In the Name of Love (15 page)

It was a bitterly cold morning, the sky was a depressing grey and Charlie shivered, even in her layers of clothes. Since coming back from Barbados she seemed to be cold all the time. In spite of her resolution not to think of him she wondered what Felipe was doing right now. Probably doing Darcy, she told herself. And then an image of his beautiful tanned back came into her head, his broad shoulders, his …

‘All right, Charlie, could you get us the First Aid box? Charmaine’s got a nose bleed again.’ Dave’s booming voice cut across her thoughts. It was probably for the best, she thought, sprinting back to the changing room.

‘At the roundabout take the third exit,’ intoned mistress Sat Nav in Felipe’s hire car. He promptly miscounted and took the second. He was renowned for being a terrible navigator, even with Sat Nav telling him exactly what to do, plus he’d barely had any sleep, no breakfast, and the two coffees he’d drunk were making him on edge.

‘Recalculating,’ intoned the Sat Nav. Not for the first time on this journey.

‘
Mierda!
’ Felipe shouted. ‘Where’s the fucking school?’

‘Take the next left.’

Felipe missed the next left. He should have accepted Luis’s offer to drive him. At this rate Charlie would already have left for the gym. Of course he could have texted her and asked her to meet him, but a text seemed too casual and he had a suspicion that Charlie might well not even reply. No, he had to see her face to face.

It was a tense twenty minutes before he finally pulled up outside the school, just in time to see Charlie hugging a hulking great lad in a tracksuit. Felipe felt as if he had been punched. Surely she was not with
him
! Before Felipe had a chance to get out of the car, Charlie had jumped into a cream Fiat 500 and driven off, with the lad staring wistfully after her. Triple
mierda
! Felipe slammed his hand against the steering wheel in frustration.

‘You have reached your destination,’ the Sat Nav informed him, the computerised female voice sounding smug.

‘I know, you stupid woman! But it’s too fucking late!’ he shouted, startling a young mum pushing a pram across the road in front of him, who gave him a funny look and increased her pace, keen to get well away from the ranting lunatic.

In fact Charlie was too physically exhausted to go to the gym and far too emotionally wound up about Felipe. What she needed was a heart-to-heart with Zoe. She decided to drop in on her friend’s boutique. Seeing
Felipe
again had shaken her. She realised that she had been sleep-walking through these past three weeks, pretending not to care, when all the time the truth was staring her in the face – she still wanted him. Oh, God, she wanted him so much! In spite of running around in the freezing cold on a muddy football pitch, having to mop up a nosebleed, calm down twelve hysterical girls who had won … the memory of last night and Felipe was still burning away inside her.

Once she’d arrived in Wimbledon Charlie managed to squeeze her car into a tiny space just off the High Street. In contrast to Felipe she was a great driver, with a brilliant sense of direction. She checked her phone; there was still nothing from him. Bastard! Surely if he wanted to see her again he would have called or texted. Charlie failed to take into account the fact that she was the one who had run out on him last night. She bought a couple of take-out lattes and chocolate croissants from the patisserie near Zoe’s boutique. Frankly she could have done with a drink, but coffee and croissants would have to do.

Zoe was in the middle of serving a customer when Charlie walked into the chic but cosy boutique. Zoe hated those designer stores that had big open spaces and three garments on display while haughty sales assistants looked down their noses at anyone who wasn’t a size zero and sporting the latest designer handbag. Her staff were the complete opposite, all friendly, charming girls who knew how to make the clients feel good about themselves, whatever their age, shape, size
or
bank balance. The store itself was painted an inviting chocolate brown with dark wooden floorboards and richly patterned rugs. And when clients went into the fitting rooms, they found flattering lighting and mirrors that made the whole experience a pleasure and not a form of punishment devised by a sadist who liked people to suffer while they tried on clothes.

Mouthing ‘Hiya’ to Zoe, Charlie nipped into the office-cum-staff rest area at the back of the store, and sat down on the comfortable sofa to await her friend. She checked her phone again. Nothing. She thought of her mum, who was fond of saying that back in her day there was none of this texting, Facebooking malarkey, and life was more straightforward. Though Charlie imagined that it must still have been torture if you were waiting for a telephone call or a letter. She sipped her coffee, picked at her croissant and tried to distract herself by flicking through
Grazia
, but it was hopeless, her thoughts kept returning to Felipe … It had been hard enough not to think about him when he was in Spain, but now he was out there in London, it was impossible.

