Better Together Read online

  Better Together

  Nicola May

  Jess is nearly forty when she meets Dan Harris at a party. She is single, sorted, happy – with a great job and a buzzy social and sex life. All of this is threatened when she falls deeply in love with Dan, who is only twenty-three.

  Jess, being older, recognises this as the real, precious thing – but in his immaturity, Dan does not. Unable to cope with the stigma of being with an older woman, he eventually leaves her.

  Ten years pass…

  Jess, who is still gorgeous at fifty, is married now, with a child of her own. They meet again. The years fall away.

  This time, Dan understands – but is it too late?

  When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

  When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

  Kahlil Gibran

  Contents

  On the Rebound

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Out With the Old

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Ten Years Later…

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  PART 1

  On the Rebound

  Chapter One

  Jess checked herself in the mirror. Not bad for a thirty-nine year old, she thought to herself. Shoulder-length dark hair with a straight cut fringe, the barest of wrinkles due to her decade-long vigil to the Clarins counter, and a toned, size 12 body, due to her twice-weekly hour with James the personal trainer. She could easily pass for thirty-three and revelled in the exclamations of ‘Surely you’re not nearly forty!’

  She pulled on her ankle-length black velvet coat, placed her hat at a jaunty angle, and headed out into the crisp December air to drive to the Lemon Events Christmas party, being held at their premises in a little village in Oxford.

  The party was in full swing when she arrived. A jazz band blasted out in the corner of the impressive converted barn, groups of people were drinking a pink-coloured punch and whoops were coming from the ice rink that had been set up in the courtyard in the middle of the quadrant. She was greeted by Sam, the handsome MD of Lemon Events with a kiss on both cheeks.

  ‘Jess! Good to see you. You look great.’

  ‘Cheers, Sam. Thanks for the invite.’

  ‘Well, we have to keep our best clients happy,’ he flirted.

  Jess had been an event manager for ten years and had she had fed work to Lemon Events throughout this time, which the company had found invaluable.

  ‘Punch?’ he enquired.

  ‘OK, but just the one as I’m driving tonight. I’ve got a big day tomorrow: the launch of Haven Wines’ new sparkly offering at The Brewery in London.’

  Jess flitted around chatting to various acquaintances, sipped her punch, dunked marshmallows in the chocolate fountain and was amazed by the tricks of a close-hand magician. As she was putting back on her watch, which had been expertly removed by the magician, she heard a voice behind her.

  ‘Impressive, isn’t he?’ She turned around and opened her mouth in surprise.

  ‘Dan Harris, what on earth are you doing here?’ Her wide smile gave away her delight at seeing him.

  ‘Well, Jessica Morley, I happen to have started working here two weeks ago.’ He grinned openly and without any warning, Jess’s heart skipped a beat.

  ‘It’s really good to see you,’ he went on. ‘I did want to get in touch after the Battersea event, but changed my phone and didn’t transfer your number.’

  Jess and Dan had worked together on an event two years previously. Both had been attached but had spent an amusing evening after the event in the Holiday Inn, Wandsworth, smuggling in a McDonald’s, drinking warm lager and arguing the case of whether horoscopes were a load of rubbish, until the bland hotel bar had closed and they went their separate ways. There had been a connection then but, both being attached, they knew it was just a passing flirtation.

  ‘So are you freelance here again then?’ Jess enquired.

  ‘No. I bit the bullet and decided to go permanent and get responsible in my old age.’

  Jess laughed. ‘Old age! You must be at least twenty-seven now?’

  ‘Twenty-four on January the fifteenth, to be exact.’

  Dan looked and acted way older than his twenty-three years, with his six-foot-two frame, knowing hazel eyes and responsible demeanour he called easily have passed for thirty.

  ‘Surely you’re not commuting from Bath every day?’ She said.

  ‘No way. We moved down to Windsor a couple of months ago.’

  ‘Wow, quite a life change, eh? And how’s that little girl of yours?’

  ‘Not so little. She’s nearly three now, and so beautiful, just like her father.’ His eyes twinkled and Jess couldn’t stop herself from looking right into them. ‘And you and Phil?’ he asked.

  ‘Didn’t work out. Bad case of commitment phobia on his part, but life goes on and
I’m in a really good place at the moment.’

  ‘Good, good. It really is lovely to see you. Did I say you were looking great?’

  ‘Mr Harris, I do believe you are flirting with me!’

  ‘Ms Morley, I guess you also probably think my rising sign is in Capricorn,’ he joked.

