The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde Page B

have lunch first,’ suggested Alice. ‘I’ll make better choices if I’ve eaten.’
    Alice was enjoying her bowl of soup, discussing with Bella what sort of things she should put in her end bed, whether she should choose annuals for colour or herbs for a more long-lasting effect, when something caught her attention. It was Michael, sitting in the far corner of the room, and he was not alone.
    She went hot and cold in rapid succession and then realised that it was a huge café and he was unlikely to spot her.
    ‘What’s the matter?’ asked Bella. ‘Broken a tooth on the wholemeal roll? You’ve gone a bit pale.’
    Alice turned to Bella and shook her head. ‘Don’t turn round, whatever you do, but I’ve just spotted Michael.’
    Bella’s eyes widened. ‘Oh my God! How can I not look! Tell me where he is and I’ll think of some way of getting a look at him.’
    ‘Right over in the corner. But he’s not alone.’ Alice was deliberately sounding calm but Bella’s hand shot across the table in sympathy.
    ‘You mean he’s with a woman?’
    Alice swallowed. ‘Worse. Two women.’
    To her credit, Bella was discreet. She dropped her serviette and then bent down to pick it up, looking round the restaurant as she did so. ‘Very far corner? Attractive man? With two very much younger women?’
    ‘That’s him. I think they might be his daughters.’
    Bella nodded. ‘OK. So what do you want to do?’
    ‘I don’t want to see him. I mean I don’t want him to see me.’ Alice was certain about this.
    ‘Why not?’
    Alice tried to find a rational explanation for her instinctive reaction. ‘For a start, I’m not dressed right, I haven’t got much make-up on and – well – it’s far too early for us to introduce our families to each other.’
    She didn’t add that she was terrified of Michael’s daughters who, she knew, although only in their twenties, had high-powered jobs. She didn’t want to meet them until she was wearing supportive underwear and scientifically proven anti-wrinkle cream.
    ‘OK, so let’s not worry. We’ll finish our lunch and then just go into the garden section, get what you want and leave. This place is so huge we’ll be able to keep away from them.’ Bella paused. ‘You’re actually looking great, Alice. You look happy and relaxed, as if you feel you don’t need to try too hard.’
    ‘Thank you, darling, but I haven’t tried at all, which is why I don’t want to see him, or his scary daughters.’
    ‘They’ll love you!’ said Bella.
    They ate quickly, Alice hoping to get what she needed for her garden before Michael and his party had finished lunch. ‘Thank goodness it’s self-service and we don’t have to wait for the bill,’ she said. ‘Have you finished?’
    Bella swallowed her last mouthful. ‘I have now. Shall we go?’
    Alice nodded.
    She walked out of the café with her head turned away from Michael, hoping her back view was OK. Really, she told herself, she was far too old to ask ‘does my bum look big in this’ even though she was desperate to know.
    Once they were in the garden part of the centre Alice felt better. Among all the Saturday hordes it was terribly unlikely they would see Michael and his girls again.
    ‘I think I’ll go for herbs,’ she said aloud. ‘I’ve got a bit fed up with doing bedding every year. Herbs last a lot longer and are less labour intensive.’
    ‘Oh!’ Bella seemed surprised. ‘I’ve never heard you want to do something in the garden that was less hard work. You’ve always seemed up for the “beautiful but difficult” option.’
    Alice sighed. ‘I know. I think I just need something else in my life, apart from gardening.’
    Bella gave her a teasing look, but to Alice’s relief, didn’t say, ‘Like a love interest.’
    Alice was just leaning over to see if the lemon thyme at the back was in better fettle than the one at the front, when she heard Michael’s voice. Bella had wandered off and she was on her own.