The Secret To Happiness. Jessica Redland

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      ‘Ryan?’ Karen called, kicking off her trainers in the hall. ‘Ryan?’

      She ran up the stairs of the three-bed townhouse that they’d rented for the past eight years. Pausing on the top floor landing, listening to the shower running in the wet room, she stripped off her sports gear before gently pushing the door open. Perfect opportunity to make up for lost time.

      Ryan was rubbing shower gel over his chest. Karen tiptoed behind him and pressed her naked body against his back. ‘I think you missed a bit,’ she said, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing the suds on his washboard stomach, getting lower with each circle of her hands.

      He moaned softly. ‘How was bootcamp?’

      ‘Good. They worked hard.’ Her hands reached lower still. ‘Ooh, speaking of hard…’

      Ryan turned around, rubbing the suds from his eyes. ‘You know you always have that effect on me.’ He kissed her and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body close to his.

      ‘So where are you taking me tonight?’ she asked between kisses.

      Ryan tensed. ‘Tonight?’

      ‘Yes, tonight. You’re taking me out.’

      ‘Since when? I’ve made plans.’

      Passion flowing down the drain with the suds, Karen dropped her hands and stepped back so she could see Ryan’s face. ‘You’re pranking me, yeah?’

      One look at his expression told her he wasn’t. ‘Remind me…’

      She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head, not daring to speak because after months of patience, what she wanted to say wasn’t going to be pleasant. How could he have forgotten? How? She snatched at a towel.

      ‘Kaz…’

      Wrapping the towel around her, she fixed him with a hard stare. ‘Come on, then. What have you got on tonight that’s so important?’

      ‘Steff and I are planning the next steps for Bay Runners.’

      ‘What next steps? You promised me it was temporary and we’d return to PT and bootcamps as normal.’

      ‘I know, but we think Bay Runners should become part of the core business.’

      Karen folded her arms. ‘So basically the two of you have made a decision about our business without consulting me?’

      ‘It wasn’t like that.’

      ‘From where I’m standing, it was. Go on, then. You’d better rush round to your best friend’s and get planning, hadn’t you?’ Karen stormed out of the bathroom to their bedroom where she pulled on her PJs and clambered into bed, not caring that she was still wet.

      Ryan appeared in the doorway a couple of minutes later with a towel around his waist. ‘What are you doing in bed?’

      ‘Watching TV and having an early night, seeing as the plans you have with our business partner are far more important than the ones you had with me.’

      ‘Bloody hell, Karen. Stop being so cryptic. Hands up, I’ve forgotten what we had planned for tonight and I’m sorry, but it’s been a crazy few weeks with the marathon then the half. I’ve had a lot going on.’

      ‘It’s fine. Forget it.’ She picked up the remote control and switched the TV on.

      Ryan turned around and switched it off so Karen picked up the remote and switched it back on again.

      ‘You’re being childish now.’ Ryan switched if off and stood in front of the receiver so she couldn’t connect with the remote.

      ‘Really? And you’re not?’

      ‘No. I’m trying to reason with you. I’ve admitted I messed up and I’ve apologised, even though I don’t know what for. You’ve stormed off to bed and you won’t tell me what I’ve done wrong.’

      ‘You want to know what you’ve done wrong?’

      ‘That would be helpful.’

      ‘You really don’t know?’

      ‘Do I look like I know?’

      To her horror, Karen felt tears burning her eyes. She never cried and she certainly didn’t want to let him see how much he’d hurt her. He was usually good at this sort of stuff. How could he not have registered the date?

      Ryan was still staring at her, frowning. She desperately wanted him to leave her alone before she either broke down sobbing or yelled at him. Swallowing hard, she said, ‘You said we’d have a date night because we haven’t spent any time together recently. That’s all.’

      Ryan rubbed his hair on a towel. ‘I can ring Steff and cancel.’

      Too little, too late. ‘No. You and Steff do what you’ve planned. I’ve got a headache anyway. I could do with an early night.’

      ‘Are you sure?’

      ‘I’m sure. Now shift so I can put the telly on.’

      She pretended to be absorbed in a programme about building flat-pack homes while Ryan wandered around the bedroom pulling on his clothes.

      ‘I’ll see you later,’ he said, leaning over for a kiss.

      Karen turned her face slightly so that he could only kiss her cheek. ‘Hope your planning goes well.’

      ‘I’m sorry,’ he said again.

      She didn’t trust herself to speak so merely nodded. She managed to hold it in as he ran down the stairs but the moment he closed the front door, a loud, agonised wail escaped from her and СКАЧАТЬ