Tempting Fate Read Free Page A

brilliant,’ she starts. ‘And kind. He’s curious about everyone and everything, and is the kind of man that everyone feels instantly relaxed with. He’s warm, and caring. And a great father. We have two girls, and they’re the apple of his eye. He’s a great husband. I’m lucky …’ She tails off, aware she is doing a hard sell, but unsure suddenly of who she is doing the hard sell for.
    ‘He really does sound wonderful,’ Matt agrees.
    ‘He is.’
    ‘What does he do?’
    ‘He’s a doctor. Gastroenterologist. So, obviously, the good bedside manner helps.’
    I am a doctor’s wife, she thinks. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Stable. Safe. And just a tiny bit dull.
    Briefly, she indulges in a fantasy. What if she were adot-com billionaire’s wife? What then? She sees herself padding around a glass house in Malibu, in one of Matt’s shirts, her legs having suddenly become miraculously tanned and toned, her hair a good six inches longer than it could ever be, given that she has been trying to grow it for many years and it still doesn’t reach much further than her shoulders.
    Imagine the parties they would go to! She and Matt laughing together as they lean on a deck overlooking the ocean, the wind blowing her very long hair around; no sign of cellulite, children, or ex-husband; no sign of anything from her former life.
    She shakes her head. What are you doing, Gabby? Are you completely mad?
    ‘Another Martini?’ Matt is about to gesture the bartender over.
    ‘God, no!’ she says. ‘A Martini is like –’
    ‘A woman’s breasts,’ he finishes. ‘I know.’
    ‘I should probably think about leaving,’ she says regretfully, not wanting to leave but feeling as if they have reached the end. What is the point in staying, after all? There is a ripple of danger just below the surface of her consciousness, and she knows she has to go.
    ‘How are you getting home?’ There is disappointment in his eyes. ‘You can’t drive.’
    Gabby laughs. ‘Trust me, I know that. One of the girls is driving,’ she says, and looks over to where her friends are, were, but there is no sign of them. ‘Oh shit,’ she mutters. ‘Where are they?’
    Matt is amused. ‘They deserted you? What kind of friends are they?’
    ‘Crap ones,’ Gabby says, annoyed, as she gets out her phone to text them. Matt laughs.

We didn’t want to disturb you ;)
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    ‘They’ve gone?’ Matt doesn’t see the text, but sees the look on Gabby’s face.
    ‘I can’t believe they left without me. That’s just awful.’
    ‘Tell you what,’ Matt says. ‘Why don’t you come to the hotel? We can have some coffee and they’ll call you a cab.’
    Gabby studies his face. There is no ulterior motive. It is just a coffee, and she could do with a coffee right now.
    He pulls notes out of a wallet and lays them on the bar, refusing to let Gabby contribute. Then he stands up and Gabby does the same. He is tall, much taller than she is, and her heart does a small flip as she sizes him up.
    Despite being twelve, he is unutterably gorgeous. Oh if only this was several lifetimes ago, she thinks, looking up at him, at the thick brown hair, the strength and breadth of his shoulders.
    Matt checks in at the hotel while Gabby curls up on a sofa in the lobby. Suddenly she feels unsure. Why is she here? Why is she having coffee in a hotel with a stranger while her husband is away? Of course she’s not going to do anything, but hasn’t this gone farenough? Wouldn’t it be so very much better if she went home now?
    Matt turns round and smiles at her from across the room, and her heart does that thing again, that flip. Not because she’s planning on doing anything, but because being with him makes her feel beautiful again. It’s been so long since anyone has noticed her; so long since she has been
seen
.
    She will not be unfaithful; she would never be unfaithful to Elliott, whom she loves with all her heart and soul. But