The Little Book Café: Tash’s Story. Georgia Hill

looked around, checking one last time. ‘See you next time.’

      Tash followed Emma downstairs, careful to hold up the legs of her trousers. As they got outside she stopped for a minute and lifted her head to the night. ‘It’s so clear tonight. Look at the stars.’ She took a deep, cleansing breath and realised she felt much better, far more relaxed. Perhaps coming out had helped after all?

      A tall, bulky figure strode out of the newly-installed bi-fold doors at the front of Millie Vanilla’s. Kit. He put up a hand in farewell and disappeared onto the promenade. With his long, loping strides, he’d reached halfway in seconds.

      Emma followed Tash’s gaze as she watched his progress. ‘You going to come back for the next meeting, then?’

      ‘Maybe. Maybe I just will.’

      They began the walk home, following in Kit’s footsteps along the prom.

      A familiar deep-throated growl of an engine sounded. It was Adrian in his Porsche, coming towards them. He drove along the road bordering the promenade, slowed when he passed Kit and then accelerated again, before skidding to a halt in front of Emma and Tash.

      The window buzzed down. ‘Thought I’d save you the walk up the hill,’ he called out cheerfully. ‘Hop in. You too, Emma, room for a little one in the back.’

      ‘Thanks Adrian,’ Emma said, as she clambered onto the miniscule back seat. ‘Great timing.’

      Tash got into the passenger seat and clipped on her seatbelt. She could feel him staring at her.

      ‘That’s what I thought,’ he said and gunned the engine down the side street to home.

       Chapter 4

      The next evening, as Tash parked her car on the drive after a long day at work, she felt her shoulders drop. She’d been on the phone for most of the day trying to persuade some clients not to pull out at the last moment. There was nothing the matter with the property they were buying, they were just nervous first-time buyers. The problem being the buying chain depended on them and would collapse if they changed their mind. Having flitted between them and their solicitor and the vendor of the house they were buying, she’d eventually coaxed them into agreeing to exchange the next week. A disaster had been narrowly averted and she’d driven home feeling satisfied. The challenges of her job were the things she loved most. Especially if the end result was a happy one.

      As she slid her key in the lock and opened the front door, the aroma of chicken casserole, rich with herbs and wine, hit her. Glancing into the dining room, she saw the table was set with lit candles and their best Jasper Conran. A bottle of prosecco sat in the cooler. The exhilaration of a difficult day doing what she loved best and doing it well, fled. The seduction scene unnerved her. It was only too familiar. Adrian wanted something and she wondered what.

      From the sounds upstairs, he was in the shower. Half of her wanted to sneak back outside and grab a pizza and beer with Emma. But if she came in late and smelling of alcohol, it would only make matters worse.

      Biting her lip, she hung up her suit jacket and slipped off her heels. She padded into the dining room and poured herself a glass of prosecco. How had it come to this? She was skulking around in her own home, trying to second-guess just what might provoke Adrian into a mood.

      It had all been so different this time two years ago. She’d met Adrian at a summer charity ball. She’d gone along with Pete Hingham, to represent Hughes and Widrow. Pete had recently been promoted to area manager, leaving the way clear for her to step up into the role of manager of the busy Berecombe office. Both she and Pete were in high spirits, looking forward to some good food and copious amounts of champagne. The evening had been warm and sultry and the doors to the terrace had been flung open to a starry midsummer night. Maybe she’d had too much fizz, or maybe she’d just been carried away by the romance of the night but she’d tripped onto the terrace, longing for some cooler air after dancing for hours.

      Adrian had been leaning against the low stone balustrade, sipping from his champagne flute and staring into the darkened garden. As he heard her, he turned and smiled.

      ‘Of all the terraces in all the world, you had to walk onto this one.’ He held out a second glass and she took it.

      It was a complete romantic cliché. She’d not even wondered why he had two glasses when he was alone, but had fallen for it. She had perched on the stone wall and chatted. He was very handsome and, even in a room full of sharply tuxedoed men, he stood out. Glossy dark hair, piercing blue eyes and the whitest, most perfect teeth she’d ever seen. It was only when he took her back into the ballroom for a slow dance that she realised he was shorter than her by several inches. Usually, things like that mattered to her a lot; she put a premium on how things looked. Being with a short man, especially as she was addicted to perilously high heels, just didn’t look right.

      Adrian Williams was older than her, an established property developer, obviously monied and the most sophisticated man who had ever taken an interest. At first, she had been fiercely attracted. After that initial evening, he took her out on a series of imaginative dates. They enjoyed a helicopter ride along the coast and attended a Mozart concerto followed by the most sumptuous Thai meal Tash had ever eaten. After Adrian had discovered Tash’s love of penguins, he’d even arranged a picnic next to the penguin pool at Bristol Zoo. And he’d not laid a finger on her. It had made her even more desperate for him. They’d finally consummated the relationship while on a long weekend in Paris. The fact that he’d booked separate rooms decided it for her. The sex had been mind-blowing. It hadn’t been much of a leap when he’d asked her to move in with him in the executive detached he’d just bought on the outskirts of Berecombe.

      When she’d queried why he’d bought it, he’d laughed and said he spent his working life on building sites and wanted something easy to come home to. Then he’d grabbed her by the waist and kissed her until her lips were numb.

      Emma warned her she was rushing into something, but her mother seemed delighted she was happy, and Pete was ecstatic as she was on fire at work and exceeded all her monthly targets. Tash ignored them all and found, to her surprise, that she enjoyed coming home to the same man every night. The sex continued to be amazing even if, occasionally, Adrian coaxed her into doing it when she really didn’t feel like it.

      And then, when the honeymoon glow had faded, another side of the genial, indulgent Adrian emerged. Earlier in the summer he began buying clothes that he wanted her to wear. Tash didn’t mind so much the racy underwear and peephole bras; she found them hugely funny. She was less of a fan of the wide-legged trousers he insisted on, the expensive but figure-concealing cashmere sweaters. He pouted and sulked when she tugged on the slim skirts and jackets she preferred for work. ‘Wouldn’t you rather be warm and comfortable?’ he wheedled, as he held out the tunic he’d just brought home.

      Tash surveyed the navy blue top with dismay, looking at its high V-neck and discreet pattern. Her lip curled. ‘It’s lovely, Ade,’ she said without thinking. ‘But it’s something my mother would wear. Thank you but it’s just not my thing.’ She’d registered his suddenly shuttered look and wondered what she’d said. That night, after he cajoled her into a marathon bout of sex, they had their first row. She’d hurt his feelings, Adrian said. Rejected his generosity. Tash felt guilty. The top was obviously expensive. She agreed to wear it at the weekend.

      He developed other weird habits too. Flying into a jealous rage if she talked about Pete too much, picking her up after a night out with her girlfriends saying it was so she could have a drink but always too early, when the evening had only just got going.

      Tash had toyed with the idea of leaving but something always tugged her back to her original feelings for him. After a tantrum, Adrian lavished attention on her. He talked about taking a long holiday in south Africa, of buying an apartment in Paris. The house was convenient for work and she liked the kudos of his money. She put his moods down to work stress; when things were tough, he suffered stomach problems. Besides, how