Chapter Seven
This couldn’t be happening.
Zane had said his business partner was called Matt. She was sure of it. Yes, he’d definitely just introduced him as Matt. But the man standing before her wasn’t Matt.
It was Aaron.
Faith wiped her hands on a tea–towel. She wanted to speak, but couldn’t get her brain into gear enough to make her mouth form the words.
She’d thought Aaron was gone from her life.
It looked as though she was wrong.
She took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself. Suddenly she felt cold and shaky. Aaron was back? This was impossible.
Yet here he was, standing in her kitchen. She felt dizzy and light-headed.
How should she react? Should she admit they knew each other? Why had Aaron changed his name to Matt anyway? Would he prefer it if the fact they knew each other was kept quiet?
But she knew she couldn’t keep something like that from Zane.
As she debated what to say and do next, the room remained awkwardly silent. Zane was looking at her questioningly.
What should she say?
Come on, think, woman. Think.
Too late. Aaron spoke first.
“Faith, it’s amazing to see you again after all these years.”
OK. So he didn’t want to keep it a secret that they already knew each other.
“Aaron,” she managed to say. “This is a bit of a shock.”
“That’s an understatement,” Matt said, stepping forward to pull her into a hug.
“Hang on a second,” Zane said, pushing into the room. “Aaron? That’s your proper name isn’t it?” He raised enquiring eyebrows at Matt. “What’s going on? You two already know each other?”
“Yeah, Faith and I knew each other as kids. We were great friends.”
Faith looked down. OK, so he was admitting they knew each other, but he wasn’t admitting the whole truth.
“Right.” Zane looked from Faith to Matt.
Matt laughed. “Aaron turned out to be a tricky name for people overseas to get their heads and their tongues around, so I changed to using my middle name instead. Plus, in my line of work, well, Aaron isn’t a cool dude kind of name is it? ”
Aaron Matthew Caldwell. Matthew. Matt. Of course.
Faith nodded and forced her lips into a smile. “Makes sense, I suppose.”
She felt her cheeks burning. Matt and Zane were both staring at her now, gauging her reaction. She needed to escape. “If you’ll excuse me I need to get these refreshments into the café. And then we’d better start the meeting.”
As Faith disappeared with the plates of food she saw Zane pull Matt to one side.
“Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?” she heard him hiss.
“Just chill,” Matt replied. “There’s nothing to worry about. Honestly.”
Faith thought Zane hadn’t looked too pleased when he’d discovered about her already knowing Aaron.
Knowing Matt, she corrected herself.
She couldn’t get used to thinking of him as Matt, not yet, though everyone in the café was calling him that. But then, they hadn’t known him when he still went by his given name of Aaron, had they? They also hadn’t known him the way she’d known him.
Once the meeting was over, Zane would probably start asking questions about her and Aaron. Questions she didn’t want to answer. But if she didn’t answer the questions, then no doubt he would ask them of Aaron instead.
Maybe he’d ask them both, and then compare their answers, to see if they came up with the same story.
How would Aaron reply?
Would he tell the truth?
Doubtful.
Would he go all macho and make out she’d been to blame for the end of their relationship, saying she was too clingy or demanding, wanting a commitment from him when he wasn’t prepared to give it?
Quite likely.
Yet in spite of that, she’d thought a look of understanding might have passed between the two of them. For once, maybe Aaron would do the right thing and keep his mouth shut. She hoped so, because at the moment she hadn’t got a clue what to say to Zane about the two of them. It was difficult enough just trying to get used to the idea of seeing Aaron again after all this time. She knew that the conversation with Zane about him was inevitable, but perhaps she could get away with saying as little as possible. Hopefully that would be an end to it.
One hour later the meeting had finished, and everyone was chatting over refreshments. Zane thought Faith still looked a bit uneasy. She’d obviously been shocked to find Matt standing in her kitchen. Zane was quite sure that there was something he wasn’t being told.
