Nobody but Him Read Free

spent staring at him before performing her disappearing act into the ladies’ loo. And what about The Princess. Was that pert young thing at the table his wife ? Fifteen years was a long time and Julia figured that a man like him would surely be married, and be in possession of the regulation sandstone villa in the leafy suburbs, the appropriate number of tousle-haired blond children and a chocolate labrador. And when the family wasn’t tumbling around in the landscaped gardens of their perfect suburban hideaway, they would drive down to Middle Point in their late-model Volvo to spend time in their million-dollar weekender with their beautifully dressed friends and their designer children.
    She suddenly felt relieved. Crass generalisations did save time after all.
    ‘Julia?’ The door swung open and Lizzie poked her head around it.
    ‘Yeah, I’m in here,’ Julia replied, her voice shaky.
    Lizzie walked in, let the door close behind her and stopped short at the sight of her friend. ‘God, you look terrible. Oh no, don’t tell me you’ve got the lurgy too? Here I was blaming the Gen Ys for being soft.’
    Lizzie looked into the mirror at their reflections. Julia’s dark curls and pale skin contrasted with Lizzie’s tanned blondeness and Julia envied the fact that she still looked like the perfect beach babe, even at thirty-two.
    Julia gave her head a little shake. ‘No, I don’t have the lurgy.’
    ‘That’s a relief, but something happened at Table 13, right?’
    Julia brushed her palms against her black skirt, trying to divert Lizzie’s attention. As if that was going to work. Not for the first time that night, she created a smile out of nowhere.
    ‘Nothing happened. Why do you ask?’
    ‘Well, apparently you can’t work here ever again. You’re sacked and I’m pissed off.’
    Julia’s head was a jumble. Nothing about the evening was making sense. ‘What are you talking about?’
    ‘I’m already short a waitress on a long weekend Saturday night and now Ryan-bloody-Blackburn’s sacked you. He thinks just because he’s gorgeous he can get away with shit like that.’ Lizzie shook her head in disbelief, then paused, narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her best friend. ‘Oh yeah. And he seems to know you, by the way.’
    Julia felt a pulse throb in her head, struggled a little to find the words. ‘I know I’ve been gone a long time, Lizzie, but when I last lived in this town, customers didn’t have the gall to start telling pubs who they can and can’t employ. What an enormous jerk.’ What an enormous handsome jerk.
    Lizzie laughed in frustration. ‘Jools … you’re not listening. God’s giftto women out there? With the shoulders? He owns this place.’
    A million questions popped like firecrackers in Julia’s head. She took a calming breath and fished around for the most important one.
    ‘Whoa. Wait a minute. What did you say?’ Pressing her index fingers to each temple was doing nothing for the throbbing.
    ‘Which part don’t you understand? The God’s gift part, or maybe the shoulders …’
    Julia steadied herself. ‘Did you say that Ry Blackburn owns the Middle Point pub?’
    ‘Yeah, for a month now.’ Lizzie’s face creased in confusion. ‘Hang on, Jools. Nothing about tonight is making any sense to me. Are you going to tell me how you know him ?’
    Clutching her stomach, Julia sank back against the basin, wondering where the hell to start that particular story. She’d never revealed any of it to Lizzie, and standing in the ladies’ loo with terribly unflattering overhead fluorescent lighting didn’t seem like the right place to tell her. That particular story needed a long lunch, comfy chairs and at least three bottles of wine.
    ‘Let’s just say we knew each other once, a really long time ago.’ Julia could see questions on Lizzie’s face but was thankful her friend knew her well enough not to push.
    ‘Okay then. He wants me to pay you for tonight and throw you some