‘Hiya, babes.’ Zoe breezed in, looking polished in a cream silk pussybow blouse and black leather pencil skirt. ‘Come for a makeover?’ She took in Charlie’s mud splattered trainers and sportswear, and visibly shuddered.

Charlie ignored the good-natured dig. ‘I hope you don’t mind me turning up when you’re working? I just had to talk to you.’

‘I thought you would after last night.’ Zoe sat down next to Charlie and kicked off her heels. ‘And, yes, we
do
need to talk, starting with why did you run out on Felipe like that? Luis has told me everything. D’you have any idea how long it took him to persuade Felipe to go to the dinner?’

Charlie looked at her friend in disbelief. ‘He
arranged
for Felipe to be there? I knew it seemed like too much of a coincidence!’

‘Yep. And before you have a go, remember how well you two got on before Felipe found out what you did. Any idiot can see that …’ Zoe paused and then grinned. ‘Any idiot except you two, which is why Luis and I had to step in. Like your Fairy Godfather and mother.’

‘Pity Felipe isn’t such a Prince Charming …’ Charlie muttered bitterly. ‘First he was flirting with Darcy, then he practically jumped on me.’

Zoe tutted. ‘Stop rewriting history, Cinders. I have it on good authority that he did not flirt with Arsey Darcy, and that you gave as good as you got.’

Charlie stretched out her long legs and shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets. ‘So what do you suggest?’ she asked sulkily.

An eye roll from Zoe. ‘I bet Cinders never put out that attitude to her Fairy Godmother! Listen up, Charlie, because you’re going to get it right this time. Tonight you and Felipe are going out for dinner, and you are going to sort things out between you once and for all. I’ve already made a reservation at Antonio’s. I had to offer Toni a massive discount at the boutique for his wife. It’s Valentine’s Night and his tables have been booked up for weeks.’

‘You didn’t have to do that!’ Charlie exclaimed, suddenly feeling guilty that her friend had gone to so much trouble.

‘It’s only because I know how good you two could be together. And that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Because you can’t stop thinking about Felipe.’

Charlie bit her lip and nodded.

‘So all you have to do is go home, pour yourself a glass of wine, have a bath and put this on.’ Zoe stood up and reached for a dress on the rack behind her – a cute, sexy, skater-style dress in coral.

‘Can’t I wear jeans?’

‘You’ll wear this and thank me for it.’

God, Zoe was so bossy!
‘Now who’s got the attitude?’ Charlie retorted.

Zoe responded by flipping a finger. Definitely not in a Fairy Godmother’s repertoire.

Felipe had got so hopelessly lost as he attempted to drive back to the hotel that he ended up abandoning the hire care in Hammersmith and taking a taxi back to the hotel. He just had time to pour himself a glass of water before Luis and Mariana knocked on his door, desperate to find out how the big reunion with Charlie had gone. They couldn’t believe that he hadn’t even talked to her.

‘I knew I should have driven you!’ Luis declared. ‘You’re a sublime horseman, but an idiot behind the wheel. A clear case of four legs good, four wheels bad.’

Felipe glared at him. Like he needed a critique of
his
driving right now. He wasn’t sure that his ego could take much more of a hammering …

‘Never mind his atrocious sense of direction!’ Mariana cried. ‘There are more important things at stake. So tonight Zoe has booked a table for the two of you at a restaurant near Charlie’s house, and there you can finally tell her how you feel.’

‘How do you even know she will come to the restaurant?’ Felipe demanded. ‘She’s more than capable of standing me up.’

‘She certainly likes standing up a certain part of you!’ Mariana said cheekily.

He never should have told them what had happened last night; his friends were not going to let him forget it in a hurry.

‘But she probably feels she made her point then,’ Mariana added, trying not to laugh.

Felipe shot her a warning look; he did not want another innuendo made at his expense.

Mariana smiled sweetly and continued, ‘And don’t forget, we have her address. If she doesn’t show up, you can always go round there.’

