Another Summer by Sue Lilley Page A

wife.  He had to get her home on the double.
    “Won’t your mum and dad be worried about you?”
    “Why?  They’re not expecting me home until tomorrow.  I’ll just say I got an earlier train.”
    Joe had fretted about Claire going to Italy, even with her grandmother.  He couldn’t imagine, even in a couple of years, being anywhere near cool enough to let her travel the length of the country on her own.
    “Or I could come to Cornwall with you?”
    He almost choked at the thought of explaining that to Evie.
    “I think you’re just trying to put it off.  Once they get over the shock, they’re bound to rally round and help you decide what to do.  Come on, let’s get back on the road.”
    He paid the bill and gave her no option but to follow him outside.  Rain water swirled down the street and over their feet.  He couldn’t remember weather so downright miserable.
    He noticed a tear dripping down Lisa’s face, mingling with the smudge of cream on her lip.  He wiped it away and knew he was on very dodgy ground.  If he put his arm around her he’d be done for.  But she looked so forlorn, he couldn’t seem to help himself.
    “Don’t get upset.  I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” 
    He tried to keep a gap between their bodies but the umbrella was so small and she was so eager to cling, he’d have to be a shit to push her away.  As they walked, she stopped crying but all he could feel was her hip nudging against his thigh.
    They were both drenched when they got back to the car.  She threw his jacket onto the back seat but her sweater was damp underneath.  Damn it!  Why couldn’t she ever wear a bra?  He dived into the boot and grabbed his bag, pulling out a couple of sweatshirts once he was back inside the car.  He stripped off his shirt and put one on but didn’t look away in time when she did the same.  What was wrong with the girl?  Didn’t she know what she was doing to him?  He couldn’t get to Cheltenham quick enough.
    But every way out of Stratford seemed to be flooded, more like its namesake ford than any main road.  He had to inch through the water, praying the car wouldn’t stall and by the time they reached the M5, it was almost dark.  The fields bordering the motorway were awash and flood water had started to lap onto the hard shoulder.
    Driving conditions were treacherous.  Visibility almost zero.  Joe’s neck and shoulders were aching from staring at the tail lights in front, trying to judge a safe distance.  Two lanes were blocked by breakdowns and after a couple of hours, they’d barely done fifteen miles.
    It was hopeless.  Knocking on someone’s door after midnight wasn’t the best way to deliver a pregnant daughter.  Even if they got there at all, which wasn’t looking very likely.  He knew he’d have to find somewhere they could spend the night.
    But by the time they got to the next motel, he was hard pushed to decide which would be the most dangerous.  Taking his chances on the road.  Or spending the night with Lisa in the only room the motel had left.

Chapter 9
     
    The inn was packed when Evie got there.  Local Goths and surfer dudes mixed with old hippies and trendy types from town.  The stage had been built in a new extension but it was still her honeymoon inn and it was weird being back there.
    She’d fallen in love with Joe there and had believed they were going to live happily ever after.  And now, here she was meeting Jake.  Was she out of her mind?  She didn’t even know what to call it, whatever it was she was doing.
    Hardly a love affair.  Not yet anyway.  And hardly likely to become one, when they only had a week.  It could be nothing but a passing moment, nothing to do with reality.  But how she wanted that one perfect week.  And if she was going to behave like a different person, at least she looked the part.
    The corset felt like fancy dress, the perfect disguise to hide behind, although it was straining to contain her