Always You by Erin Kaye Read Free Book Online

high-flying management consultant?
    Andy’s voice broke the stretched silence. ‘So how do you know each other?’
    Cahal’s face went from red to pale under his tan. ‘I … er … we went to university together, didn’t we, Sarah? At least that’s where we met …’ His voice trailed away and Sarah’s gaze slid down to the glass she held in her hands like a chalice.
    His words had pierced her heart like needles in a pincushion. Was she nothing more to him than an old university acquaintance? Her throat constricted with anger and she hated him.
    Unable to look him in the eye, she mumbled, ‘Yes, it
was
a long time ago.’ A time when she believed that love could overcome everything …
    Inside Morelli’s coffee shop it was warm and steamy but outside the wind howled and, now and again, waves came crashing over the black railings onto Portstewart Promenade. Cahal reached across the table and stroked her damp hair, his eyes soft as chocolate velvet.
    ‘We were made for each other, Sarah. We’re such a perfect fit in every way.’
    She grinned, thinking of the way they lay together at night like spoons, and lifted the cup of hot, sweet tea to her lips. They were inseparable during the day, meeting up between lectures and for lunch, eschewing the company of all others. She set the cup down carefully in the saucer. ‘I never thought that I could love someone as much as I love you, Cahal. When we got together, in those first few weeks, I worried it wouldn’t last, you know. It seemed too perfect, too good to be true. I thought that you would tire of me.’
    ‘I’ll never tire of you, Sarah.’
    She smiled. ‘I thought that as I got to know you better, I would find out things about you that I didn’t like.’
    His face fell. ‘And have you?’
    She grinned. ‘The more I find out about you, the more I like you.’
    A dimple appeared in his left cheek. ‘Even when I bite my nails?’ It was a habit of his when he was worried.
    ‘Especially when you bite your nails.’
    Their hands met, his cold fingers laced with hers. She’d never seen him wear gloves.
    ‘Do you have to go home tonight?’ he said, squeezing her hands tight, and sending a little shiver deep down inside her. ‘I miss you so much at the weekends.’
    ‘I miss you too.’
    His Adam’s apple moved in his throat. ‘You do know that one day you’ll be mine, Sarah?’
    ‘I am yours already,’ she breathed into the humid air. ‘I was from the first moment I saw you.’
    ‘I mean properly mine.’ His hands tightened round hers like a vice. Slow, steady, exquisite pressure. ‘And then we’ll never have to spend a night apart ever again.’
    Andy’s voice broke through her thoughts. ‘Well, isn’t that a wonderful coincidence? Just shows you that the world is a lot smaller than we think.’
    And yet not big enough, apparently, for her and Cahal. He shouldn’t be here, encroaching on her patch. She had trusted him, blindly, stupidly. And then he’d left her, never to be heard of again. Had he tired of her after all? The bitterness in her mouth was sour and tangy, like blood.
    Suddenly, the tall young woman beside Cahal, all sun- bleached hair with teeth like a horse, thrust her hand forward and, positioning her body in front of Cahal’s, said, ‘Hi, I’m Jody.’
    ‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Sarah, offering a limp handshake. The woman grinned into Cahal’s face and Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to get away. She tapped the empty glass with a red-painted fingernail and said, ‘If you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll just go and get another drink.’ And then she turned and fled.
    She pushed her way impatiently through the crowd towards the loos, her heart going ka-thump ka-thump against the shiny red fabric of her dress. The sight and smell of Cahal filled all her senses; her eyes pricked inexplicably with tears. She fought them back with ferocious determination.
    In the cool, quiet privacy of a cubicle, Sarah sat