The Look of Love by Judy Astley Read Free Book Online Page B

an orange nose,’ he smiled, smudging a thumb down her cheek. His skin felt warm. She wanted to nuzzle her face into his hand the way a cat does, craving maximum comfort from his small, tender gesture.
    ‘Chloe said you were a journalist, gave me your name. I’m a great admirer of your “Week Moments” pieces, especially the “I Really Don’t Get” ones. Very caustic!’ He then added, ‘I’m Saul Barrett. I was picking their brains for a TV series we’re about to do. Fashion – a different take on the makeover lark. I’m coming to their writers’ group thing tomorrow and they said you’dprobably be there. You might be interested in the programme, actually, as a journalist.’
    Bella smiled. ‘Yes, I’ll be there. It’s a good group, they’re a fun bunch.’
    He stood up. ‘Great … well, I’ll look forward to it. Bye! And … whatever it is that’s upset you … well, I hope …’ His words fizzled out – she didn’t blame him. Sympathy to a crying woman only tends to make things more waterlogged. He must be married, she thought, as he waved goodbye to her through the restaurant window. That much empathy, it takes years of practice. She collected her bag and jacket, went off to the loo and used cool damp paper towel to try to make her face look more presentable.
    It was only as she was halfway out of the door that Luigi caught up with her. ‘Bella, sorry – but your bill … is not …’ He looked apologetic.
    ‘You mean James just left without paying …? I’m so sorry, Luigi.’ She delved into her bag and pulled out her credit cards. Maybe after today she should cut them all up, get used to a new and necessary thrift. Not that she’d been exactly chucking her money around over the years. Bloody James. Bloody everything.

FOUR
    Bella sat on the end of Molly’s bed and picked up the old toy polar bear. The poor grubby thing was flattened from years of being slept on. Having a sudden fast-forward, Bella imagined herself tucking this soft toy into Molly’s bed when the girl was away on gap-year travels. With Alex already away at university most of the time, this was going to be a lonely echoing house a year or so from now.
    ‘The thing is, Molly …’ Bella began, as Molly had been dreading since the Giles incident. This was not a discussion either of them wanted to have, but both had known it had to happen. Molly had been playing a crafty game of avoidance ever since Bella had walked in on her and Giles, but now, cornered on her own territory, there was no escape. She sat cross-legged on top of her pillows, as effortlessly supple as only the under-twentiescan be, computer balanced across her flat-down thighs and a trapped expression on her face. She looked swiftly at the door the moment her mother sat down, considering the hopeless logistics of making a run for it.
    ‘OK, OK, Mum, I know ! Please – we really don’t have to go there!’
    Before Bella could say anything more, Molly put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. Her hands had the skinny sleeves of her pink top pulled over them, so her finger-ends poked out like little stubs. A current fashion thing, Bella recognized, the same way Moll and her friends all seemed to have their hair parted a mere few centimetres over their left ears and mussed up to a straight-from-bed look, though in Molly’s case it often was exactly that, no effort required. Bella had a flashback to Molly as an underweight baby, so delicately tiny at less than five pounds that everything she wore during the early months had sleeves that swamped her twiggy arms and she’d be constantly punching fists at fabric, battling to get her hands out into the air. Why did it seem like only ten minutes ago that Bella wondered if Molly would ever outgrow her wicker cradle? How did she so quickly become this long, leggy teenager who was all huge grey eyes and pout? And hormones …
    ‘No, I think we have to go there, Molly. You know I’m pretty liberal – Giles