Who Needs Men Anyway?. Victoria Cooke

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СКАЧАТЬ 10 a.m.

      The smell of sweet pastry roused me, and I trudged downstairs, snuggled up in my UGG dressing gown – the perfect attire for a chilly spring morning. James was in the kitchen, baking. ‘Mmm, those smell good,’ I said as I walked up, wrapping my arms around his neck. He picked his phone up off the counter and stuffed it into his pocket before turning to face me. At least he could push work aside for me sometimes.

      ‘I thought you might be in need of something stodgy after your night out.’ He kissed me on the forehead.

      ‘I don’t know why I do it. I blame Kate.’ I took a delicious bite of a hot pain au chocolat. ‘These are almost as good as mine!’

      ‘Careful, my baking is already a rarity.’

      ‘True.’ It seemed a while since we’d spoken like this, like we used to, so I thought I’d jump on the opportunity to suggest doing something nice together. ‘How about a walk today? We could go to that woodland path we’ve talked about.’

      ‘I’m sorry, darling. I’m still swallowed up by this case. It won’t be for much longer now.’

      I drew a deep breath to remind myself to keep calm. His work paid for our wonderful lifestyle after all, and the case would soon be over. Instead of giving a reply, I simply smiled and went to sit and eat in the orangery. Looking out over the garden always gave me a sense of calm.

      After breakfast, I loaded up my laptop. Talking to Megan the night before had given me an idea. She’d mentioned wanting to meet someone when the time was right and I thought I could help that along a little by setting her up with an online dating profile. That way, when she was ready, I’d already have some options lined up.

      I scoured her Facebook page for a suitable photograph. There was dressed-up ball-ready Megan, sporty workwear Megan, Halloween Megan, old baby pic Megan . . . All that was missing was ginger Megan and we’d have had the full Spice Girls set. I opted for the ball picture then at the last minute changed it for the one of her in sportswear. It was a nice Sweaty Betty yoga set that I’d bought her for Christmas the previous year. She had a minimal amount of make-up on as usual and looked gorgeous, and her hair was tied back neatly. It suggested effortless beauty.

      The ‘Me & You’ website was very easy to use, and once Megan’s picture was loaded in, there were just some tick boxes and a few paragraphs to write. Her interests were pretty similar to mine on a general level so I ticked everything I would have.

      ✓ Sports

      ✓ Socialising

      ✓ Bars

      ✓ Walking

      ✓ Film

      ✓ Music

      ✓ Dining out

      The next section asked about personal preferences. I had no idea, but Mike wasn’t particularly attractive and she’d always seemed to like James so I just ticked anything that was relevant to him:

      ✓ Brown hair

      ✓ 6'0" or above

      ✓ Medium build

      ✓ Similar interests

      Next, I had to fill in a paragraph about ‘myself’, or in this case, Megan. For a moment, I considered how hard this would be to write about yourself and felt glad I’d never had to do my own profile. Internet dating was a new concept to me. When I’d met James, people used it to look up information and that was it really. There wasn’t any online dating.

      I waffled on about being a personal trainer and liking to stay in shape, which was really a huge euphemism for ‘hot body and active in the bedroom’ wasn’t it? Did men want anything more than that? I didn’t think so. The final thing to do was set the distance. I tapped at the keys, having no idea how far Megan would travel for love. Deciding local would be best I set it to within three miles.

      Once I was finished, I scanned the page over and clicked ‘save profile’. I was convinced that when Megan was ready to start dating men, there’d be a bank of interested parties to choose from. I closed my laptop, feeling pretty smug with myself.

      The walk-in wardrobe was thick with James’s aftershave. The unmistakable fresh scent of his Creed Aventus lingered heavily in the air. It was my favourite, though why he was wasting the expensive stuff on a trip to an empty office for a few hours was beyond me. Still, little else compared that delicious scent so I sort of understood. Part of my attraction to him was that he took pride in himself.

      My phone buzzed as I walked out of my wardrobe, finally dressed.

      Sorry I’ve not been around much lately. How about a date night? Love U, J x

      My heart leapt. It had been far too long. My fingers were tapping back before I’d even thought about a reply.

      I’d love to. What did you have in mind? X

      I hit send and my chest came over all fluttery while I planned what I’d wear.

      We could go out for dinner . . . or you could show me that sexy little number again ;) x

      A smile spread across my face. At least I didn’t have to worry about what to wear.

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