Faith had not only kept herself busy all evening, she’d also kept away from him and from Matt. Maybe it was time to talk to her.
“Faith, you’ve hardly stopped all evening. Why don’t you grab a coffee and join me for a sit-down for ten minutes?”
She shook her head, her ponytail swinging from side to side. “Sorry, Zane I’m too busy. Clearing up to do.”
“How about I give you a hand to sort things down here then we go up to your flat for a chat?”
“OK,” she sighed, seeming reluctant.
Thirty minutes later she was seated opposite him on the sofa in her flat. She was looking tired and uncomfortable.
Should he ask her about Matt now, Zane wondered, or wait till they’d finished their coffee? Part of him didn’t want to ask at all, because he had the distinct feeling she didn’t want to talk about it, but the other part of him wanted to know if there was something more to this whole Faith, Aaron, Matt business. Should he be worried about their past and the likelihood of it side-swiping the future, for both Carrdale and himself?
“So, you know Matt then?” he ventured. “Must be confusing, having him appear in your kitchen, being introduced by another name.”
She fiddled with a cushion, avoiding looking at him.
OK. This wasn’t going well. Zane really liked Faith, and had begun to think they might have a chance at a relationship. But Matt’s appearance seemed to have thrown the proverbial spanner in the works.
“Yes. Like he said. We knew each other years ago. Went to school together. I haven’t seen or heard from him since we both went to university.”
“You went to university together?”
“Yes. It was ages ago. It’s all ancient history now.”
“What, exactly, is ancient history?” Zane asked.
He was behaving like some jealous boyfriend. He and Faith weren’t even officially dating properly yet, but here he was questioning her about Matt. But he couldn’t help himself. Whilst his head was telling him to back off, his mouth had taken on a mind of its own. “Were you and Matt an item? Were you guys serious?”
“We were just kids, going to university, making grand plans, the way you do when you’re eighteen and think the whole world is at your feet.”
Zane shifted in his seat, wanting to know what had gone on between them, but at the same time not wanting to know. “What happened?”
Faith sighed and looked him in the eye for the first time during their conversation. “You’re not going to let this go are you?”
Zane shook his head apologetically.
“OK. We dated when we were at school. For a while we were inseparable. That’s how we ended up at the same university. We were on different courses though. He did Recreation Management and I did Business Studies. In the naïvety of youth, we thought it would be exciting, being away from home, being independent, having freedom to do what we wanted.”
“And?” Zane prompted, though he had a good idea where this particular trip down memory lane was heading. And right now he wanted to hijack it and make it do a severe U-turn.
“Matt – or rather, Aaron, as I knew him then – was a huge flirt, and I found out he was cheating on me, seeing some girl from his course while still going out with me. We had a huge row and I finished with him.”
“I’m sorry.” Zane chewed on his bottom lip. This sounded like classic Matt behaviour. For most of the time they’d worked together in Austria, Matt had messed around and made no secret of the fact. It came as no surprise to hear that he’d cheated on Faith all those years ago.
“Why are you apologising? It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, but I’m still sorry for the way he treated you. Not sorry that you split up, of course, otherwise we wouldn’t be… Anyway, I’ve worked with him long enough. I know what he’s like with women.”
A small smile crept across Faith’s face. “A pig you mean?”
“Yeah, that about sums him up. He can’t help himself.”
“You’re good friends though.”
Zane held his hands up. “Yeah, we are, but don’t get the wrong idea and tar me with the same brush as far as women go. Matt’s excellent at the extreme sports stuff, one of the best there is. We have similar ambitions, we both wanted to run our own activity centre. He might be bad news as far as women are concerned, but he’s a good friend, and really driven when it comes to work.”
“Yeah, he certainly is.” Faith sipped her coffee. “If he wants something he generally gets it. He’s the only child of wealthy parents, and anything he wanted growing up, he only had to snap his fingers and he got it.”
“I think the same rules still apply. Most of the money Matt put into the Centre is from his parents.”
