Gentlemen Prefer... Brunettes. Liz Fielding

more important on his mind. And I don’t mind, really.’

      ‘Bravely spoken.’

      ‘No, it’ll be fun. They’re great kids. I took them with me to an ice-cream factory a few weeks back and we had a ball. I’m more worried about the boys’ parents than looking after their offspring...’ Cassie shrugged. ‘I’m pretty sure that my sister is having problems with her marriage. I know Lauren’s sick to the back teeth of being left alone with the boys while Matt’s been spending all the hours of the day and night working.’ ‘We all have to make sacrifices, Cassie. It’s tough out there.’

      ‘I know that. Lauren does too, I’m sure, but you know how it is. Tension starts to build up over something stupid and before you know it you’re nursing every grudge under the sun. I had lunch with them a few weeks back and frankly the place was like a powder keg on a dodgy fuse. Then, when Lauren found out that Matt had promised to take the boys away on a camping trip on the few days he was planning to take off this summer instead of spending the time with her on a proper family vacation... well...I had to do something...’

      ‘So you volunteered to take over the camping trip? Single-handed? Couldn’t you have bought the boys off with a trip to Disneyland Paris?’

      ‘Matt’s mother took them in the Easter holiday.’

      ‘So?’

      ‘Well, it would have looked a bit obvious.’

      ‘And this doesn’t?’

      ‘I managed to convince them that I was planning a series on cooking outdoors...practically begged them to let me do it...’ Cassie smiled ruefully. ‘You think I’m mad, don’t you?’

      ‘Actually, I think you’re a peach. Mad, but a peach. But are you sure you’re wise to go on your own?’

      ‘Do you mean without a man to take care of me?’ Cassie enquired dangerously.

      ‘Well, it’s always nice to have one handy. Even if it’s only to pitch the tent and fetch the water.’ Her eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘And any other little job that needs doing.’

      ‘Maybe I should have taken Nick up on his offer of lunch after all. Who knows where it might have led?’

      Beth stopped scanning the menu long enough to laugh out loud. ‘Oh, I’m sure you do. Just because you’ve chosen a life of celibacy doesn’t mean that you’ve lost your memory.’ She frowned. ‘Or maybe it does.’

      ‘You’re not suggesting a double sleeping bag, are you, Beth?’ Cassie responded in mock horror.

      ‘I am, actually. But not just any double sleeping bag, you understand. I’m suggesting a top-of-the-range Jefferson Sports double duck-down sleeping bag.’

      ‘Have another glass of wine and say that.’

      Cassie’s laughter turned the heads of several lunching businessmen. They were in no hurry to look away.

      ‘Just think how romantic it would be, Cass, zipped up together beneath the stars.’

      Cassie was trying not to think about it She didn’t understand why it was so hard. ‘With three small boys playing gooseberry? I think I’d rather manage on my own, thanks. Unless, of course, you fancy a week of outdoor fun in the wilds of Wales? You’d be most welcome. ’

      ‘Me? I’ve got a store to run. Those cookery books and videos don’t just sell themselves, you know.’ Then she thought about it. ‘Actually in your case they do. But someone has to take the money.’ And to emphasise that she was not to be persuaded she returned to her close scrutiny of the menu. ‘I’ll have the lamb cutlets with the herb and mustard crust, baby new potatoes and peas,’ she said, after reading it through twice.

      ‘I can’t tempt you to try the scallops, first?’ Cassie asked innocently.

      ‘Please! This is lunchtime. If I eat too much I’ll fall asleep over the accounts.’

      ‘You’re quite sure? I’ve heard they’re very special and I’d like to try them. If you don’t mind waiting...’

      ‘Sit and watch you eat?’ Beth groaned. ‘You wretch, you know I’ve got all the restraint of a rabbit faced with a field of lettuce.’

      Cassie grinned. ‘Save the lettuce for supper and join me in the gym tomorrow to work off the excess.’

      Beth brightened. ‘Oh, right. What time?’

      ‘Six-thirty.’

      ‘Six-thirty? Forget it. After a day in the bookshop all I can think of is a large G and T and putting my feet up.’

      Cassie grinned. ‘I meant six-thirty in the morning.’

      Beth’s mouth fell open, then she gathered herself, with the smallest of shudders. ‘No, thanks. I’ll learn to love my curves and if you don’t mind my saying so you need a man to keep you in bed in the morning.’ Even as she said it, Cassie saw Beth wish the words back into her mouth. ‘As I said, the restraint of a rabbit and a mouth like a runaway train...’

CHAPTER THREE

      CASSIE took pity on her. ‘Don’t worry about it, Beth. You’re only saying what everyone else thinks. Matt and Lauren have been trying to fix me up with their spare men friends for years.’

      ‘Look, since this is apparently my day for saying the wrong thing, can I do it again?’

      ‘Will anything stop you?’

      ‘It’s just that... well, has it ever occurred to you that Jonathan might not have been a swan after all? You’d only been married a few weeks when he died, hardly long enough to find out the faults. And they all have faults, you know. Even the best of them.’

      ‘I know, Beth.’

      ‘It’s unfair to measure every man you meet against him.’

      ‘I know.’

      ‘But it doesn’t make any difference?’

      ‘Beth, you don’t understand...’ The waitress arrived to take their order and when she had gone the urge to tell someone, anyone, the truth about Jonathan had evaporated. That was her secret. Her shame. ‘Are you sure you won’t come along to the gym?’

      ‘At six-thirty?’ Beth seemed as relieved to let the subject drop as she was.

      ‘An hour in the gym three mornings a week helps to counteract the occupational hazard of constantly tasting new recipes to get them just right.’

      ‘You mean you claim membership of the gym as an expense against income tax?’ Beth was seriously impressed by that.

      ‘I hadn’t thought of it,’ Cassie confessed.

      ‘Check it out with your accountant and let me know what he says. I wonder if I could get away with it? You have to be fit to run your own business, you know.’

      ‘You have to be fit for any kind of job and somehow I can’t imagine the Inland Revenue subsidising health club membership for the entire nation.’

      ‘Why not? Think what it would save on the National Health bill.’

      ‘You know, you’re wasted in business, Beth. With a mind like that you should be in politics. Running the Exchequer.’

      

      ‘Are you coming, Nick? The meeting is about to start.’

      Veronica was framed in the doorway, her slender figure displayed to advantage in the palest grey and white dress. Outside the day was hot and humid, yet this woman managed to look as if she was moving in her own air-conditioned space, a picture of unruffled poise. He suspected that if she were a glass she would be frosted. The very opposite of the way he was feeling at that moment.

      ‘I’ll