Read Online Liverpool Love Song by Anne Baker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anne Baker
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supper. What would you like, Rex? Beer or a cup of coffee?’
‘Coffee, please.’
Chloe could see Rex looking at her in rather a strange fashion.
‘I’ll make it.’ She leapt to her feet, wanting to distance herself before they asked why she’d come home unexpectedly.
They were not laughing any more, and Rex now seemed uncomfortable. He drank the coffee quickly and took his leave. Helen saw him out, then came back to pause in the doorway to gaze at her.
‘You’ve quarrelled with Adam?’ she asked.
Chloe was glad her mother had picked up on it and she didn’t have to explain.
‘You look miserable. I can’t think of anything else that would do that to you.’
‘Yes,’ she admitted, but she couldn’t tell her why. Mum would say she’d done the right thing to throw him over and would be pleased.
That night, Chloe cried herself to sleep. The next day Adam rang her twice. The second time Chloe wouldn’t pick it up. She told her mother to say she didn’t want to speak to him.
As usual on Sundays, Gran and Aunt Goldie came to lunch. They were clearly relieved to hear from Mum that her relationship with Adam was broken off. For Chloe, the following week looked bleak. On Monday, he phoned her three times at the office. She said as little as possible before slamming the phone down. When she’d first told the girls in her office about Adam, they’d been envious; he was the boyfriend who had everything. Now when she told them he didn’t want to get married, they sympathised. One said, ‘He’s a rotter.’ Others said, ‘Why bother with him? I wouldn’t.’
But without him, her life felt empty. She wasn’t at all sure that she’d done the right thing. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
On Tuesday, Interflora delivered a magnificent bouquet of red roses. Chloe tore the accompanying note to shreds without reading it. On Wednesday evening, he was waiting outside her gate when she came home from work. She saw him get out of his car as she walked up from the bus stop.
‘Chloe, at least talk to me. I love you, I’m lost without you.’ His arms went round her and with relief she put her face down on the soft flannel of his jacket and was comforted. Before she realised what was happening, she found herself in the passenger seat of his car. His hugs were balm to her soul, his kisses a joy. She couldn’t do without Adam, but she didn’t have to. They’d made things up, their quarrel was forgotten.
Chloe shot into the house to tell her mother not to cook for her because Adam was taking her out for dinner. She found her with Rex in the summerhouse. Neither seemed to welcome the news.
CHAPTER SIX
L IFE WENT ON AS before and Chloe gave herself up to enjoying everything it brought. In October of 1965, Adam suggested a two-week holiday on the island of Kos, and Chloe, against her mother’s express wishes, agreed to go. They had long, lazy days in the golden autumn sun; it was the best holiday of her life and she was heartened to find other unmarried couples in the small hotel.
They enjoyed it so much, they talked about it all winter and planned to return to the Greek islands the following year. This time they wanted real heat in the sun and booked for the last week in August and the first in September. Again they had a wonderful time and returned home feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Her office colleagues said her holiday tan suited her and she looked the picture of health, but almost immediately, Chloe began to suspect she could be pregnant. The thought of it terrified her. Surely this couldn’t be happening to her!
She waited another week, hoping and half expecting to find it was a false alarm. She knew Adam was confident he had all that under control. However, the passing of time did nothing to ease her worry. When she did tell him, she found him equally shocked.
‘You can’t be,’ was his first comment. ‘You know I’ve taken precautions every time. You’re mistaken, you must be.’
But
‘Coffee, please.’
Chloe could see Rex looking at her in rather a strange fashion.
‘I’ll make it.’ She leapt to her feet, wanting to distance herself before they asked why she’d come home unexpectedly.
They were not laughing any more, and Rex now seemed uncomfortable. He drank the coffee quickly and took his leave. Helen saw him out, then came back to pause in the doorway to gaze at her.
‘You’ve quarrelled with Adam?’ she asked.
Chloe was glad her mother had picked up on it and she didn’t have to explain.
‘You look miserable. I can’t think of anything else that would do that to you.’
‘Yes,’ she admitted, but she couldn’t tell her why. Mum would say she’d done the right thing to throw him over and would be pleased.
That night, Chloe cried herself to sleep. The next day Adam rang her twice. The second time Chloe wouldn’t pick it up. She told her mother to say she didn’t want to speak to him.
As usual on Sundays, Gran and Aunt Goldie came to lunch. They were clearly relieved to hear from Mum that her relationship with Adam was broken off. For Chloe, the following week looked bleak. On Monday, he phoned her three times at the office. She said as little as possible before slamming the phone down. When she’d first told the girls in her office about Adam, they’d been envious; he was the boyfriend who had everything. Now when she told them he didn’t want to get married, they sympathised. One said, ‘He’s a rotter.’ Others said, ‘Why bother with him? I wouldn’t.’
But without him, her life felt empty. She wasn’t at all sure that she’d done the right thing. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
On Tuesday, Interflora delivered a magnificent bouquet of red roses. Chloe tore the accompanying note to shreds without reading it. On Wednesday evening, he was waiting outside her gate when she came home from work. She saw him get out of his car as she walked up from the bus stop.
‘Chloe, at least talk to me. I love you, I’m lost without you.’ His arms went round her and with relief she put her face down on the soft flannel of his jacket and was comforted. Before she realised what was happening, she found herself in the passenger seat of his car. His hugs were balm to her soul, his kisses a joy. She couldn’t do without Adam, but she didn’t have to. They’d made things up, their quarrel was forgotten.
Chloe shot into the house to tell her mother not to cook for her because Adam was taking her out for dinner. She found her with Rex in the summerhouse. Neither seemed to welcome the news.
CHAPTER SIX
L IFE WENT ON AS before and Chloe gave herself up to enjoying everything it brought. In October of 1965, Adam suggested a two-week holiday on the island of Kos, and Chloe, against her mother’s express wishes, agreed to go. They had long, lazy days in the golden autumn sun; it was the best holiday of her life and she was heartened to find other unmarried couples in the small hotel.
They enjoyed it so much, they talked about it all winter and planned to return to the Greek islands the following year. This time they wanted real heat in the sun and booked for the last week in August and the first in September. Again they had a wonderful time and returned home feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Her office colleagues said her holiday tan suited her and she looked the picture of health, but almost immediately, Chloe began to suspect she could be pregnant. The thought of it terrified her. Surely this couldn’t be happening to her!
She waited another week, hoping and half expecting to find it was a false alarm. She knew Adam was confident he had all that under control. However, the passing of time did nothing to ease her worry. When she did tell him, she found him equally shocked.
‘You can’t be,’ was his first comment. ‘You know I’ve taken precautions every time. You’re mistaken, you must be.’
But
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