Page Turning Books: Hidden by Derick Parsons @1

Hidden by Derick Parsons @1_DerickParsons

Kitty-cat! She had all but forgotten his private name for her, and it conjured up a host of happy memories, along with just a tinge of guilt. Although she had been home for some time now she had not yet hooked up with any of her old friends and seeing him now, and so unexpectedly, made her feel pleasantly nostalgic. And emotional. She felt the prickle of tears in her eyes at the warmth of his greeting and hugged him back fiercely, surprised by the depth of her emotions at this unwonted human contact. And with a start she realized again just how lonely she had become, and how starved of any real human contact since returning to her native city. She blinked away the nascent tears gathering in her eyes and covered her raw feelings by gasping, ‘Welcome home, my arse! I’ve been home for months! Now let me go before I suffocate, you big oaf!’

He released her, still grinning, and over his shoulder Kate saw the beam on the receptionist’s face and the shine in her eyes as she looked at Jordan. It was always the same; ugly or not, women liked Trevor, and more often than not were attracted to him too. As indeed she had been, once upon a time. Until he got too close, became too demanding. Or, more accurately, until her own fears had made her flee in panic at the prospect of someone getting inside her carefully constructed defenses.

He stepped back and looked her up and down before saying appreciatively, ‘You look incredible, Kate. A scruffy schoolgirl wearing too much eye make-up went to England; a beautiful woman returned. Their loss, our gain.’

She couldn’t help smiling even as she protested, ‘I was not a scruffy schoolgirl! I was twenty-six when I left! And I’m hardly beautiful now. But thank you anyway.’

His smile faded and a faint frown knitted his heavy, reddish eyebrows, ‘I hate to spring this on you but there’s someone here you have to meet. I didn’t plan it; he just turned up out of the blue. But since he’s here I think I have to introduce you to him. Reluctantly.’

He turned away and Kate stood still in confusion, ruefully thinking that life was always like that when Trevor was around; nothing was ever straightforward, and surprises lurked around every corner. Maybe it was this unpredictability that had made her leave him all those years ago; because of her disrupted childhood she had always prized peace and stability. But even as she thought this she knew that she was lying to herself; it was her fear of commitment that had made her run. In the end it always triumphed over her need to be loved.