The Betrayal by Laura Elliot Page A

whose guitarist went into rehab just as they were about to tour the States.
    ‘We’ve still four months to go before we’re officially over the twenty-five year mark,’ he said. ‘So, it will happen before March.’
    ‘I’ll be living back here by then,’ she said. ‘Will you invite me?’
    ‘It’s an open concert. Anyone can come.’
    ‘I’ll look forward to it.’ She stirred her cappuccino and licked the froth from the curve of the spoon. ‘How’s Nadine?’
    ‘Busy.’
    ‘That’s all you ever say.’
    ‘What do you want me to say?’
    ‘The truth. Is she happy with you? Are you happy with her? And, if so, why are you here with me?’
    ‘That’s a lot of questions, Karin.’
    ‘Are you going to answer them?’
    ‘It’s complicated.’
    ‘That’s not an answer.’ She was challenging him, her head tilted at that now familiar angle.
    ‘I’ll tackle the last one first,’ he said. ‘I’m here with you because I can’t get you out of my head. You’re a torment and a pleasure. I keep thinking about New York. About what could have happened if you’d invited me into your apartment.’
    ‘I’ve thought about that too,’ she said softly. ‘But I’m not sure what we’re going to do about it.’
    He had forgotten the power of her gaze. The smouldering promise carried on the sweep of eyelashes.
    ‘When are you moving back here?’ he asked.
    ‘Why?’
    ‘You shouldn’t have to ask.’
    ‘Oh, but I do. Dublin isn’t New York, Jake. It’s like a village with its ear to the ground. What about Nadine? If we do see each other… what are you offering me? An affair? I’ve been down that road before. It doesn’t lead anywhere.’
    He was tempted to throw caution to the wind and tell her everything. Instinct warned him it was too soon. He was standing on the edge of a crevice, his toes braced against the fall.
    ‘I’m not offering you an affair, Karin.’
    ‘What then?’
    ‘A relationship… if that’s what you also want. But…’
    She smiled ruefully. ‘Married men always have a ‘but.’ What’s yours?’
    ‘I’ve some important decisions to make. I can’t say more than that for now. Can you trust me to have everything sorted out when I see you again?’
    ‘Are you a rarity, Jake Saunders? An honest married man? Or are you teasing me? Promising something you can’t possibly deliver? Where’s Nadine in all of this?’
    ‘Nadine wants what I want.’
    ‘Really?’ She checked her watch and stood up. ‘You two seem to share everything, including the desire to end your marriage. It’s time to catch my flight.’
    ‘Is something wrong?’ He was startled by her abrupt comment but she had bent to pick up her overnight case. A slit at the back of her dress opened to reveal a trim of kingfisher blue. He admired the way she used her signature colour, flamboyantly draping it over her shoulders or discreetly revealing it in the bend of a pleat. She was smiling again when she straightened.
    ‘Why should anything be wrong?’ she asked as they walked towards the exit. ‘I want you, Jake. I always have… ever since that summer. But I don’t share. That’s something you have to accept or this relationship you’ve promised won’t work. Is that a commitment you’re prepared to make?’
    ‘Yes.’
    At the top of the steps she stretched on her toes to kiss him. No longer eye-to-eye, mouth-to-mouth. A new configuration, his tall frame against her diminutive figure. Would their conversation have moved so swiftly from a light flirtation into something more demanding if Nadine had not dangled such alluring possibilities before him? She had kicked the supports of their marriage from under him and he was adrift on anticipation. On the newness of discovery. Addictive, mind-blowing emotions.

    ‘You were right about everything,’ he told Nadine when they were in bed that night. ‘Thank you for having the courage to take that first step.’
    She looked exhausted, dark shadows under her