Bonds of Love. Sarah K
moments of slipping beneath the duvet I dropped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The restaurant was closed. It said so on a large blackboard that had been propped up against the wall outside the car park. I’d been so focused on the road and how to get to the place where we were meeting that the sign took me completely by surprise, so – mid-turn – I carried on turning and sailed into the car park, where a red-and-white striped barrier had been erected across the parking spaces and a small group of men with a van, high-visibility vests and hard hats were all gathered around what looked like a freshly dug hole outside the main entrance to the restaurant.
The main building was long and low with dormer windows set into the swooping roof, and it turned back on itself to enclose a little paved courtyard with tables and benches that caught the mid-morning sun. It would have been the perfect spot for lunch – if it had been open.
As I pulled to a halt another car pulled up alongside mine. Looking across at the driver I realised that it was Alex, who waved and smiled back at me and then rolled down his window.
‘Hi there. You found it all right then?’ he said, his face broadening into a smile. If anything he looked better than he had in his photo, which was a pleasant surprise. He was lightly tanned, with tousled sun-bleached hair and vibrant blue eyes.
I nodded. ‘Yes, thanks,’ I said. ‘And so did the water authority by the looks of it. Did you invite them?’
Alex laughed. ‘Bloody gatecrashers. It looks serious though. I’m thinking we might have to have a change of venue. If you want to wait here, I’ll just go and see what’s going on.’ He climbed out of his car, locked it and headed over towards the restaurant.
Being naturally nosey I got out and followed him. Alex was taller than I’d expected – don’t get me started on how many men lie about their height on online dating sites – and he was well built, with broad shoulders and long legs. He was wearing a blue-and-white checked open-neck shirt under a charcoal-grey jacket, with faded Levis and nice shoes, and so far was exactly as advertised in his profile. As we got to the barriers, he paused.
‘Nice to meet you, by the way,’ he said. There was something quite boyish about him, and although he wasn’t classically handsome he was nice looking, with a broad, generous mouth and very naughty eyes. I made myself take a calm, collected step back from all the approving noises my brain was making; we were playing it cool, remember? Slowly, slowly this time. I extended a hand. Alex shook it and as he did we both made a slightly awkward manoeuvre and then stepped closer, at which point he kissed me on the cheek.
‘This isn’t going quite how I planned,’ he added.
‘Well, that’s good. If you’re going to arrange some excitement I’d rather it didn’t involve –’ I was about to say a water leak when I got a whiff of whatever it was that was lurking in the bottom of the hole. ‘God, that smells awful.’
He laughed. ‘Anyway, I’m Alex. It’s nice to meet you at long last.’
‘Sarah,’ I said.
His grip was warm and firm and his hand so big that it swallowed mine whole. ‘Delighted, and you know you look just like your photo.’
‘Which is rare,’ I said ruefully.
He nodded. ‘You can say that again.’
‘You too. So far, so good.’
He grinned. ‘I think so.’
I had sent him a photo in response to his; I wanted Alex to recognise me when we met and also know what he was letting himself in for. Although I’m not overweight, I am a proper grown-up woman with curves and wrinkles, not a smooth stick insect. Lots of the men on both BDSM and ordinary websites are looking for women much younger than themselves, which is fine, but unless they’re in their dotage, I’m not one of them. Alex, who was in his mid-forties, had specified that he wanted to meet someone within three to five years of his age, which was also rare and suggested he was looking for something more than just the physical – well, I hoped that was what it meant.
He eased one of the barriers to one side. ‘I’m just going to nip inside and see if I can see –’ But before he could complete the sentence, a man in chef’s whites appeared from one of the service doors of the restaurant and hurried towards us, waving madly and grinning like a loon. Alex waved back.
‘No need, here he comes. This is the friend I was telling you about. His name’s Cash,’ Alex said. ‘And this place is his new baby. He and his partner bought it last year. They haven’t been open that long. I hope this water thing isn’t anything too serious. They’ve put every penny they’ve got into this place.’
‘Hello,’ said Cash, looking from face to face.
‘Bit extreme, isn’t it? Trying to keep us out, are you?’ said Alex to Cash, nodding towards the barriers.
‘We do our best to try and keep the riff-raff out,’ said the man, and then he slipped through a gap in the barriers and they embraced and slapped each other on the back in the way that men do. ‘I’m so sorry, mate. I did ring to try and let you know. It’s some sort of leak. We’ve had to close until they fix it. I left you a message first thing this morning but presumably you were too busy to pick it up.’ As he spoke, Cash smiled in my direction.
Following his gaze, Alex did the introductions. ‘Cash, this is Sarah, Sarah this is Cash. We go back years; Cash and I were at school together.’
‘Many moons ago now,’ said the man, taking my hand and pressing it to his lips. ‘Delighted to meet you. Any friend of Alex’s –’
Alex raised his eyebrows. ‘Don’t mind Cash, he always was a lech.’
Cash grinned. ‘I’m just so sorry that I can’t offer you lunch.’
‘Me too. Do they know what the problem is?’ asked Alex, glancing over towards the posse of workmen. ‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’
‘Me too. I’m losing money every minute that we’re closed.’
‘How long do they think it’s going to take?’
Cash shrugged. ‘No one seems to be able to give me a definitive answer. But better now than when the season starts, I suppose. They put a little camera down the pipe earlier and seem to think they’ve found the problem. It’s just a question of putting it right now. Anyway, enough about my drains. I can offer you a drink if you’d like one. It’d be good to catch up – but I can’t even rustle something up for you in the kitchen because they’ve turned the bloody water off, unless you fancy a sandwich.’
Alex glanced at me. ‘Nice offer, but we were hoping to sample the fish.’
‘I’m really sorry. Would you like a glass of something, maybe? We’ve got a great cellar.’ He tipped his head in invitation, while at the same time surreptitiously giving me the once over.
Clearly Alex hadn’t told Cash that he was meeting anyone, but it seemed Alex wasn’t going to give anything away. Instead he just sighed. ‘I’m afraid not Cash. We’re both driving so we can’t even take you up on the wine. And there was me telling Sarah how wonderful the food is here.’ He was teasing, laying on the disappointment with a trowel.
‘That’s right, he was,’ I said, playing along.
Cash pulled a face. ‘I’m so sorry. Another time. Next time the two of you are down this way come down and eat on the house. My treat.’
‘I’m going to hold you to that. I was trying to impress Sarah with my good taste and great connections.’
‘So are you two an item then?’ asked Cash.
I laughed.
‘What?’ Cash protested. ‘I’m always the last to