‘Assuming she will let me in,’ came Felipe’s sulky reply.

Mariana threw her hands in the air. ‘Felipe Castillo de Rivas, you would try the patience of a saint!’

Finally Felipe grinned at his friends. ‘I’m sorry. Of course I will go tonight. Thank you for arranging it, but don’t expect to hear all the details … I think you two are enjoying this a little bit too much.’

‘And promise you will get a taxi?’ Luis added.

‘And what about flowers?’ Mariana put in. ‘You must take flowers. It’s Valentine’s Day. Do you want us to arrange a bouquet for you?’

‘I am perfectly capable of buying flowers,’ he replied. Did his friends think that he was a complete imbecile? It was probably best if he didn’t ask them that, given what had happened so far with Charlie.

‘Zoe has already told me that Charlie’s favourites are oriental lilies, white roses, and freesias. Definitely no carnations or chrysanthemums.’ Marianna was actually reading from a list. ‘Oh, and she hates red roses … something to do with an ex sending her two dozen after he was unfaithful. What a worm! Who would ever cheat on beautiful Charlie?’

‘And to think that I was going to stop off at a service station and buy a bunch of pink carnations or red roses or both.’ Felipe couldn’t resist teasing them.

‘Don’t worry,’ he added, seeing their serious expressions, ‘I promise I am not going to blow it this time.’

Chapter 10

CHARLIE HAD TOYED
with the idea of being late for Felipe and keeping him waiting, but in the end she was only ten minutes late and to her dismay discovered that she was the first to arrive. Great, so now he was most likely going to stand
her
up … And on Valentine’s Day of all days! Take the shame!

The cosy restaurant was packed with couples all doing
their
best to seem as loved up as they could, but at least half of them looked as if they had nothing to say to each other and would so much rather have been out with their mates. It was nauseating. Charlie had never liked going out on Valentine’s Day. So far hers was the only table for one.

She was about to order a glass of wine when the waiter brought over a bottle of champagne. ‘A gift from your friends,’ he told her when she explained that she hadn’t ordered it. Charlie shook her head and smiled. You couldn’t accuse Luis and Zoe of not having tried their best … now it was up to Felipe and her. ‘Would you like a glass now?’ the waiter asked.

She wondered if she should wait for Felipe before she had a glass, then figured she would go ahead without him. She needed something to help with the nervous anticipation fizzing away inside her as frantically as the champagne bubbles. ‘Yes please,’ she replied. Her hand was shaking so much when she picked up her glass that it overflowed on to the table. She checked her phone. No messages. Five minutes went by. She checked her phone again. He wasn’t coming, she convinced herself, disconsolately snapping a bread-stick in half. She would give it another five minutes and then go. She fiddled with the single red rose in the vase, pulling off several petals. Served it right, she loathed red roses. But then Felipe walked into the restaurant, and Charlie’s heart raced that little bit faster. He looked so handsome in a dark brown leather jacket and black jeans. He smiled at her and walked over to the table. He was holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers – all pale pinks and whites, not a red rose in sight.

‘Charlie, I’m sorry I’m late, the traffic was bad.’

The traffic!
That was hardly up there with the most romantic lines of all time, was it?

He lightly kissed her cheek and instantly Charlie started analysing the kiss. Surely it had been too polite, the kind of kiss you would give a friend. It didn’t compare with their passionate kiss the night before. Was this dinner simply going to be about him apologising and that would be it? Something to make his conscience feel better before he moved on to the next woman?

‘You haven’t been waiting long, I hope?’ Felipe asked. Polite again. What had happened to the reckless, intense passion?

‘Oh, no, I’ve only just got here.’ She hoped he didn’t notice that her champagne glass was almost empty. Either he would think she was a desperate saddo who’d been waiting ages, or a drunk. She didn’t know which was worse …

‘Would you like a glass of champagne? It’s a present from Luis and Zoe.’

Felipe smiled. ‘How like them. These are for you, of course.’ He handed her the bouquet.

‘Thank you,’ she replied. The flowers were promising. There was nothing worse than bad flowers, but these were elegant lovely blooms. She started to feel a little more hopeful.

He reached for the bottle of champagne and topped up her glass without comment then filled his own. He held it up. ‘To no running away this time.’