The Cerberus Affair by Charlotte Valentine

Author:Charlotte Valentine [Valentine, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Haslemere Publishing
Published: 2020-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

By the time she walked into the restaurant on Friday, the nerves that had disappeared after her conversation with Nina had returned and she took some deep breaths to compose herself. The restaurant was lovely, he’d made a perfect choice, and she was right on time. She had a feeling he’d expect that from her.

As the waiter escorted her to their table, she saw Clayton and the butterflies in her stomach went into overdrive. She couldn’t imagine a time that wouldn’t happen. She got to the table and held out her hand, feeling stupidly formal. When he smiled and took it in his, a jolt surged through her entire body and she wondered if he’d felt it too. She spoke with no idea of what she said as the waiter seated her.

Then Clayton leaned across the table and confessed he was nervous. When she heard his voice and looked at him, her own nervousness lifted. It felt so right to be sitting opposite this man. She wanted to know everything about him.

Choosing their food took no time. Catherine happily went with Clayton’s recommendations. Conversation and laughter flowed between them as if they were an established couple updating each other on their respective days. They compared notes on life with a teenager and he listened intently to the story of Will’s adoption, her move North to focus on her role as a mother and how she’d single-handedly parented him through to his Cambridge acceptance. He told her Will sounded like an exceptional young man of whom she should be rightly proud.

The more they spoke about her son the more Catherine realised how much she missed him, and tears threatened to well up in her despite her efforts to blink them back. She stared down at the table. Clayton reached over and placed his hand on hers.

‘I understand Catherine, you must miss him. I can see he’s been the centre of your life for so long.’

The gentle touch of his hand made her feel better. She looked up at him and smiled. ‘He has, but I know this will get easier. No more tears, they play havoc with the mascara. Anyway, I want to hear more about you. Tell me how an Australian wound up as the top genetics professor in London.’

‘My story is uncannily like Will’s. I’m adopted too. Brought up in Sydney by an incredible single Mum, and any success people think I’ve had I owe to her. The reason for London is I came over here to do my postgrad study after my first degree in Sydney, and I stayed. I met my now ex-wife here. Which is a whole other story, best left for another time.’

His look suggested his marriage was definitely a subject he wanted to avoid so Catherine asked about his mother. He told he she’d died ten years earlier and then paused. His face assumed the enigmatic expression Catherine had noticed before. As if he was wrestling with something he wanted to talk about, but couldn’t bring himself to.

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