  ‘You must come to my fortieth party; it’s in a couple of months.’ Jess carried on. ‘It will give you a chance to meet some new people in the area.’

  ‘Forty? Surely not!’ He laughed out loud as they had had this conversation about her age back when they had first met. ‘I must ring Alex. With only one friend in the locality, she’s finding adjusting to a new area difficult. Your party will give her something to look forward to.’

  ‘Great. I’ll catch you before I leave. I must go and speak to Sam re any new projects coming up.’

  Jess finished up with Sam and walked to the bar to get herself another drink.

  ‘Let me.’ Dan pushed to the front of the bar. ‘I’ve been told to look after all of our best clients. What’s your poison?’

  ‘Just fizzy water with a twist of lime please, got a big event tomorrow.’

  Dan smirked. ‘I am sorry, but I don’t allow mixers at a Christmas party. I insist you have a glass of wine with me for old time’s sake.’ Jess could tell he was a little bit drunk. He really was good-looking, she thought. His dark hair was cropped short and his features were large and friendly.

  ‘Oh, OK then, but just the one as I have got to drive.’ Jess was usually strong-willed enough to say no to a drink when she was driving, however, this young man seemed to be able to persuade her with ease.

  She took a sip of her wine. ‘Ooh I needed that.’

  ‘Nectar, pure nectar,’ Dan sighed gulping his lager. ‘So where we going after here then?’ he enquired. ‘Any good clubs your way?’

  ‘Dan Harris! You have a home to go to as do I. It’s getting late.’

  ‘I have a pass tonight. I’m staying with a mate down the road, so if the gorgeous Jessy Morley wants to hang out with a cool dude, I’m all yours.’

  Jessy was more than tempted. The wine had already begun to make her feel a little light-headed. ‘No clubs, but two bottles of red wine and a Bose sound system at mine.’ Shit, had she really said that? She carried on. ‘Deal or no deal?’

  ‘Sounds like a deal to me. Shall I get your coat?’

  When they got outside, he exclaimed, ‘Cool wheels! Get that roof down and get that music turned up.’

  ‘It’s minus four out here!’ Jess objected.

  ‘Come on, Jessy Morley. Life is all about fun.’

  Jessy turned the key of her new Audi convertible. She already knew life was all about fun: she had had some wild times, none of which she regretted, and the exuberance of this young man and the thought of the exhilarating drive in the cold, starry night excited her.

  ‘Will bloody Young, he can come off for a start,’ Dan said rudely. ‘What else have you got?’

  ‘U2, Stereophonics or Kate Bush.’

  ‘Jessy, perlease.’ Dan started fiddling with the radio stations until Daft Punk blared out across the country lanes. ‘Does your lighter work?’ he asked.

  Dan held the joint to Jessy’s lips just as she was rounding a sharp bend.

  ‘Shit, Dan, careful. I don’t smoke. . .’ Before she could finish her sentence she had taken a large drag of some sweet-tasting weed. She shrieked with delight and then proceeded to cough really hard.

  ‘Good, eh?’ Dan enquired.

  Jess felt heady but oh so good. She was relieved to pull up outside her house in one piece. She giggled as the electronic roof banged to a halt over their heads.

  ‘You’re naughty.’ She pushed her finger into Dan’s chest.

  ‘You love it!’ he replied, leaping out of the car. ‘Morley Mansions, what a charming residence.’ He assumed a posh accent.

  ‘Morley Mansions, what are you like? But it certainly does the trick,’ Jessy said modestly. She had worked hard at making her Victorian mid-terrace a haven of comfort. She wasn’t particularly tidy. Her bookshelves were messy and various ornaments and artefacts could be found on every surface. An empty tea cup was still on the coffee table from that morning. She switched on her twinkling twigs, and a lamp in the corner of her cosy living room, and went through to the kitchen.

  ‘Red wine for you, sir?’

  ‘Well, if there is no beer then I s’pose I’ll have to.’ Dan smiled. ‘I do actually love red wine; I’m not that much of a philistine.’ He was taking in his surroundings and started looking through Jess’s book collection.

  ‘Chick lit, I knew it. Don’t suppose you’ve got any Stephen Hawking?’ he smirked.

  ‘Dear boy, at my age I know what the Universe is in a nutshell anyway.’ She laughed smugly as she knew he’d be impressed with this. Never before had she met a young man so knowledgeable . After jeering at her love for Will Young on their journey, he had confessed to his liking of Radio 4’s Reith Lectures.

