The Promise of Summer by Bella Osborne

Author:Bella Osborne [Osborne, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-05-14T12:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

The hotel bar was sumptuous and swish. Ruby was making her way through a bottle of wine when Curtis joined her, freshly showered and without a tie – his only nod to this being an informal meeting.

‘Does your wardrobe consist entirely of suits, shirts and gym kit?’

‘Pretty much.’ He scanned what he was wearing.

‘Drink?’

The barman appeared. The bar was quiet and he looked keen. ‘Half a lager shandy please,’ said Curtis.

‘You might need something stronger once I’ve told you what I’ve discovered today.’

Curtis pulled up a bar stool. ‘Let’s start with the shandy and I’ll see.’

Ruby repeated the story she’d told at the nursing home, this time without the rubber chicken and without any interaction from Curtis. When she reached the end, she fixed him with a stare. Curtis remained attentive but gave no response. ‘So, what do you think?’

‘That Kim has lied to you.’

Ruby rolled her lips together. ‘You reckon?’

‘Definitely, if the husband she said was dead is in actual fact—’

‘I was being sarcastic.’

‘Oh, I see.’ He sipped his drink.

She needed to give him more pointers on the kind of interaction she was hoping for. ‘What I mean is: what do I do?’

‘It’s not really any of your business.’

Ruby almost toppled off her chair in shock. ‘Seriously? Of course it’s my business.’ She was outraged.

Curtis shook his head slowly. ‘No, it’s not. She’s your employer. This information has no bearing on your job.’

Ruby became animated. ‘She’s my friend too. And she lied to me.’

‘I suppose that may put a slightly different light on things. Although I assume she has a good reason.’

‘That’s the thing.’ Ruby leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘Vince says that after he had his heart attack, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Dumped him when he was in hospital. And since Kim has been lying all this time, I’m inclined to believe him. He said she had some sort of breakdown and even sold their house!’ She pulled her head back, expecting Curtis to react to her bombshell but there wasn’t a flicker from him. ‘You’re no fun,’ she said, finishing her wine and refilling her glass.

‘I am trying though. I made a concerted effort whilst I was in London to incorporate fun activities into my week.’ He looked quite pleased with himself. ‘I visited the Science Museum, which was most interesting. I crossed both Tower Bridge and the Millennium Footbridge.’

‘That’s great, Curtis. Well done.’ She offered her glass for him to clink and he did but very carefully.

Maybe it was the wine. Or maybe sometimes things just fell into place. It felt like the right moment to ask him about being a donor. She swallowed hard. ‘Curtis, there’s something I want to ask you. Let me explain and then I’ll take questions at the end.’

‘I had something I wanted to share too. But it can wait.’

‘Okay.’ Ruby paused. Now she was intrigued. ‘No go on, you first.’ She waved a hand at him. She needed a moment to compose herself anyway because her palms were going all sweaty.

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