Love (9 page)

“
Hi,” called Karen. “I’m finally managing to bring you back your coat and torch. I hope you didn’t miss them.”

As he came closer Karen could smell his
smoky aftershave and the clean fresh scent of good soap. She was still feeling a little annoyed with him but despite her resolve Karen’s heart beat a little faster.

“
Hello, Karen,” said Adam, smiling. Karen noticed that his teeth were very even and very white. He put the basket down and touched her gently on the arm, sending an electric charge through her whole body. He took the coat and torch from her, put them on top of the basket of logs. “No, I haven’t missed them. You’re welcome to keep them for longer if you need them.”

“
No, thanks,” answered Karen. “These are for you,” she held out the bunch of violets. She almost regretted bringing them. They made her look like a silly schoolgirl with a present for teacher.

“Th
ank you,” he replied gravely holding them up to breathe in their light perfume. “They will look splendid on the dining table. Where did you find them? I have been keeping an eye out but I haven’t seen any.”

“
I think the warmer weather has brought them out,” said Karen. “I found them on the beach path. There were tons of them.”

“
Come on in. Let’s get you a drink and put these in water. Come on Humphrey!” he called to the little dog who had been busy exploring his garden.

Adam
’s other guests, the Dowlings and Morgan, were lounging in the sitting room in front of the wood fire and leafing through the Sunday papers. Morgan seemed to have commandeered most of the sofa for herself but she moved up when she saw Adam.

“
Come and sit here next to me, Adam!” she cried patting the cushion next to her.

‘
say hello to Karen,” chided Adam.

David Dowling had already stood up to offer Karen his seat but after exchanging greetings she and Humphrey settled for a large pillow on the rug near the fire.

“Is Humphrey missing your grandmother?” asked Glenna. Morgan seemed entranced by an article in the papers and made no effort to enter the conversation.

“
Not too much,” replied Karen. “He does get miserable if I leave him alone in the evening.”

Adam picked up on this instantly.
“Have you been trying out the Penzance night life then?” he asked silkily. “I imagine young Nick knows all the best places.”

“
Is he that short fat bloke you were with last night?” asked Morgan, taking an interest for the first time. She gave Karen a cold assessing look.

Karen was taken aback. What a rude cow!
“I was with Nick at the gallery last night,” she said stiffly. “As for his being short and fat, I can’t say I noticed. I don’t tend to judge my friends by their size.”

“T
ouché,” laughed Adam. “Put your claws away, Morgan. This is supposed to be a nice friendly lunch. Nick’s not a bad bloke though I have heard rumours that he carries his pushy salesmanship over into his love life.”

“
Who’s being spiteful now? I need a drink. Adam, darling...”

“D
ear, dear. I have been most remiss,” said Adam. “I promised Karen a drink earlier. Now what can I get you all?”

Glenna answered first,
“I’d love a glass of white wine, please, Adam.”

Adam turned to look at Karen. Her mind a blank, she said,
“Oh, I’ll have the same, thanks.”

Morgan, still irritated by Adam
’s gentle reprimand, insisted on a Bloody Mary, a hassle for Adam to make.

David said that he would love a lager and offered to help Adam carry the drinks down.

When they went upstairs Morgan turned her attention back to Karen. “Well that’s nice, isn’t it? Just us girls. Now you can tell us all about your hot date with that Rick chap.”

Karen looked at Morgan. She was dressed
in a beautiful pale cream suit that looked tailored to her body. Her shoes were casual soft loafers with gold buckles, probably Gucci, Karen guessed. Morgan’s blond hair was swept up at the back in a French knot with a gold clip. She was undeniably gorgeous. She had a very animal quality, rather like a tigress even down to her long manicured nails. Karen cast a quick glance at her own hands which were usually covered with paint splatters and her constant use of turpentine meant her nails always broke. Still her hands were quite a nice shape and her fingers were long and tapering.

Glenna was equally well-dressed but in a more conservative style. She was wearing a well-cut pair of grey flannel trousers, a soft pink twin-set and a pearl necklace which was clearly real. Twin-sets were making a comeback and Glenna obviously shopped at the boutiques Karen and her friends occasionally ventured into only to be frightened away by the intimidating prices and equally intimidating sales assistants. Karen didn
’t feel particularly comfortable with either of her fellow guests. Morgan was openly hostile and Glenna was more subtly condescending. It was going to be a long, long lunch.

“
Nick,” said Karen firmly. “Nick was not my date. He’s a friend. We went to the opening together as friends. I don’t know about your love life but that’s not what I call a hot date.” Karen regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She could see that she had given Morgan a load of ammunition.

Morgan did not hesitate.
“You’re quite right,” she almost purred. “You don’t know anything about my love life. And no, a tame evening in the provinces with an estate agent is certainly not a "hot date" as you put it. I like a slightly more sophisticated companion and as for venues, something a little more intimate suits me better.”

Glenna interrupted diplomatically.
“Why don’t you tell us about your painting, Karen. Adam told us you have a show in April.”

Karen, gratefully, started to talk to Glenna about her forthcoming show. Morgan returned to her newspaper, bored
now that the focus of the conversation had shifted to Karen’s work.

Adam and David reappeared with the drinks. Adam sat next to Morgan
on the sofa.

“Do
you want to hear your stars?” asked Morgan, looking only at Adam. ‘mine says it’s going to be an awful week for business meetings and new enterprises but excellent for romance!” She was triumphant.

Adam smiled,
“Go on, then. What’s in store for me? Any other Aquarians present?”

‘
me,” said Karen. “I’m on the cusp with Pisces, whatever that means.”

Morgan said snidely,
“Something fishy, I’m sure.”

Even Karen had to laugh. Morgan was sharp.

