Summer at the Lakeside Cabin. Catherine Ferguson

Чтение книги онлайн.

       CHAPTER TWO

      I first met Toby when we bumped into each other – quite literally – in the centre of Manchester one day.

      I noticed this dark-haired man hurrying in my direction, engrossed in his phone, and I prepared to step aside to avoid a collision. But he looked up, saw me and swerved the same way, which resulted in us doing the awkward ‘dancing’ thing, shifting one way then the other. We apologised and laughed – and I noticed he had the most startlingly blue eyes.

      The encounter was all over in a few seconds, but as I watched him striding off, I suddenly realised he’d dropped something. A book. I picked it up. It was a slim volume entitled Mergers & Acquisitions.

      I started hurrying after him, eventually catching up at the entrance to a large, glass-fronted building with a plaque announcing, ‘Clements & Barbour Financial Analysts’.

      ‘Excuse me.’

      He was about to go through the swing doors but he turned.

      ‘I think you dropped this.’

      He looked at me with those piercing blue eyes. Then recognition flared as he saw what I held.

      ‘Hey, thanks.’ He looked genuinely delighted to be reunited with his book. ‘It was really nice of you to come after me.’

      ‘No problem. It was on my way,’ I lied with a casual shrug. ‘The book looks – erm – interesting.’

      His eyes widened. ‘You think so? Most people glaze over at stuff like this.’

      I shrugged. ‘It’s always nice to learn about something new.’ Especially if your teacher is handsome and intelligent to boot!

      He nodded. ‘Listen, I’ve got to dash into a meeting but if you’d like to know more, we could meet later for a drink?’ He held up the book.

      ‘That would be lovely.’ I smiled knowingly. It was as good an excuse as any to get to know each other.

      ‘Toby Carter,’ he said, and we shook hands.

      ‘Daisy Cooper.’

      When I walked into the pub later, he was already there. Mergers & Acquisitions was on the table in front of him, along with several other thick tomes with mysterious titles.

      I quickly realised he’d taken me quite literally when I said I liked learning new things, and his guided tour through the financial implications of mergers and acquisitions was somewhat of a surprise. I didn’t mind, though. It meant I had a legitimate reason to stare into those gorgeous blue eyes!

      ‘I’m boring you, aren’t I?’ he said at one point.

      ‘No, no,’ I rushed to reassure him.

      ‘I tend to think everyone must be as fascinated as me by this stuff,’ he said with a sheepish look that made me really warm to him. ‘My brothers say I’m a nerd.’

      I smiled and asked how many brothers he had.

      His reply left me temporarily speechless. ‘You have seven brothers?’ I gasped at last.

      He nodded. ‘I’m the oldest. Mum and Dad kept trying, hoping for a girl, but it never happened.’

      ‘That’s amazing. I mean, it’s almost a whole football team! Gosh, you’ll never have to worry about being lonely, will you?’

      He smiled rather wearily. Clearly I wasn’t the first person to look gobsmacked by the copious amount of male siblings.

      ‘Do you still live at home?’ I asked, trying to imagine what it would be like to have such a big family. I couldn’t help thinking it sounded perfect.

      ‘No, thank God. I’ve just moved into my own place. We lost Dad last year and Mum’s not so great at the old discipline thing, so the younger kids were becoming far too loud and unruly. It was a relief to get my own space, to be honest.’

      ‘I’m sorry about your dad,’ I said, wondering how I’d cope if anything ever happened to Mum. ‘But you’re lucky to be part of such a lovely big family. I’m an only one. And if I’ve got brothers and sisters, I don’t actually know about it because I’m adopted!’ I smiled broadly to let him know I was perfectly comfortable with this.

      ‘Oh.’ His eyes widened. ‘Have you – have you ever tried to find your real mum and dad?’

      I shrugged. ‘As far as I’m concerned, the mum and dad I’ve always known are my real parents. And I’d hate to upset Mum by going looking for my biological mother, so I never have.’

      He looked a bit surprised by my revelations. I was fairly taken aback myself, to be honest. I didn’t make a habit of talking about my adoption to relative strangers.

      I’ve known I was adopted ever since I was small.

      Mum and Dad grew up in Surrey and, after they married and found out they couldn’t have children, they decided to adopt and I arrived. Then, when I was four, we left our home in Surrey and moved north to Manchester, where I’ve lived ever since.

      I’ve never been able to establish exactly why we left Surrey. I always felt I never got a proper answer from Mum when I asked her. She talked vaguely about there being better job opportunities for Dad, but he worked for the same sort of engineering company up north as he did when we lived in Surrey, and her explanation didn’t quite ring true. So I just stopped asking.

      Whatever the reason, Mum and I have always been happy in Manchester …

      There was a slightly awkward pause and I cast around for a change of subject. ‘You’ve got lovely eyes.’

      ‘Oh. Thanks.’ Toby smiled and leaned closer across the table. ‘Listen, Daisy, do you fancy grabbing something to eat?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ve got to prepare for a presentation tomorrow but I could give you … um … fifty minutes?’

      I nodded. ‘Great.’

      It wasn’t the most romantic proposition I’d ever received but I was intrigued.

      Toby Carter was clearly passionate about his work and I’d always found that sexy in a man.

      We started dating, seeing each other once or twice a week. Toby often had to work late, so he’d phone me when he was finishing СКАЧАТЬ