Sugar Secrets…& Love Read online

  “I don’t think he’s the one,” laughed Anna, pointing at the totally bemused Nathan.

  “No, but she’s living up to her name.” Sonja said. “You see, he’s the mouse. She’ll have fun playing with him, whether he likes it or not. When she gets bored, she’ll go in for the kill, then she’ll be off hunting for someone new to prey on. All in all, I’d say Zac had a lucky escape.”

  “Unlike him,” said Anna, cracking up at the sight of Nathan who was being dragged on to the dance floor by his tie and a wiggling, salsa-ing, larger-than-life Cheshire Cat.

  Joe sat down and fiddled with his drink. It had been a good day, he decided. He’d had a great time. His speech had gone well - far better than he’d dared to hope. His dad looked happier than Joe could ever remember. Gillian was gracious and elegant and especially nice to him on her big day. And he didn’t even feel as much of an idiot in the hire suit as he’d expected. Of course, it helped that every other male guest there was in an idiot suit too.

  He gazed around the room to see who was left. It was emptying fast. His dad and Gillian had just left for their honeymoon to Portugal. Many of the oldies had given up and gone home ages ago, and most other people were clustered round the bar or meandering outside, finding their cars or waiting for taxis.

  Joe’s eyes suddenly noticed a girl sitting on her own a few tables away. She looked stunning - dark hair piled high on top of her head, creamy complexion, almond-shaped eyes and just a hint of make-up.

  And she was looking at him. And smiling. Thinking she must be acknowledging someone behind him, Joe turned and looked over his shoulder. There was no one there.

  He shot a very brief glance in her direction again to gauge her reaction. She was grinning-and beckoning him over.

  Omigod! Joe panicked. What can someone that gorgeous want with me? He stood up and walked towards her, very slowly and casually, hands in pockets as though he was going in that direction anyway.

  He grabbed a few sly looks at her as he approached, wondering whether she was some cousin or other he should have recognised. She was Anna Friel and Winona Ryder rolled into one - petite and pale with fragile features. Her translucent skin contrasted beautifully with her raven-coloured hair, dark eyes and smiling lips.

  As he walked, he figured that if it was all a mistake and she was cross-eyed and was actually beckoning to someone else, then he’d dive off to the bar which was directly behind her, pretending that’s where he was going anyway.

  But he didn’t have to.

  “Hello,” she said when he’d got near enough to see just how deep and brown her eyes actually were. “Sorry to stare, but haven’t we met before?”

  Joe’s heart stopped racing and plummeted to his heels. Oh no! he thought. She thinks I’m someone else. She’ll be hugely disappointed when she realises.

  “Er, no. I don’t think so,” he replied in a small voice while backing away rapidly. “Sorry…”

  “No, don’t go,” she insisted. “I uh… um, it’s just that you remind me of someone. My name’s Meg…” She smiled a smile that set Joe’s heart pounding frantically in his chest.

  “I’m Joe,” he said shyly.

  “So… what’s your connection here?” She chatted easily, putting him more at ease with every word.

  “Uh… it’s my Dad who got married.” He gave a little laugh which was supposed to be ironic but which came out like a cat being strangled.

  She giggled. “Whoops! I’m sorry. I’m just the guest of someone who was invited to the evening bit. We didn’t get here till late. I guess I could have done my research a bit better.”

  “That’s OK. Have you had a nice time?” He knew it was a pathetic question but at least he was making conversation. A year ago he would have dried up completely.

  “Wonderful. I love weddings. All the dressing up, making an effort to look smart. And everyone’s out to have a good time. I love people-watching, working out who goes out with who, that sort of thing.”

  Joe grinned. “Me too. I like seeing everyone dance, too.”

  “Ooh, yes, you get some really terrible dancers at weddings, more than anywhere else, I think.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. One of them is usually me.” Joe shrugged his shoulders and gave her a shy grin.

  “No, that’s not true, you’re a really good dancer. I was watching you earlier.”

