Read Online Lose Yourself (The Desires Unlocked Trilogy Part Two) by Evie Blake - Free Book Online Page B

was the war. You grow up fast during the war. Things are different.’
    ‘In what way?’
    ‘Well, surely you must know? I mean, you were living in occupied territory and in so much danger . . . hiding all of those people like Jacqueline, and helping them escape.’
    ‘It wasn’t me. It was my mother who did that. I was too young, really, to know any different. Most of the time it was quiet. They only bombed Venice once and that wasn’t even the city.’
    ‘Well, it wasn’t quiet here, I can tell you. I wanted to study dance, and I was down at Dartington Hall with Lempert and Jooss.’ Joan tears her bun into tiny pieces and eats them one at a time, savouring each mouthful.
    ‘Where’s that?’ Maria asks.
    ‘It’s this fabulous place in Devon – a performing arts school. Oh, I just loved it there.’ Joan sighs, picking up every last crumb on her plate with her fingertip. ‘But then, you know, it was wartime so I came to London to make myself useful. I wanted to be part of it, you know.’ Joan’s smile begins to droop. She shakes her head. ‘God, I certainly was a part of it then . . .’
    She pauses, takes another sip of tea and picks herself up again.
    ‘But, you see, when the Americans came, we would have these terrific dances. That’s where I met Stan. He was an American bomber pilot. He looked like Clark Gable, I promise you he did. He was so dreamy and I fell for him hook, line and sinker, so I did.’
    ‘And what happened?’ Maria asks.
    Joan clasps her hands to her breast and says dramatically, ‘He broke my heart.’
    Maria is enjoying this love story. Her life with Belle and Pina had been devoid of male romance, and talk of the American pilot, Stan, has her excited. Did he die in combat? Did he go missing? ‘What happened?’ she asks, breathless.
    ‘The scoundrel was married, back in Ohio. Only told me that after he popped my cherry.’
    ‘Excuse me?’
    Joan giggles. ‘You know . . . took my innocence away . . .’ She winks at Maria, who immediately colours. ‘Oh, I know it sounds like I was cheap, but it was so different during the war. When you met someone and you felt a connection, well, you just acted on it. I mean, they could be dead the next day.’ She drains the last drop of tea from her cup. ‘So, I gave Stan the best thing I could. Like a talisman, I hoped it might keep him alive, and I guess it did – but not for me; for his little wifey back home in the US of A.’ Joan grimaces.
    ‘I don’t think I can see you living as an American housewife,’ Maria pipes up, wanting to make her new friend feel better.
    Joan flashes her eyes at her. ‘Exactly, my dear; you are so right. I am certainly not ready to settle down yet. I want to have fun.’
    Maria nods, not knowing how to respond. Her life so far has been sheltered. No dances with American soldiers or romance of any sort.
    Joan glances at her watch. ‘I say, we had better get back.’
    The girls gather up their things. As they scuttle out of the café, Joan grabs Maria’s sleeve and squeezes her arm tight. ‘I am so glad we got talking. All the other girls are so stuck up. It’s going to be nice to have a proper girlfriend.’
    Maria looks at Joan in surprise. They have only just met; how could she call her a girlfriend already?
    ‘What are you doing tonight?’ Joan asks Maria, ignoring her expression. ‘Would you like to come out dancing with me? Meet some men?’

Their taxi weaves through the choked streets of London and the city appears like a huge metropolitan beast, exhaust fumes steaming in the rain, the heartbeat of the city even more urgent than Valentina’s dear Milan.
    ‘Mikhail wants me to go to Russia with him,’ Antonella is saying to her as they sit side by side in the back of the black cab.
    ‘Does he want you to meet his family?’ Valentina is only half listening to her friend; the other half of her is looking out of the cab window at the rain beating down upon the Londoners