Jill Mansell - Mixed doubles

Chapter 25

Liza lay in the bath for an hour, watching her skin shrivel and marvelling at her spectacular stupidity. It was her birthday, she was thirty-two, and she was acting like a pathetic teenager.

Damn, worse than that. She was acting like ... Dulcie.

There had been plenty of offers over the course of the last few days, from various men eager to take her out on her birthday. Stupidly, still hoping against hope that Kit Berenger would be in touch, she had turned them all down. She had even invented ever more elaborate excuses on Kit’s behalf, every time the phone rang and it wasn’t him.

In the end Liza had run out of excuses. Reasonable ones anyway. The only excuse that would do now was if he were dead.

So here she was, a grown woman in the grip of a deeply embarrassing crush – an unrequited crush at that – all alone on her birthday and feeling more spinsterish by the minute.

Climbing out of the bath, Liza put on a baggy yellow sweater and a pair of pink shorts. Since it was sunny outside she took her work out into the tiny garden.

Seconds after she’d settled herself down with more reference books and a notepad, the post arrived. Sending her coffee flying, Liza raced to the door. Cards, cards, cards .. .

None of them from Kit Berenger.

Hating herself for being foolish enough to even think he might have sent one – how truly pathetic could you get? – Liza crammed her sunglasses on to her face and forced herself to work for two hours straight.

At midday she made herself another pot of coffee and phoned Mark.

‘Dinner tonight. Are you still up for it?’

‘I thought you were busy.’

‘Change of plan,’ Liza replied brightly. ‘I can make it now.’

‘Oh, shame, I made other arrangements.’ Bemused by her call – it didn’t occur to him for a second that she could actually have been stood up by another man – Mark added, ‘Of course, you’re welcome to join us. Suzie wouldn’t mind ...’

Dulcie was just as much of a let-down.

‘I can’t, I’m seeing Liam. He’s mad about me,’ she confided happily. ‘You should have seen him last night, trying to climb in through my bedroom window! He’s so romantic,’ she sighed, ‘so masterful.’

Not in the mood to hear this, Liza attempted a quick getaway. ‘Okay, doesn’t matter—’

‘Hang on! You still haven’t told me what’s been going on between you and Kit Berenger.’

‘Terrible line, I can hardly hear you.’ Liza bashed the phone against the wall a couple of times and hung up.

When the doorbell rang an hour later she was tempted not to answer it. Why bother when it was either flowers from Mark – a guilt gift to make up for not being able to see her tonight – or Dulcie determined to get the low-down on the Berenger affair.

Some affair, Liza thought miserably. Chance would be a fine thing.

The doorbell rang again. Heaving an irritated sigh, she went to see who it was. If it was flowers, she’d answer the door. If it was Dulcie she definitely wouldn’t.

It wasn’t Dulcie. It wasn’t flowers either. And the silhouette through the stained glass was man-shaped.

Pulling the door open, Liza came face to face with Kit Berenger.

‘Happy birthday.’

He was wearing a dark-green shirt with a fine crimson stripe and the most impeccably cut black suit.

‘Thanks.’ Liza wondered how he knew it was today. But who cared? He was here, he was here.

‘You could always invite me in,’ Kit suggested when she didn’t move.

‘I thought you were going to phone.’ Liza stayed where she was. ‘Don’t tell me, you spent the ten pounds and couldn’t remember my number.’

He grinned. ‘Oh ye of little faith. Actually, I learned it off by heart. And I nearly phoned, hundreds of times. Had to exert a fair amount of self-control, I can tell you.’

Liza took a deep breath. She was having to exert a bit of self-control herself, right at this moment.

‘Either way, phoning would have been the decent thing to do,’ she said evenly. ‘If you decide you don’t want to see someone again, you should still let them know.’

‘Come on,’ chided Kit, his tone humorous, ‘you didn’t think that for a second.’

Liza pulled him into the narrow hallway and slammed the door shut. They stood, inches away from each other, her dark-brown eyes fixed angrily on his yellow-gold ones.

‘I thought I didn’t think that for a second,’ she almost hissed at him, ‘until you didn’t ring. Oh for God’s sake,’ she blurted out furiously, ‘how could you do that to me?’

‘Look,’ said Kit, ‘I thought we both needed the time to think. I don’t know about you, but I don’t make a habit of feeling like this about someone. It’s pretty scary, if you want the truth.’ He hesitated, then half smiled. ‘Bloody scary, in fact.’

‘It’s only lust. You don’t have to be scared!’

‘Ah, but what if it isn’t only lust?’ Kit put his hands on her shoulders. ‘You said yourself, I was too young for you.’ Liza smiled up at him.

‘I meant I was too old for you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re hardly talking weddings here.

What’s wrong with a harmless fling?’

‘Is that all you’re interested in?’ demanded Kit. He began to sound annoyed.

Liza was just glad he was here. The relief was overwhelming. She decided to be frank with him.

‘Don’t take this personally, it’s just the way I am. And the age thing’s irrelevant; I’m the same with everyone. I get bored quickly, that’s all. So trust me, you don’t have to worry about getting involved, being scared,’ she told Kit, ‘because it won’t last long enough for that to happen.’

Inexplicably, Liza heard her voice break. She paused before finishing what she had to say. ‘My relationships never do.’

He touched her mouth with one finger, tracing the outline of her full lower lip.

‘How soon before you get bored?’

‘Three or four weeks.’ She tried to move her mouth away from his finger, found she couldn’t do it. ‘I’m a very shallow person.’

Kit frowned.

‘A month? Is that the longest you’ve ever been involved with someone?’

Liza nodded, ashamed.

‘Pretty much. I think I managed five weeks once.’ He shook his head.

‘That’s really sad.’

‘I’ve kind of got used to it,’ said Liza.

‘That’s even sadder.’

‘Don’t you dare start feeling sorry for me.’

‘I’m not.’ Kit grinned. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it. Anyway, you’ve met me now. Things could be about to change.’

That would be just my luck, thought Liza. After years of being left cold by endless hugely eligible men, how typical if I finally fell in love with a toyboy. How unsuitable could you get?

She didn’t seriously expect it to happen. It was hardly likely. All she wanted to do was enjoy the next few weeks for what they were and accept the inevitable ending with good grace.

But for Kit’s sake she pretended it was a possibility.

Smiling up at him, she said, ‘Who knows? Maybe they are.’

Kit’s eyes narrowed at once. ‘Don’t humour me.’ His voice sent shivers of longing down Liza’s spine. ‘I’m not.’

‘You are. You think I’m too young to understand what makes you tick.’

Liza wished he’d stop talking. All she could think about right now was how badly she wanted him to make love to her.

That, she decided, would definitely be a birthday present worth having.

She gave him her most sensual and bewitching smile, the one that no man could ever resist.

‘I’m telling you, you aren’t going to get tired of me,’ promised Kit, resisting it. ‘I’m going to keep you interested if it kills me.’