  She blushed and he blushed and they said nothing for a few seconds, then she stood and picked up her coat from the back of her chair. He could now see she was wearing an emerald, knee-length dress, tightly fitted with shoelace straps and a low-cut back. The picture of elegant, understated perfection was complete.

  “Anyway, I must go and find Linda,” she said. “She went off to call a taxi for us ages ago. See you around…” She smiled the sweet smile Joe had already fallen in love with and began to turn away.

  Come on, Joe, an urgent voice shouted inside his head. Do it. Do it now or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

  “Hang on, don’t go yet…” he heard himself say. She turned back, still with the same dazzling smile on her face.

  “Look, a friend of mine is having an eighteenth birthday party next Saturday. It’s for him and his twin sister. It’d be really nice if you could come…” He broke off, hardly able to believe that he’d been so brave.

  Please say yes, the same voice inside him screamed. Don’t say no.

  “Thanks, I’d love to. Where is it?”

  Joe could hardly believe what he was hearing. He hurriedly delved into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a biro.

  “You haven’t got a piece of paper on you, have you?” he asked, searching the numerous pockets of his suit to no avail and fleetingly wondering what had happened to the notes for his speech.

  She shook her head, then began looking around the table. She picked up a red wine-stained paper napkin and handed it over. “Here, use this.”

  Joe scribbled down the address for Enigma, the club where Ollie’s party was being held. He thought about scribbling his phone number down too, then immediately dismissed the idea as being far too forward.

  “It starts at 8.30. It’d be really nice if you could come.” he repeated.

  “Thanks,” she replied, taking the napkin and putting it in her coat pocket. “I’ll try.”

  She looked as if she was about to leave, then leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then she turned and walked away.

  Joe felt his entire body floating a few metres above the ground where it would stay for the rest of the night. He had always believed in love at first sight, but he never thought it would happen to him.

  Until now…

  CHAPTER 15

  REVELATIONS

  “Just thought I’d make my regular Monday night guest appearance at Chez Michaels, y’know, take your mind off the TV for a few hours.”

  Matt stood on Anna’s doorstep, a bottle of wine in one hand, a bunch of carnations in the other. And a generous smile on his face.

  Anna laughed and beckoned him in. “The flowers - they’re gorgeous,” she smiled. “Funnily enough. I was just scanning the telly page - not for the first time in my life as you well know - and it had crossed my mind to phone you.”

  “But then you realised Gardeners’ World was due to be repeated and thought better of it!”

  “Something like that. To be honest, I haven’t recovered from Saturday yet. I was going to turn in, have an early night.”

  Matt’s eyes twinkled. “Hey, don’t let me stop you,” he replied cheekily, heading for the kitchen to look for a vase and a bottle opener.

  “Very funny.” Anna patted the sofa next to her. “Come and sit down, will you? You can massage my aching feet if you like.”

  “Gee, thanks; now there’s an offer I can’t refuse.” Matt put the flowers in the sink, collected a couple of glasses from a cupboard and clanked them on the little table in front of Anna. He sat down next to her, uncorked the bottle and poured the blackcur
rant-coloured liquid into the glasses. Handing one to her, he sank back into the sofa with the other.

  Anna reached out and took his free hand with hers. She felt completely at ease having Matt around the flat. It felt right that they were together, she decided, however much she had tried to fight it.

  So different from David… She couldn’t ever remember feeling totally comfortable when they’d been together, not even at the beginning of the relationship. It had been such a depressing period of her life, so different to now.

  Matt snuggled into her and laid his head on her shoulder. “Comfortable?”

  “Mmmm. Lovely. I always feel comfortable with you here.”

  “Me too. Especially when we’re alone like this. It’s the only time I’m not looking over my shoulder making sure no one can see what we’re up to. You know what I mean?”

  Anna suddenly felt guilty for putting Matt through this doubt. It wasn’t his fault she was so hung up on her past. Maybe she owed it to him to explain?

