The Grafton Girls - Annie Groves [141]
‘She was scratching at her wrist, wasn’t she, just like Alice had been doing, and, well, I allus thought there was summat a bit “off”. Look at the way she let you tek the blame for that stuff she’d got hid in your locker.’
‘But even if she stole Alice’s watch she would never have taken it into the cleanway,’ Ruthie protested.
‘No, not deliberately, but mebbe summat happened and she had no choice, or she forgot about it. I’m not saying what happened were on account of her, mind, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be surprised.’
It was a horrible thought but Ruthie couldn’t deny that it was a possibility.
‘So you did come. I was just about to give up on you.’
Diane whirled round. ‘Lee!’ And then wished she hadn’t as she realised how close her small movement had brought her to him.
‘Watch out,’ he warned her, as he reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder to draw her out of the path of a group of men making their way to the bar.
‘Do you know how much I wish that right now I had you all to myself?’
‘You mustn’t say things like that to me,’ Diane protested.
‘No? Then what should I say? What a surprise, Wilson. I never expected to see you here.’
‘We shouldn’t be here together like this, Lee,’ Diane told him huskily. ‘We both know that.’
‘No, we shouldn’t,’ he agreed, surprising her. Immediately she looked up at him and then realised her mistake when he bent his head and whispered to her, ‘We should be somewhere on our own.’ He lifted his hand to tuck a stray curl of hair off her face and his fingertips stroked the soft flesh just below her ear, making her shudder. He leaned closer to her. ‘Somewhere where I could take you to bed,’ he added softly, stroking his knuckles gently along the vulnerable skin of her bare throat.
‘Lee. Don’t!’ she begged him, almost choking on the words.
‘Don’t what?’
‘You know what,’ she told him emotionally.
‘I’ve booked us a room for the weekend,’ he told her abruptly.
Diane stared at him, not believing what he’d just said. ‘Where…?’ That wasn’t what she had intended to say at all! And she had no idea why she had said it.
‘A small inn tucked away in one of those Cheshire villages we drove through.’
‘You were very sure of yourself, weren’t you?’ she challenged him whilst she struggled to come to terms with what was happening.
‘I’ve always been sure of myself where you’re concerned. Sure of my feelings for you and how much I want you,’ he responded.
Why was she hesitating? It wasn’t because of her mother’s letter, was it? Because of Kit? Deliberately Diane hardened her heart against her ex-fiancé, reminding herself of how much he had hurt her. If she really meant what she had said about not letting him back into her life then perhaps she should spend the weekend with Lee. She would never be able to go back to Kit if she did. Her bridges would have been well and truly crossed then, and not just crossed but burned behind her as well. Inside her head she could hear her father’s voice and see her mother’s smile. They had liked Kit so much, welcomed him into the family, looked forward to him becoming their son-in-law, and now he had been to see them and…She looked at Lee and took a deep breath.
‘When…when do we leave?’ she asked him bravely.
She could feel his hand tightening on her arm and see the hunger in his gaze.
‘Bring a case with you on Friday. We’ll leave as soon as your shift finishes. That will give us the whole weekend together,’ he told her hoarsely.
‘No one must see us leaving together,’ Diane warned him.
He frowned. ‘The way I feel about you isn’t some hole-in-the-corner affair, Di.’
‘Maybe not, but you are married.’
‘Yeah, and to the wrong woman.’
The conversation was going down a route she didn’t want it to take. She started to shake her head, but before she could say anything Lee drew her closer.
‘Let’s dance,’ he suggested.
Diane nodded, unable to speak.
‘You haven’t said yet whether or not you managed to talk to Glen’s colonel,’ Diane reminded Lee ten minutes later, sitting opposite him and lifting her drink with one hand whilst beneath the tabletop