“He always was, and probably still is, a charmer. I was charmed by him for a while, until I saw the real person underneath.”
“How do you feel about him turning up again?” Zane asked. “You don’t have any lingering feelings for him?” He wanted to be sure. Well, as sure as he could ever be.
“I was stunned. I haven’t seen or heard from him in years. It was all over ages ago. But I’m not going to fall for his charm again, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I’ve spent years witnessing him working that charm. He had the looks, the exciting adventurous job and the money. Most women found him irresistible when we were working in Austria.”
Faith put her mug down on the table and leaned towards him. “What about you?”
“Me?” Zane frowned. “No, I never found him irresistible!”
“Not what I meant and you know it!” Faith laughed. “You had the same things. Didn’t the women find you irresistible as well?”
“I didn’t have all those things.”
“You’re avoiding the question. Looks, yes, adventurous job, yes, charm, yes. Women must have been all over you.”
“Nope.”
“Oh? Why not?” she asked.
“Because.”
Faith shook her head. “You’re trying to be either elusive or modest. You don’t want me to know just how many women found you irresistible. Come on, tell me the truth. I’ve been honest with you about Matt.”
Zane put a hand on her knee and looked at her. “I am being honest. And, I guess, a bit modest too. OK, women did make it clear they were interested. But I wasn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Just wasn’t. Not my scene.”
Faith looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “What? Women aren’t your scene? But the other day, on the fell walk when you kissed me—”
“No, I didn’t mean like that. I mean…” He looked away, feeling awkward. But they’d come this far; he may as well tell her some of the truth, if not the reasons behind it. “Look I don’t want this to sound like a line, or like I’m whiter than white, but I don’t do the whole casual thing where relationships are concerned.”
“Oh, I see.”
Zane moved his hand to trace the inside of her wrist. “Now you’re wondering why, aren’t you?”
“A little,” she nodded.
“I’ve seen too many people get badly hurt that way. I’d rather not go into specifics though, if that’s OK?”
“Of course. Thanks for being honest with me.”
Matt shoved a ready-in-five-minutes chilli in the microwave and slammed the door shut.
“I’m still hungry even though I pigged loads of the sandwiches, sausage rolls and some of those mini-muffin things at the meeting. What was in them? They were delish.”
Zane leaned against the kitchen worktop and eyed Matt. It was ten at night and Matt was making himself chilli? It had been a good while since they’d shared a house or flat, and he’d forgotten about Matt’s strange eating patterns. He’d got back from Faith’s ten minutes ago. Now it was time to get Matt’s version of events.
“So come on then. Out with it.”
“With what, mate?” Matt asked, randomly opening cupboards and drawers. Having found a plate in one of the cupboards he now appeared to be on the hunt for a spoon.
“Bottom drawer,” Zane said helpfully, even though he didn’t feel particularly helpful at that moment.
“Cheers. This might be one of the smallest kitchens I’ve ever been in, but there’s way too much stuff crammed into these cupboards and drawers!”
“Right.” Zane shifted from one foot to the other. He wasn’t going to be dissuaded from pursuing this topic of conversation that easily. “So, out with it. What’s the story with you and Faith?”
Matt checked the microwave. “There isn’t a story. We knew each other years ago.”
“So why were things so awkward when I introduced you?”
Matt shrugged. “Look, it’s old news. We used to go out. That’s all. Forget it.” He checked the timer on the microwave again, then turned and looked at Zane. “Why all the questions anyway? Are you dating her?”
“We’ve been out a couple of times,” Zane replied, not sure how close to his chest he should play his cards.
“Oh.”
From the look on Matt’s face, Zane had the feeling there was trouble heading his way. And soon. “Is that a problem?” he asked.
“You mean am I bothered if you date her?”
Zane shook his head. “I wasn’t asking for your permission, Matt. I just need to know if there’s likely to be anything still simmering between you two. We do all have to work together.”
