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Fran raised her eyebrows. “You two know each other?”

Andrew looked equally astonished. “Grace! How lovely to see you again!”

Grace didn’t think it was lovely at all. “Have you seen the play?” she asked, hoping they could talk about that so that Fran didn’t start trying to find out how they knew each other.

Andrew pulled a face. “No fear; I’m not a great fan of Shakespeare, and I don’t like
The Winter’s Tale
at all. I’m too old for fairy stories!”

“I love it,” said Fran. “Every time I see it I’m reminded of the power of jealousy to ruin even the strongest love.”

“I find the fact that it shows how even the closest male bond can be ruined by jealousy more interesting,” said Grace, directing her comment at Andrew.

“It’s only a play!” he responded, smiling at her, and despite her shock at seeing him, and a suspicion that it wasn’t a chance meeting, Grace couldn’t help smiling back.

He was so relaxed, and totally at ease in his surroundings. He was also even more handsome than she’d realized, and judging by the way Fran was hanging on his every word she hadn’t failed to notice that either.

Grace liked him a lot, but she couldn’t help worrying that for some reason David had sent him, although why he’d want her watched she couldn’t imagine, since he was the least jealous man she’d been out with.

“How do you two know each other?” Fran asked. “Clearly it’s not through work if you hate Shakespeare, Andrew.”

“Grace isn’t only interested in Shakespeare surely?” he asked, with a quick teasing glance across at her.

She felt herself tensing, remembering the last time he’d seen her and what she must have looked like as she struggled to reach that final elusive orgasm. “No, I like all theater, and I specialize in the work of new playwrights. Fran’s a playwright,” she said, trying desperately to push Fran in Andrew’s direction and distract him.

“Then how do you know each other?” persisted Fran, who was like a dog with a bone once she got hold of something, and it was plain she now thought she was onto something very interesting.

“We work out at the same club,” said Andrew.

Fran looked at Grace in astonishment. “You’ve joined a gym?”

“Yes, but I don’t think I’ll be going there much longer.”

“It was a special offer; one she couldn’t refuse!” laughed Andrew.

The three of them made desultory conversation for a few minutes, but when Andrew went up to the bar to get himself another drink, Fran began to gather up her things. “Don’t go!” protested Grace.

“Look, he clearly fancies you and I’m not sitting here like a spare prick at a wedding. We can talk about the actress who played Hermione when we meet on Monday. You two have a nice evening. Does your financier lover know about him?” she added curiously.

“There’s nothing to know! We’re just friends.”

“Maybe, but he definitely wants to be a friend with benefits! Phone me over the weekend and tell me all about it. You’re certainly good at keeping secrets these days. You never talk about David and now up pops a handsome hunk with a body to die for!”

If she knew exactly how good she was at keeping secrets, Fran would be stunned thought Grace to herself.

“Where’s your friend gone?” asked Andrew when he got back.

“Home, she wanted an early night… Do you come to the King’s Head a lot?”

“Yes, I like the atmosphere.”

“I’ve never seen you here before, and I come at least once a month,” said Grace, still convinced he was only there because David had asked him to come.

“Maybe we’ve always come on different nights then. You don’t look very pleased to see me,” he added. “I’m quite hurt.”

He didn’t look hurt, because his eyes were dancing with amusement, and now that Fran had gone, Grace began to relax a little and reluctantly smiled back at him. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t know how I was going to explain knowing you.”

“I thought I did that quite neatly for you.”

“Yes, but now Fran will expect me to be super-fit!”

They both laughed, and for a time Andrew chatted in a way that Grace realized David never did, telling her amusing anecdotes about things that had happened to him. He made her feel attractive and amusing too, and when they left the pub together, with Andrew insisting he must see her safely back to her apartment, she noticed the look of envy in the eyes of several women in the pub.

She wasn’t surprised. His broad shoulders and powerful physique were emphasized tonight by his tight-fitting jeans and short-sleeved shirt. His thick, dark hair was as tousled as always, and again she was struck by how easy he’d be to cast if he were an actor. He’d certainly attract a huge fan base, and if she weren’t in love with David she knew that she’d be enjoying his attention this evening.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as they waited for the next tube train.

“That you’d be a great hit with the women if you were an actor.”

“Maybe a career change is called for!” he said with a laugh.

“Tell me what you were thinking,” said Grace.

“That David isn’t being fair to you,” he said quietly, just as the train appeared out of the tunnel.

Shocked to the core, Grace didn’t speak at all during the journey. On the short walk from the underground to her apartment, she still felt too shaken to make conversation, and when they stopped at her front door she didn’t know what to do or say.

Andrew put his hands gently on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that, but it upsets me. I know he’s my friend, but I care about you Grace, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“He’s not hurting me,” she protested. “The Dining Club has made a huge difference to my life, a positive difference, and it’s brought us closer together as well. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but the fact is that I love David and I want to be part of his life, all of his life.”

“I know you do, that’s why I think you need to hear what I’ve got to say.”

Grace hesitated. She didn’t know what to do. She liked Andrew, and felt instinctively he could be trusted to speak the truth. If he wasn’t there on David’s behalf, and she didn’t think David would need to test her loyalty like this after their sessions at the Dining Club, then obviously Andrew was genuinely worried about her. On the other hand, having seen the play tonight, the power of jealousy was still fresh in her mind.

“At least hear me out, Grace,” said Andrew urgently. “If you don’t believe what I tell you, or it doesn’t make any difference, then no harm’s been done. If you do believe me, then you can make an informed decision about any future with David. All I’m asking is that you hear me out, for your own sake.”

Still Grace hesitated. A part of her didn’t want to let Andrew inside the front door, and didn’t want to hear what he had to say. But, and she was honest enough to realize this, that was only because she already had some subconscious doubts after the last weekend, and was terrified that Andrew was now going to prove them right.

For a few more seconds Grace waited. “All right, you’d better come in,” she said at last, turning her key in the lock but hoping against hope that what he was about to tell her didn’t mean that she would never return to the Club with David again.

Once in the apartment she turned to face him. “Right, you’d better tell me what it is that you think I need to know.”

Marina Anderson is the pseudonym of a British author. Her novels have sold over half a million copies worldwide and she is a
Sunday Times
bestseller.

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