accentuated her dusky colouring. By comparison Tara was struck by how drab she must look in her boring khaki linen trousers and black halter-top. 

Tara wasn’t usually insecure about her looks, at least not in the way Liz could be sometimes, but she didn’t think there was a woman alive who wouldn’t be intimidated by Natalie’s gorgeousness. But what the hell, it wasn’t Natalie’s fault she’d been blessed with the beauty gene, and it certainly wasn’t any reason not to like her!

Tara had really enjoyed their chat earlier over lunch. There was something very liberating about chatting to someone you hardly knew, and who knew absolutely nothing about you. They’d exchanged snippets of each other’s lives, Tara telling her all about her and Glenn, and hearing about Natalie’s glamorous London lifestyle in return. They’d then spent a comfortable afternoon sunbathing and dipping in and out of the pool. Well, Tara had ‘dipped’, Natalie, a confident and elegant swimmer, had
glided
.

Now, in the restaurant, she tried to catch Natalie’s attention.

“Who are you waving at?” Glenn asked, turning round in his seat. Predictably, his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he spied the stunning creature walking towards them.

“The girl I told you I met at the pool earlier. She’s lovely and she’s on her own, so be nice to her.”

“Hello there!” said Natalie.

The two women embraced and then Natalie turned to face Tara’s companion. “And you must be Glenn,” she said, extending a hand to him in greeting. “I’ve heard all about you. How are the scuba-diving lessons going?”

Glenn couldn’t have looked any more shell-shocked than if Pamela Anderson had walked right up and kissed him on the lips. Despite her slight unease, Tara had to laugh at his reaction, which she’d anticipated. He was actually blushing!

“Pleased to meet you,” Glenn replied, quickly shaking Natalie’s hand.

“You’ll join us, won’t you?” Tara urged.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t – you two are on your own holiday and – ”

“Don’t be silly,” Tara assured her, “we’d love you to have dinner with us, wouldn’t we, Glenn?”

He nodded dumbly.

“Well, if you’re sure …” Natalie smiled at the waiter, who quickly went to fetch another place setting. “I must admit I didn’t relish the thought of having dinner on my own. But I feel awful about intruding on your holiday like this, Tara. Please don’t feel like you have to take pity on me because I’ve been abandoned.”

“Abandoned?” Glenn enquired.

“Natalie’s boyfriend was supposed to come on holiday with her,” Tara informed him, stressing the word ‘boyfriend’ just to be on the safe side, although she knew there was hardly anything to worry about. Even if he did happen to fancy her, Natalie was way out of Glenn’s league. “But he had to cancel at the last minute.”

“Which means you’re stuck with me,” Natalie finished, her beautiful eyes widening apologetically. She opened a box of cigarettes and went to light up before pausing quickly, her cigarette still mid-air. “
You don’t mind, do you? I know smoking is banned in Ireland so – ”

“Only indoors and no, we don’t mind,” Tara replied easily. “So, what will I have tonight then? I think I might try the Oriental – I’m in the mood for something noodley.”

The three of them chatted easily over dinner, and once again Tara marvelled at how down-to-earth and lovely Natalie was. Then, when the plates were cleared away, Tara suggested the three of them go and have drinks elsewhere in the hotel.

“We could go to the piano bar.  It’s really relaxing sitting there on the terrace, the music drifting along the air,” she told Natalie.

“Sounds great.” Natalie looked at Glenn. “Again, if you don’t mind  –”   

“No, you two work away,” he replied, stifling a yawn. “I might head off to bed early tonight if that’s OK.  I’m whacked after all that swimming, and I’ve an eight o’clock start in the morning.”

“You go ahead, love,” Tara soothed, and shot a mischievous wink at Natalie. “We’ll be fine without you.”

“I can’t wait to get my PADI cert. Problem is, when I do get it, I’ll only get in one or two more open-water dives before we go home.”

Tara seized the moment. It was now or never. “Don’t forget that next week we need to fit in a trip to Cairo too.”

As expected, Glenn wasn’t receptive. “Ah, we don’t have to do that, do we?” he moaned.

“You know I’ve always wanted to visit the Pyramids, Glenn.” Tara was equally petulant. “And it wouldn’t kill you to spend even
one
day with me on this holiday.”

“But it’s such a long trip up there – I’ll be shattered after all my training!” 

He was right: the day trip to Cairo had a four a.m. start and it would be nearly bedtime by the time they got back. She bit her lip. It was annoying but perhaps it might be too much to ask. 

“Well, I’d love to go,” Natalie piped up then. “But I wouldn’t dream of going all that way by myself. Anyway, these things are never much fun on your own, so if you don’t mind my tagging along, I’d be happy to go with you, Tara. That is, if Glenn doesn’t mind staying here by himself.”

Glenn didn’t mind at all. “That’s a great idea – why don’t you two go together?” he said, quickly seizing the opportunity to get out of the trip. “As Natalie says, at least then you get to go with someone who’ll actually enjoy it. Me, I couldn’t give a toss about pyramids and museums and the like. I’d much rather get a few more dives in.  What do you think?”

Tara considered it. Granted, it would be much more fun going on the trip with someone who actually wanted to be there, and even though they’d only known each other a few hours, Natalie had already proven to be great company. Still, she felt guilty about leaving Glenn here on his own. They were on holiday together after all. “You wouldn’t mind my going up there without you?” she asked.

Glenn laughed. “Believe me, I wouldn’t mind at all!”

“Thanks a million,” Tara said dryly.