“Yeah, of course we do. I’m glad it’s Faith who will be providing the refreshments for the Centre. Looks as though she’s done well for herself with the business and everything.”
“She has. And I want her to carry on working with the Centre. But you haven’t answered my question. I don’t want something that happened between you two years ago to affect future working relationships or jeopardise what happens with the Centre.”
“It won’t affect the Centre. That’s not all you’re bothered about though, is it? You mean will what went on with Faith and me in the past affect what’s going on with Faith and you now, don’t you?”
Zane said nothing. He’d trusted Matt with his life on many an occasion when they’d been off doing some extreme sport, and vice versa. He had absolute faith in Matt’s knowledge and expertise when it came to climbing, kayaking and the like. They were good friends. They worked well together. But he’d always had a bit of problem when it came to Matt’s attitude to women.
Up until now it had never mattered that much, and so long as whatever business they’d been working for or running wasn’t affected by Matt and his shenanigans, then Zane had just kept his mouth shut and not asked any questions. But this time it was different. They each had very different tastes in women, and they’d never clashed before. They’d certainly never tried to date the same woman.
“Why didn’t you tell me the Centre we were buying happened to be right on the doorstep of your childhood sweetheart?”
“I didn’t know, did I?” Matt said, flicking the release catch on the door of the microwave. “We lost touch after university, and I had no idea where she was living nowadays.”
“But you knew this was her home village, so you must have had an idea she’d be here.”
“This is all just a coincidence, Zane. Honestly. Though, I remember now, she did always have plans to set up in business back home.”
“And? Were you part of those plans by any chance?” Zane found himself asking.
Great. He was like a dog with a bone. Just wouldn’t let it go. That determination had got him to where he was today. It had been the thing that drove him on in his work life, but when it came to personal matters like this, it was the thing that could bring him nothing but trouble.
Matt emptied the chilli on to a plate and picked up a spoon. “Yeah. OK. We had plans together. We were just kids though. Everyone goes off to uni with their girlfriend and you have these naïve plans and grand ideas.” He tapped Zane on the shoulder with his spoon as he walked past, en route to the dining table with his food. “Then you grow up and everything changes.”
“What happened?” Zane sighed.
“Life happened. We grew apart.”
Yeah right, Zane thought. That’s not how Faith tells it.
Zane knew all about life getting in the way of your plans. He’d been focussed on getting his qualifications and the necessary experience to build his career when he’d been working in Austria and had met Matt. While Matt had taken full advantage of the fact that women seemed to find the extreme sport instructors irresistible – much the same as the ski instructors – Zane had been more interested in the work opportunities available, rather than the women making themselves available to him.
Once, when they both had a few days off work in Austria, he and Matt had headed off to do some wild camping in the mountains. As they’d shared a beer around the campfire Matt had asked Zane why he didn’t take the women up on their offers.
“You do realise how most of the women we come across in our job fancy the pants off you, don’t you? They can’t resist the tall, dark and handsome instructor, the fearless, all-action guy.”
“I’m not fearless,” Zane had mumbled, staring into the campfire.
“I know. But they think you are. Why don’t you take advantage of that sometimes? Relax a little. I just want you to chill, have some fun, and be happy.”
Zane had shaken his head and laughed. “And you think messing around will make me happy?”
“Works for me. Come on, Zane. You never know, you might enjoy it. Help you get rid of whatever chip you’re carrying around on your shoulder. Why not eh?”
“I have my reasons.”
Zane wasn’t an idiot. He’d soon cottoned on to the fact that being an outdoor adventure sports instructor made him a target for the women. Well, certain kinds of women, anyway. The ones who wanted a holiday romance. It was almost as though they’d paid for their activity lessons and expected that fee to include his services in more ways than just teaching them how to climb or abseil or snowboard. He’d also learnt pretty quickly that he had to tread carefully when politely rejecting their advances. It didn’t do to upset the customers. He thought he’d solved the problem when he’d invented a girlfriend and told the women, Thanks but no thanks; I’m in a steady relationship. Then he’d discovered that some of the more persistent women didn’t care about whether he was involved or not, they still invited him to their hotel room. He’d found it all a bit depressing.
