Love notes by Avis Exley

had
absolutely no desire to fight her way out of it. When Aiden smiled
triumphantly, she issued a warning. “We’ll keep it casual and eat
in the bistro. Nothing fancy.”
    “Are you saying I’m a cheap
date?”
    From a man who’d cost her
dearly, this was rich. “You might be worth a better dinner if you
hadn’t been so easy. Perhaps you should learn to keep your clothes
on longer if you want to eat well.”
    “I promise I’ll play hard to get
next time.”
    “What makes you so sure there’ll
be a next time?”
    He frowned slightly, trying to
work out if she were serious. “Because the sex was mind-blowing.
And no matter how much we kid ourselves, it’s only a matter of time
before it happens again.”
     
     
    Erika persuaded Marty to eat
lunch with her before he drove back to London. She made sure they
had a table overlooking the front driveway so Marty would see Aiden
leave.
    She’d called Aiden from the
ladies’, telling him to check out within the next hour, expecting
him to simply walk out to his car but he made a point of finding
them both in the restaurant. Marty tensed when Aiden
approached.
    “I came to apologise for the way
I acted the other day,” Aiden said, extending his hand toward
Marty. “No hard feelings, I hope.”
    Marty shook his hand
reluctantly, keeping one eye on Erika as he searched for
confirmation that there might be something between them. “Erika
said you were leaving today.”
    “I’m off to Glasgow to check on
a project we have running there.”
    “The new concert venue at
Pacific Quay,” Marty guessed, making it obvious he’d Googled Aiden,
as Erika had suggested.
    “You’ve done your homework.”
    “I like to know who I’m dealing
with.”
    “Well it seems like a lot of
work for a very short acquaintance.”
    Without waiting for Marty to
reply, Aiden then turned to Erika. “It’s been great seeing you
again. Good luck with the new album.” Before she could stop him, he
leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, his stubble grazing her
skin, and it was all she could do to stop herself turning and
kissing him full on the lips. He seemed to sense this and pulled
away quickly. “I’ll watch out for you on MTV. Bye.”
    Aiden turned sharply and walked
back out into reception. Two minutes later they saw him load his
suitcase into the car boot without a backward glance. Erika
realised she’d wanted him to turn round one more time and her heart
fell in disappointment. She forced the feeling away and pulled her
face into an expression of relief before turning back to Marty.
    “Thank heaven we’ve seen the
back of him,” she said, pretending she couldn’t care less if she
never saw Aiden again. “I can relax now he’s gone.”
    “I still don’t trust the guy.
And I’m not convinced I should leave you here.”
    “Well you don’t have much
choice. You can’t miss your meetings and, in any case, your car’s
here.” She nodded toward the window where an ostentatious limousine
had just pulled up looking totally incongruous amidst the Yorkshire
countryside.
    The prospect of London’s buzz,
and the opening of negotiations on a European tour, erased Marty’s
last remaining doubts and he got up from the table. “Don’t forget
you promised to stay in the hotel. And I’ll have a car here to
collect you first thing Monday.”
    “I’d prefer something less
obvious,” she said, nodding toward the limousine. Marty enjoyed the
showy trappings of fame far more than Erika ever had and went out
of his way to surround himself with them, taking no account of the
expense. No wonder the paparazzi find us so easily, Erika thought.
Marty makes us a sitting target. “If I’m coming to London to see a
doctor about my voice, I’d rather slip in more discreetly.”
    Even Marty saw the sense in this
and agreed. “OK. I’ll call you. Behave yourself.”
    Erika waited by the window until
she’d actually seen him walk out of the front door, something
inside her wanting to