  “I do. I’m sorry…” she began.

  “It’s OK, I wasn’t getting at you.” said Matt quickly, not meaning to seem as if he was having a dig.

  “I know. But I think I owe it to you to put you in the picture.”

  “Oh yeah?” said Matt, a little uneasily.

  “I guess the bottom line is I’m frightened,” Anna said. “I’m frightened of myself and of my feelings for you. And the thing that scares me most is getting involved again. And getting hurt.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Matt earnestly.

  Anna found herself telling Matt everything about her miserable past. It all came out surprisingly easily - she told him how unhappy she’d been at home, how she never got on with her mother. She told him about meeting David and the destructive relationship that developed, that had led to her unplanned pregnancy and the abortion. Finally, she told Matt about his violent threats, her mother disowning her, and how she’d run away and ended up in Winstead.

  Throughout, Matt held Anna’s hand, never taking his eyes off her, letting her say her piece without interruption. She could see from his eyes that he wasn’t judging her, could tell from the grasp of his hand that he was there for her. When she finished speaking, he put his arms around her and held her close. Anna felt warmer and more secure - and freer - than she’d ever felt before.

  Matt was honoured that she’d told him; it was as though he’d been allowed through some invisible barrier that seemed to surround her. It immediately put their relationship on a higher, more intimate level. And it made him feel more hopeful about their future together.

  “Thank you for telling me,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

  “No one else knows the whole story, except Owen,” Anna admitted. “But I hope it explains some of my craziness recently.”

  “Actually, for all that’s gone on, I’d say you were remarkably un-crazy,” he said.

  “So you’re not going to run a mile from all the emotional baggage I’m dragging along with me then?” asked Anna, relieved.

  He chuckled and bent to kiss her hair. “No way. I only hope I’m worth it.”

  “You are,” she said firmly and gave his hand a little squeeze.

  She smiled to herself. She felt strangely lightheaded, as if the demons of the past had finally been exorcised. From now on, Anna decided, the only way was up.

  CHAPTER 16

  PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS

  Joe hurried into the Plaza and began working his way around the scattered clothes shops. In the few days since that fleeting encounter with Meg at the wedding, he’d been able to think of nothing but her. And he had to keep pinching himself to make sure he hadn’t been dreaming. Or having a perfect fantasy that was going to explode in his face at any moment.

  So far it hadn’t. So far - however many times he’d replayed that scene with her in his head - the outcome had been the same. She liked him. She’d made that obvious, even to someone as unsure of girls and their ways as Joe. Quite why she liked him was beyond him, but she did and that was all that mattered.

  Well, that and whether she would turn up at Ollie and Natasha’s eighteenth birthday party on Saturday night.

  Joe hadn’t told anyone about his conversation with Meg. He didn’t dare. He would never get over the humiliation if he announced that he’d met someone and that she was coming to the party only for her not to show. And if she did, Joe could do without the pressure of having everyone watching him, wondering how he and his ‘date’ were getting along. So he’d kept it to himself, which was difficult when all he wanted to do was announce it to the world.

  When the cloud he had been floating on ever since the wedding had gently lowered him back down to earth, Joe realised that he had no way of contacting Meg to make sure she hadn’t lost the screwed-up napkin with the address on it. He hadn’t dared ask for her phone number - he didn’t even know her surname. And no amount of subtle detective work among his relatives had thrown up a Linda No Surname or a Meg Somebody on the guest list at all, which was odd…

  So all he could do was hope and pray with all his heart that she would do her best, like she’d said, and come. His brain could think no further than that, not at the moment.

  Joe still hadn’t fully recovered from the effect she’d had on him when he’d first spotted her. That instantaneous, ‘shot through the heart’ feeling was something he’d never experienced before.

  Not even with Kerry. In his entire life, Kerry was the only girl he had ever loved, albeit secretly. But that had been a gradual process, built up over many weeks - months! - of longing on his part. It certainly wasn’t love at first sight.

