The One You Really Want

‘All done.’ Nancy held out the box containing the cake as Connor opened his front door. It was six o’clock on Friday evening and pregnant Pam’s leaving party at the Lazy B was due to start at eight.

‘Bring it on inside. Here, let me give you a hand.’ As he took the pink and white striped box from her, Connor’s hands brushed against her own and the by now familiar zapping sensation shot up Nancy’s arms. Was this something she’d ever get used to?

‘Yay! Let’s see it.’ Mia, clearing a space on the kitchen table, said bossily, ‘Come on, Dad, take the lid off.’

‘Oh, get on with it,’ Mia exclaimed, briskly removing the lid. ‘Bloody hell, Nancy, it’s all broken.’

‘What?’ Nancy stopped gazing helplessly at Connor and spun round so fast she got a crick in her neck.

Praise from Connor was like warm honey trickling down her spine. Basking in the sensation, Nancy watched him examine the more intricate details of the cake. She wondered if putting on perfume to bring it over to his house had been a mistake.

Then she thought maybe not as Connor put an arm round her shoulders - yes, yes! - and said, ‘You’re a clever old stick, aren’t you?’

The warm honey abruptly vanished. Stick? Clever old STICK? What kind of an endearment was that when it was at home?

‘Ignore him.’ Sensing her alarm, Mia said consolingly, ‘It’s just one of those stupid things Dad says. He called me that once. So I called him a fat old fart,’ she remembered with satisfaction. ‘That soon put a stop to it.’

‘Please don’t try that.’ Connor turned to Nancy. ‘I’m sorry, I just meant you were clever. You don’t look a bit like a stick. Anyway, we’d better be getting ready.’ He nodded at Mia. ‘D’you have it?’

‘Hey, wasn’t I saying just the other day that you should come along to the club?’ Mia, whose idea it had been, was looking delighted with herself. ‘Well, now you’ll have to.’

Nancy turned the card over. Oh God. ‘You really didn’t have to do this.’ Horrified, she gazed at the photograph of herself, purportedly there for identification purposes. This one, taken almost ten years ago, showed her with over-plucked eyebrows, truly hideous perm and the startled look of someone perched in a photo booth, unsure when the flash might be about to go off. Except that she hadn’t been in a photo booth, she’d been at one of Spike and Carmen’s parties.

Nancy said wryly, ‘And to think she used to be my friend.’ God, even her passport photo wasn’t as awful as this.

‘You can have another one taken at the club. We’ll do you a replacement card,’ Connor’s tone was consoling. ‘Hey, look on the bright side. At least you’ve improved with age.’

‘Thanks.’ Nancy forced herself to smile; he probably didn’t mean to imply that these days she looked passable, whereas back then she’d been a complete dog.

‘Dad.’ Mia gave him a pitying shake of the head. ‘You aren’t doing yourself any favours, you know.’

‘Bugger, I’ve lost my blarney.’ He clutched his forehead, looked tortured. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know where it’s got to.’

‘Try looking down the back of your sofa,’ Nancy suggested. ‘When we lose anything, that’s where it usually turns up.’ Readying herself to leave she said, ‘Anyway, thanks for the membership. Maybe I’ll give the club a try over the weekend.’

‘Come with us tonight,’ Mia exclaimed. ‘We’ll be leaving here in half an hour. I can give you the guided tour, introduce you to people. And you’ll see Pam getting her cake. Fancy that?’

‘Of course you must come with us.’ Connor clutched her arm. ‘That’s a great idea. Why didn’t I think of it?’

‘Probably because you’re losing your marbles along with your blarney.’ Mia flashed him a sunny smile. ‘I’ll be having to put you in a home soon.’

Nancy was having trouble concentrating; the electrical currents were still zip-zapping excitedly up and down her arm. Gathering herself, she said, ‘I’m free.’

Mia winked at her and Nancy blushed, suspecting that she and Connor had both just been expertly set up. Mia was clearly a girl with a plan.

It was ten o’clock and the bar at the Lazy B was bursting at the seams, Pam was still having her photograph taken with her much-admired cake and Nancy had met practically everyone who worked at the club. She had also been glared at from a distance by Sadie Sylvester, who evidently didn’t trust her an inch and suspected her - heavens above, surely not! - of having her sights set minxily on Connor.

‘Just ignore her,’ Mia had breezily remarked. ‘I do. Every so often I just ask people to pull the knives out of my back.’

Which wasn’t as comforting as it might have been, given the killer looks Sadie was shooting them across the room.

Rejoining Nancy now, Mia said, ‘Pam’s shattered, I’m just going to call a cab for her. Have you seen Dad?’

‘I haven’t even had time to show you around the rest of the club.’ Mia knocked back her glass of orange juice and checked her watch. ‘I had no idea there were going to be so many people here. So, you and Dad getting on OK?’

There was that knowing look again. Honestly, did Mia have any idea how embarrassing it was to be in this situation, set up by a meddling sixteen-year-old?

‘I’m having a nice time. And you don’t have to show me around,’ said Nancy because Mia was clearly busy. ‘I can do that any time.’ Glancing down at her shoes she added, ‘Maybe when I’m wearing something more appropriate.’

Mia disappeared to call the taxi firm and Nancy sipped her drink, shifting from one pencil-thin high heel to the other. Her feet were starting to hurt now. Four-inch stilettos wouldn’t have been the ideal choice for exploring a fitness centre anyway. Sitting down and giving her aching feet a rest would be nice but a quick scan of the room revealed only one free seat and that was too close to Sadie Sylvester for comfort.

Determined not to look but sensing that Sadie’s narrowed gaze was trained upon her like a sniper’s rifle, Nancy headed in the direction of the bar instead. Within seconds, she smelled the overpoweringly heavy scent Sadie wore.

‘I know exactly what you’re up to,’ Sadie announced. ‘Getting all friendly with Mia. Offering to make cakes for Connor. Wheedling your way into his life, making yourself—’

‘And now you’re here, at Pam’s leaving party. My God, talk about infiltration.’ Sadie shook her head in mock admiration. ‘And I hear you’re joining the club. Don’t you worry that you might be making a bit of a fool of yourself?’

Cruel accusations were always painful to hear, Nancy discovered, particularly when there was more than a smidgen of truth in them.

Aloud she said, ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ and saw Sadie’s glossy red mouth curl with disdain.

‘Oh, come on. Your husband had an affair, am I right? He’s found someone else and you’re desperate to do the same. My God, I bet you couldn’t believe your luck when you found out you had Connor living next door to you. I mean, I’m not saying I blame you - let’s face it, he’s quite a catch - but there’s such a thing as being too obvious.’

Oh hell, did it really show that much? Her heart thumping unpleasantly, Nancy said, ‘Connor’s just a friend.’

‘Of course he is. As far as he’s concerned,’ Sadie drawled. ‘The trouble is, your marriage hit the rocks and your confidence has taken a battering. So when a man comes along and starts being nice to you, you get all over-excited and think it’s because he’s romantically interested. Whereas in reality, that’s just Connor’s way. It means nothing,’ she emphasised, her eyes glittering with a mixture of pity and triumph. ‘So don’t be fooled into thinking you’re special, because you aren’t.’