“You know what I mean. It’d be much better for all concerned. I could get another dive in back here, and you can go and visit the pyramids with someone who’d enjoy them.”

“And who wouldn’t have a face like a wet week on them either,” Tara teased.

Glenn was sheepish. “True enough, but it’s not my fault that long-dead bodies don’t float my boat.”

“OK then, great,” Tara looked at Natalie. “We could book for Wednesday, let’s say? What do you think?” 

“Sounds good to me,” the other woman replied, smiling warmly back.

True to his word, Glenn headed straight for bed, leaving the two women alone at the table.

“He’s gorgeous!” Natalie enthused, when he was out of earshot. 

“You think so?” Tara was secretly pleased.

“Absolutely – those amazing brown eyes! And he’s quite muscular too, isn’t he?”

“Well, no disrespect, but hands off!” Tara joked.

“Oh, my goodness, I didn’t mean that! I just meant it, you know, as a compliment.”

“I know you did – I was just joking,” Tara replied, although the idea that someone as gorgeous as Natalie found Glenn attractive in return was a little unsettling. Still, she knew instinctively that Natalie wouldn’t dream of making a play for him. She just wasn’t that type of girl. And anyway, she was obviously madly in love with this Steve. 

Having decided to skip dessert the two retired to the hotel bar and settled in for another cosy chat. Over a couple of champagne cocktails, Natalie told Tara some more about her relationship with Steve.

“We have a wonderful relationship and I really feel that he’s the one. I just wish he’d get round to popping the question soon. It was our anniversary last week and I’d sort of hoped that it might happen then. And, if not, at least on this holiday.”

Tara smiled understandingly. “So how long have you two been together?”

Natalie took a sip from her drink. “Six months.”

“Six … months?” Tara couldn’t keep the surprise out of her tone.

“Yes, I know it doesn’t sound like long. But we’re in love, and time is moving on – especially for me.” She rolled her eyes. “ If it doesn’t happen soon for me, it never will.”

“Why do you say that?”

Natalie shrugged. “The fact that I’m almost forty.”

Tara’s eyes widened with disbelief.
Forty?
That was it, once she got back home she was going on a
serious
diet!

“Well, thirty-two,” Natalie admitted then, much to Tara’s relief. “But the point is I’m not getting any younger. This year alone I’ve watched my assistant and
three
of my best friends get married, and they’re all younger than me.”

“And do you feel that age alone is a basis for getting married?” Tara said, automatically switching to coaching mode and kicking herself for doing so. “I’m sorry, Natalie – don’t mind me,” she added quickly, shaking her head. “I’m a Life Coach, and sometimes I can’t help drawing people into personal conversations like this. Sorry.”

But Natalie didn’t bat an eyelid. “A Life Coach? How fabulous! My assistant Danni sees a Life Coach in Bloomsbury that she’s always raving about! I keep promising to try one myself some time, but work’s been so crazy lately, I just don’t have the time.”

Tara grinned. Some people were horrified by Tara’s job, thinking her some kind of unscrupulous quack, which was the main reason she hadn’t mentioned it to Natalie before. But, trust an open-minded Englishwoman to accept her profession without question!

“Well, I do enjoy it, but as I said, sometimes I find it difficult to carry on normal conversation. The temptation is always there.”

Natalie waved her away. “Don’t worry, I’m the same.  As I said before, I work in PR and at times I can’t help but size up every new person I meet as a potentially useful contact. But now I understand why I find you so easy to talk to.”

Natalie did seem happy to have someone to confide in, and confessed quite candidly to Tara her deep need, almost obsession with finding a husband.

“I know it’s not fashionable to say it, and most of my single girlfriends in London would kill me for even
thinking
it, but it’s what I want. I want to be married, I want to be somebody’s wife.”

“I don’t think that’s so terrible,” Tara commented.

“I’m tired of all the empty socialising and arse-licking,” Natalie went on, as if Tara hadn’t replied. “London is a big place, and while it’s wonderful, it can get lonely sometimes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else, and most of the time it’s great fun, but sometimes I feel like there has to be more to life than parties at Claridges and media launches in Soho.”

Tara hid a smile. Parties at Claridges sounded pretty amazing to her. But no matter who you were and what you did, the grass always seemed greener on the other side, didn’t it? She’d seen it time and time again in her line of work.

“I feel like such an idiot for thinking this way,” Natalie continued. “As though I’m betraying my womanhood or something. We’re all supposed to be independent, women-of-the-world types who don’t need men, aren’t we? According to the magazines, in a few years’ time we’ll all be so self-sufficient we’ll have no need for them at all! But deep down I really don’t feel that way. I want to be a wife.  I want to be Steve’s wife.”

Tara’s heart went out to her, this beautiful, successful and self-assured woman who on the face of it, was the
Cosmo
ideal incarnate.

“Look, don’t beat yourself up for feeling that way. My best friend Liz was exactly the same, and since she got married three years ago, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier. And there’s certainly no shame in wanting to be happy.  I certainly never thought any less of her for admitting that she wanted the big white wedding, even though I didn’t necessarily feel the same way – and still don’t.”

“You don’t want to get married?”

“Not particularly. I’m perfectly happy the way I am. I adore Glenn and the life we have together. We’re very happy – well, most of the time,” she added, smiling fondly, “and that’s enough for me.”

“But don’t you think that might change sometime in the future? That you might want something more?” Natalie persisted, her eyes widening. “Oh, I’m sorry, now I’m being nosy, aren’t I? Just tell me to sod off and mind my own business.”