  This was; he was sure of that. Why else would he have gone off his food? Or found himself absent-mindedly writing ‘Meg’ in the margins of his notes (then quickly scribbling it out again before anyone saw)? Or be worrying about what he was going to wear for Ollie’s party?

  Ah, yes, his wardrobe. Joe thought little about the clothes he wore at the best of times. Any old holey jumper and canvas trousers would do, which was why he’d been in such a flap about having to put on a suit for his dad’s wedding. Not only because he didn’t own one, but because he couldn’t remember ever having worn one before.

  Now Joe was fretting about clothes again and that was the reason he was rampaging through the local shopping centre after college on a weekday. He had to buy something new to wear on Saturday. He’d been through his clothes at home a million and one times since the weekend and the verdict was unanimous: he was a walking, talking fashion disaster. He didn’t own anything that wasn’t brown, black or muck-coloured, nothing that was less than two years old, nothing remotely smart or partyish. Nothing suitable for (hopefully) meeting the potential love of his life again and making her feel the same way about him as he did her.

  But what should he buy? She’d only ever seen him in that reasonably smart though gross and not very well-fitting suit. What if she only went for well turned out types in a collar and tie? What if she hated scruffy, baggy guys with no fashion sense?

  Joe peered in the window of Homme, the town’s smart men’s shop. A sales assistant stared back at him. He looked horrified by the shabby-looking specimen loitering in front of the shop doorway, and quickly turned away to continue tidying an already immaculately folded pile of sweaters. Joe immediately felt self-conscious in his black jeans, misshapen green jumper and scuffed Doc Martens.

  He left the Plaza, crossed the road and went into his favourite charity clothes shop. He reappeared ten minutes later with newer versions of his very old and well-loved combats and top, and an inane grin on his face.

  Maya was acutely aware that her sister had been avoiding her ever since that day in the park. Whenever they’d been forced together, like at the Sunday evening family meal and a couple of occasions after school in the week, Maya had noticed Sunita behaving really oddly towards her… even more so than normal. And it was bugging her like crazy.

  At one point Maya had challenged her about the
incident.

  “Why did you run away when you saw me the other day?” she’d asked.

  “Huh? Dunno what you mean…” was the surly reply.

  “On Saturday in the park. I saw you with a load of friends and when you saw me you told everyone to run. Why did you do that. Sunny?”

  “Why not? It was just a laugh.”

  “You were up to something…”

  “Dunno what you mean. S’none of your business anyway.”

  Maya had let it drop and tried to convince herself that it wasn’t her problem if her sister was getting into some kind of trouble. It was up to her parents to sort it out. But, however much she tried not to, she couldn’t help but look out for Sunny, even though she knew it wasn’t asked for or appreciated. And if Sunny was getting herself into some sort of trouble, Maya wanted to know about it.

  When she got home after school on Wednesday, Maya was aware that Sunny was causing trouble again. Before she’d even got halfway up the road, she knew that the thumping bass reverberating around the street was coming from the Joshi household. She also knew that her parents were at work, that her little brother Ravi would be watching cartoons on the telly, and that Brigid, who helped out after school, hated loud music. That left only one other person who could be responsible for the din: Sunita.

  Maya walked into the bright kitchen and found a tense-looking Brigid hunched over the stove stirring onions into a casserole.

  “God, Brigid, that’s one heck of a racket.” Maya shouted above what now sounded like some dodgy thrash metal band.

  “It’s your sister,” came the unnecessary explanation. “I’ve yelled at her to turn it down twice but she hasn’t taken a blind bit of notice. I was just about to go up there and do it for myself.”

  “Don’t worry, Brigid, I’ll go.”

  Maya leapt up the stairs two at a time and then stopped to listen for a few seconds. All she could hear was the thrum… thrum… thrum… of the bass coming from within Sunny’s room. But there was something else too. A smell in the air, one which Maya knew didn’t belong there. She frowned as she took in a couple of deep breaths then knocked on her sister’s bedroom door.