  ‘And what’s this: Open Poetry?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, I got a poem published a few years ago.’ She had won something like £15 for being a runner up and then had to buy the book for £25 to see it in print.

  ‘Cool, what page is it on?’

  With the red wine and weed now taking effect, Dan dramatically struck a pose on a leather cube in the corner of the dining room and began reciting. Jess took a large gulp of wine in anticipation of his reaction. She wanted his approval.

  ‘GONE’.

  He continued dramatically.

  I thought I saw her today

  Her warm smile, her wavy brown hair

  I blinked back a tear and she was gone again

  Gone, that word of finality

  Go on in the middle, with a lonely e on the end

  The bottom of my world fell out when she left me

  Dan nearly lost his balance and fell off the cube. ‘I knew it would be lost love shit.’ He continued his sarcastic recital.

  Empty, incomplete

  Tears on New Year’s Eve

  Pain at my sister’s wedding

  Flowers for all anniversaries

  She was here today

  Her cuddly frame, her comfortable smell

  I opened my eyes and she was gone again

  Hurting, lonely

  Tears on my birthday

  Pain at my niece’s first steps

  Flowers for all anniversaries

  At my mother’s graveside

  ‘Oh Jess, I’m so sorry. If I’d have known...’ He tailed off and Jess was sure she could see tears in his eyes.

  ‘It’s fine, don’t be silly. It was a tribute to her, she was so beautiful. She died a long time ago now. Guess that’s why I take life as it comes and try to fit in as many adventures as I can. Now, get off that pouffe and come and sit down.’

  Dan joined Jess on the sofa. She liked the softer side of him she had just seen.

  ‘Body language is another one of my interests,’ Dan said knowingly.

  Jess was sat with her hand resting way up her thigh. She moved it immediately and he laughed out loud. ‘I don’t even want to know what that means,’ she smirked and looked directly at the young man next to her, suddenly feeling something that she had never ever experienced before. Dan too must have felt the same as he all of a sudden just jumped up from the sofa.

  ‘I have to go,’ he said.

  ‘Yes, you do.’

  It was as if there was an electric current running between the two of them. A force so great, it made her feel euphoric. If she had run her hand between them, Jess honestly thought she would have received first-degree burns. With her job, she'd been all over the world. She'd met and dated a lot of men but never before had she experienced this actual force between two people.

  ‘Did you feel that?’ she said, astonished, and then suddenly embarrassed by the intensity of her feelings, she jumped up too.

  ‘I have to go,’ Dan repeated.

  �
��OK, a taxi back to yours will take about twenty minutes from here.’

  ‘Shit! I’ve left my house keys at the barn.’

  ‘What about where you were supposed to be staying?’

  ‘Carrie will be long in bed by now, plus it will take an hour to get there.’

  There was a pause. Dan bit his lip. Jess took control.

  ‘OK, you sleep in my spare room. I have to leave at seven to go and set up for my event, so I can drop you en route to work at the barn or you can get a cab. Sorted.’

  ‘Spare room,’ Dan repeated and took another gulp of wine.

  Chapter Two

  Over in Windsor, ten miles away, Alex Meadows – mother of Evie and partner of Daniel Harris – woke up and looked at her watch. 2.30 a.m.. Ever since their four-year relationship had begun, Dan had always called her to say goodnight. He must have run out of battery, she thought, and drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  ‘OK, I’m in,’ Jess shouted downstairs. She had pulled on some baggy black pyjama bottoms and a lacy grey and white camisole, and leapt under the covers of ‘the comfiest bed in the whole world’. It was a king-size sleigh bed. Once you’d sunk into the expensive mattress and under the Egyptian cotton duvet, you just didn’t want to get out.

  ‘You have to walk through my bedroom to the bathroom, so no looking!’ she warned him. The intensity of the situation downstairs had died down and they had set about getting ready for bed.

  Dan walked through pretending to ignore Jess. In her drunkenness she had the urge to start singing ‘Don’t cha’ but she managed to stop herself.

  He poked his head around the bathroom door and said, ‘You got a spare toothbrush by any chance?’

  Jess got out of bed and Dan looked her up and down.

  ‘Ms Morley, how do you expect me to keep away from you when you put on something like that?’

  Jess had actually put on her least sexy bed-wear purely for this reason. As much as she desperately wanted this man, she knew morally it wasn’t the right thing to do. She was on a mission to find a suitable suitor and an attached twenty-three-year-old didn’t quite fit the category. Hopping back into bed, she pulled the covers up high so that just her pretty, oval-shaped face was showing. Her bluey-green eyes shone with desire.