‘No. Never. But he was very friendly, wasn’t he?’ Hayley took a sip of champagne and gave a low moan of pleasure. ‘Oh, that tastes delicious. What a great idea to get a taxi so that we can have champagne.’
‘Given that you’re so intimate with our local taxi drivers, I’m surprised you didn’t invite him to join us.’
‘He wouldn’t have wanted to. Jack’s popping over to his daughter’s for a few hours because she lives near here, but he’ll be back to pick us up when we call.’ She smiled at the waiter who was back with a basket of warm, freshly baked bread. ‘Mmm. They smell good. I’ll have the one with poppy seeds, please. Yum.’
The smitten waiter gave her two and Patrick managed not to smile until the man was safely back in the kitchen. ‘Jack needs to watch out. I think he has competition. Maybe you shouldn’t have worn that dress.’
There was a flash of insecurity in her eyes. ‘You don’t like the dress?’
‘I love the dress,’ he drawled. ‘And so does every other man in the room.’
Her cheeks dimpled. ‘Really?’ She glanced down at herself self-consciously. ‘Alfie liked it.’
‘Alfie likes everything about you.’ Patrick reached for his glass. ‘To us.’
Hayley tapped her glass against his. ‘To us.’
‘Thank you for cooking us the best turkey we’ve eaten in years…’ he kept his eyes on hers, unable to look away ‘…and for giving us such a happy Christmas.’
‘I had a happy Christmas, too.’
‘You didn’t miss being with your family?’
Hayley took a sip of champagne and put her glass down. ‘Families aren’t always idyllic, are they? I used to hope that things would change as we all grew older but nothing ever did. I even tried changing myself to be more the way they wanted me to be, but it didn’t work.’
‘Why would you want to change?’
‘Because I irritate them.’ Hayley sat back as the waiter placed her starter on the table with a flourish. ‘That looks delicious, thank you.’ She beamed at him and Patrick watched as she picked up her fork.
‘How could you possibly irritate them?’
‘Just by being me.’ She speared a prawn. ‘I’m so different from them. They see me as a clumsy idiot who laughs too much and talks too much. And they’re probably right. But it’s impossible for me to be silent and academic. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work. And it’s exhausting trying to be something you’re not.’
‘Don’t put yourself down. The things you tried to change about yourself are the things that make you special.’ He studied her across the table and found himself noticing new things about her—like the fact her eyelashes were long and dense and her lower lip was slightly fuller than her top lip. ‘Aren’t they proud of what you’ve achieved professionally?’
‘They don’t think I’ve achieved anything professionally.’ Her voice was matter-of-fact. ‘That’s the point. They think I’ve wasted my life. They’re always asking me when I’m going to get a “proper” job.’
Patrick felt a rush of anger towards her family. ‘I think you’ve achieved tremendous success in your professional life.’
‘It depends on how you define success, doesn’t it?’ She ate another prawn. ‘Is success about making a difference to people’s lives, or is it about how much money you accumulate?’
‘Money isn’t a measure of success so much as an indication of career choice.’ Patrick discovered that he’d finished his starter without even noticing that he was eating. ‘If you pick a career like nursing or teaching you’re never going to be rich, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t successful.’
She smiled at him. ‘And that’s why I’m eating dinner with you and not them,’ she said lightly. ‘Because you don’t make me feel as though my entire life has been wasted.’
‘Families can be tough.’
‘Well, that’s true. And from what you’ve told me, yours was no picnic either.’
They ate and talked and, by the time midnight arrived and the New Year had been toasted, Patrick discovered that he’d told her more about himself than he’d ever told anyone before. Certainly more than Carly.
Studying Hayley’s smiling face as she told him a ridiculous story about one of her friends, he realised that comparisons with Carly were inappropriate.
There was no comparison.
When had Carly made him laugh like this? Had Carly ever asked if he should check his mobile phone in case there was a message from the hospital?
Aware that the restaurant had emptied and they were the last couple still talking, Patrick retrieved his phone from the pocket of his jacket and called the taxi, feeling nothing but regret that the evening had to end.