“Get on with it,” urged Adam. “The suspense is killing me,” he mocked. Adam looked at Karen thoughtfully, he was no believer in horoscopes, in fact, he thought they were amusing rubbish at best.

Morgan read from the paper:
“"Aquarius - As the Sun enters your sign this week you will find that emotions and new relationships blossom under its warmth. If you play your cards right you can seize the opportunities that present themselves and could find you will have an unexpected and fruitful harvest. Do not be afraid to reassess strongly held opinions."“

“
Now that sounds terribly exciting,” laughed Glenna. “That must mean you and Adam are going to get together this week. You’ll have to keep us informed.”

Before Karen could think of a witty reply Adam came to her rescue,
“Enough of this idle speculation. Let’s go and eat lunch. This is a very simple repast as they say in books. Not in my books, I should add in my own defence.”

They went up the elegant stairs to the sunlit dining area. The sea sparkled very blue in the clear air and, once again, Karen felt as though she were on the deck of a ship.

“I just love this room,” enthused Glenna. “I always feel I’m on the Queen Mary.”

“
It’s not so great when the fog comes down,” said Adam. “There have been days when I couldn’t even see the garden wall.”

The table was simply set with dark green pottery plates and Karen was pleased to see the violets were in a small lustre jug in the centre. Adam, following her gaze
, winked at her. There were platters of cold meats and cheeses set out and a couple of bowls of salad.

“
As you can see, I picked most of this up in London yesterday. But the potato salad is made at a little deli round the corner from my London house and I guarantee you’ll like it.” Adam went to the kitchen and brought back a basket of warm shiny bagels.

Morgan sat down at the head of the table and Karen hastily slipped into a chair
at the other end. Morgan obviously considered herself as the lady of the house. David, twinkling at Karen in friendly fashion, sat down next to her and proceeded to ply her with food and drink. Adam reappeared from the kitchen with bowls of olives and gherkins and took his seat at the head of the table next to Karen. Morgan, in her haste to assert her rights to the top of the table, had miscalculated and left Adam to Karen.

Karen was thankful as the conversation turned to acquaintances of theirs in London. She was not sorry to learn that Morgan was getting a lift back to London that evening with David and Glenna. Though she had apparently driven down with Adam. There was much discussion as to what was the best time to leave: before or after tea, should they stop for dinner on the way, should they take the motorway or the A-roads. The three of them argued away and Adam turned his attention to Karen.

“You didn’t tell me you were going up to London,” said Karen. “I found out from Sandy.”

“
Well, you ran off rather precipitously into the night. I thought I must have frightened you. Did I, Karen?” he looked into her eyes questioningly.

Karen felt flustered.
The way he said her name was so much nicer than Nick’s over-handling of it. How did she tell him that she wasn’t frightened of him but of her own feelings? Frightened that she would not be able to control her response to him when even a touch was enough to send shivers through her body. She dreaded to think what one kiss could do.

Adam
could see her confusion. He probed, “Is a neck massage so risky? I’m not some kind of crazy sex fiend that you need to run away from me before I touch you.”

Karen could only stare into his eyes, hypnotised. She bit her lip, unaware of how young and vulnerable it made her look. She pushed the food around her plate with her fork.

“Karen, Karen. I’m embarrassing you again. Why do you make me act this way? We seem to be out of kilter and yet I don’t think I am mistaken that there is a kind of tension between us. I’m sure you feel it too.”

“
I can’t,” said Karen. “I can’t get involved. My career is in London. I can’t afford emotional distraction from painting. If I don’t focus I’ll end up going nowhere.”

“
I wasn’t asking you to marry me, yet. I just thought we could spend some time together, not all relationships are restrictive, you know. Some people actually help each other to fulfil themselves. You don’t have to drag each other down. You have a view of men that dates back to the Dark Ages. Haven’t you heard of the New Man? For a painter you’re pretty uptight. I would have thought that you had a more relaxed approach to life.”

“
It’s easy to say all that. That things have changed, that men are different, but at the end of the day it’s still the woman who has the baby and who is ultimately responsible for it. I didn’t think you were asking me to marry you,” Karen continued indignantly. “I do like you but, like I said, I tend to guard against further involvement. Maybe it is silly, but some people just pose more of a risk than others.”

“
I hope I fall into that category. The ones who are more risky to know, that is. Speaking of risky, I meant what I said about Nick Farmer being a bit of a smooth operator. He has a lousy reputation. Be careful of him. I, at least, always take no for an answer. You don’t need to be afraid of me Karen. I would never ask you for anything that you did not wish to give freely,” Adam touched Karen’s hand reassuringly.

Karen, unable to eat much, helped Adam to
take the dishes through to the kitchen.

“
You didn’t eat very much. I hope it wasn’t my fault. I’ll make you up a doggy bag for Humphrey,” said Adam. “Perhaps I can tempt you with some pudding. I bought a pecan pie to die for, as Morgan would say.”

Karen was stacking plates in the dishwasher and so didn
’t have to look Adam in the face as she asked, “What does Morgan do, anyway? She never said. I gather she’s something to do with literature.” Karen dropped one of the silver knives she was putting into the dishwasher, “Oh dear, that is supposed to mean I am going to quarrel with someone.”

Adam laughed,
“Not me, I promise not to quarrel with you today. Morgan would probably be happy to oblige. She is my editor and a very old friend. We’ve known each other since university. Then, when my first book needed loads of cutting Morgan was there for me. She is a very good editor. She gets rid of the waffle.”

Morgan shouted through from the dining area,
“What are you two doing in there? I thought we were going to have dessert.” Morgan obviously was one of those lucky people who could eat whatever she wanted and never gain a single ounce. Karen envied her easy rapport with Adam. She supposed it was natural since they had been friends since university.