But Matt had loved it. He’d lapped up all the attention, making the most of any invitations he got. Zane just minded his own business and hoped Matt didn’t end up in trouble with their boss. Quite often when they turned up for work and were prepping the equipment and carrying out safety checks, Matt would start filling Zane in – in great detail – on his previous night’s exploits.
“Why don’t you ever say yes?” Matt had asked him.
“How do you know I don’t?” Zane had retorted. “Perhaps I’m just discreet about it.”
He’d noticed Matt waver for a moment or two, obviously weighing up whether there might be any truth in what he’d said.
“Nah. You’re not that good an actor. Come on, why?”
“I’m just not interested OK?”
Matt had laughed. “You’re not interested in very attractive women finding you irresistible and inviting you to their room?”
Zane had closed the equipment cupboard. “No.”
“I don’t understand, mate. You’re not gay are you?”
“No,” Zane had repeated, opening up another cupboard in the stock room and pulling out some of the equipment they would need for the day.
“Then what? I thought you were like me. A thrill-seeker. Always in search of the next adrenaline high.”
“I get my thrills from extreme sports. That’s enough for me, thanks.”
“Zane, you’re young. Allow yourself to live a little. It’s only a bit of fun!”
“Matt, just leave it OK?” Zane had said. He’d had enough of the conversation. He didn’t want to, he couldn’t, tell Matt the truth.
But Matt had eventually coaxed the truth out of Zane about his relationship issues, and had tried to encourage him to date.
And then he’d met Holly.
He’d known he shouldn’t have got involved, he wasn’t ready, but he’d risked it. It had been a huge mistake. Even before he’d told her the truth…
Now, here he was, taking a risk on a relationship again – and he’d just found out Faith was the old girlfriend of his best friend and business partner. Wonderful. Good going, Zane. It looked as though life was about to mess things up all over again.
“Some of the new equipment is being delivered at the Centre tomorrow morning at nine,” Zane said as he made coffee for himself in the tiny kitchen. “You said you’d meet the delivery guy up there, didn’t you?”
“I did, and I will.” Matt shoved another spoonful of chilli into his mouth.
Zane looked over Matt’s shoulder and noticed he was reading the latest edition of Activate.
“Anything interesting in that?” he asked, stirring the coffee and throwing the spoon into the sink.
“Yeah, there’s an article about a new activity centre that has just opened up in Scotland. They’ve got some great ideas on activities we could adapt to Carrdale. Some good stuff with plenty of commercial potential I reckon.”
“I’ll take a look later.” Zane dumped the untouched coffee on the worktop. “I think I might head out for a while.”
Matt didn’t even look up from the magazine.
“See you later then.”
Closing the cottage door behind him, Zane noticed someone had parked so close to his car that you could barely squeeze a book between the two vehicles. He supposed he could just about manage to manoeuvre the 4x4 out if he could be bothered, but instead he opted to pull on his coat and walk down to the centre of the village.
The evening was clear, stars filled the sky, and there was a hint of autumn chill even though it was still only late August. Not sure where he was heading for he set off down the hill, trying to keep his mind on the pre-launch activity day they were holding at the Centre in a few days’ time. He was pretty sure most things that needed to be done for the day had now been sorted.
OK, he challenged himself, now find something else to think about that doesn’t involve Faith and Matt.
Reaching the bottom of the hill he noticed the pub was still open.
“Whisky, please,” he nodded to the barmaid. Thanking her and taking the drink he made for a table in the corner of the bar, picking up a newspaper from the rack on the way. He’d try to enjoy his drink and read the paper. That would distract him from thoughts of Faith and Matt, and just how involved they’d been as childhood sweethearts and during their years at university.
He knew it shouldn’t matter. Everyone had a past, old relationships, and complications. He certainly did.
But it did matter. Especially to him.