Falling for Mr. Mysterious

She was starting to feel a tiny bit better already. Of course, there was still a sickening ache in her chest whenever she thought about her former boyfriend, Michael, and a stomach-churning twist of appalling guilt whenever she thought about the wife and children he’d conveniently forgotten to mention. But just getting away from Wandabilla had helped. At least no one knew her here in Brisbane and she didn’t have to face the gossip and curious glances.

The restaurants were filled with diners, talking and laughing and generally having a good time, and as Emily passed each doorway, she caught snatches of music and chatter and sensational appetising smells.

She came to a stop outside an Indian takeaway.

‘Is this what you fancy?’ Jude asked.

‘I would love a curry. We only have Chinese in Wandabilla, and I adore Indian.’

‘Indian it is then,’ he said, stepping inside. ‘Too easy.’

‘Are you going out of your way to oblige me, or are you always this easy about meals?’

Jude’s eyes shimmered. ‘When it comes to food, I’m a pushover.’

They ordered two kinds of curries—one meat and one vegetarian, as well as steamed rice and naan bread.

‘And samosas,’ said Jude. ‘For entrée.’

Heading back to the apartment with their mouthwatering packages, he suddenly took a left-hand dive into a supermarket and emerged moments later with an armful of bright yellow daffodils.

‘Wow—’ Emily swallowed her surprise as he handed the sunshiny blooms to her ‘—what are these for?’

‘I’ve heard you need cheering up.’

‘Oh.’ It was the lovely sort of thing Alex would have done. Perhaps Alex had given his housemate instructions.

‘That’s so sweet,’ she told him, feeling suddenly, unexpectedly grateful, and just a tiny bit weepy. Impulsively, she stood on tiptoe and gave Jude a kiss on the cheek. To her surprise, a dark tide of colour stained his neck.

Afraid that she’d embarrassed him, she quickly changed the subject. ‘Should we get something for breakfast while we’re out?’

‘Of course. Sorry. I’ve been a bit distracted lately.’

For the briefest moment, Emily saw something else in Jude’s grey eyes—just a flash of a darker emotion that might have been anxiety or fear. It was gone almost as soon as it arrived, but it made her wonder if he’d been distracted by more than his work.

She couldn’t exactly quiz him about it, so she turned her attention to their shopping, choosing food she thought a guy might like—eggs and bacon, and then a punnet of blueberries, a tub of yoghurt and a bag of good quality coffee. At the cash register, Jude insisted on paying, warding off her protests with a grim fierceness that was hard to fight.

A slight awkwardness descended as they hurried back to the apartment, laden with their purchases.

In the kitchen, Jude set the takeaway tubs on the table, then found cutlery and plates.

‘Where do you normally eat?’ Emily asked, not at all surprised when he frowned again. She’d already decided that his thoughtful purchase of flowers had been an aberration, and from now on she should probably expect frowns and grimness.

She half expected Jude to tell her that he preferred to eat on his own, hidden away in his room in front of his computer.

But he said, ‘Here’s OK, isn’t it?’

‘Of course.’ Emily tried not to look too surprised or pleased, but she couldn’t deny that she would prefer his company to being left alone with her own unhappy thoughts. She shot him a cautious smile. ‘What about wine? Would you rather red or white?’

‘Actually … I’m not drinking alcohol.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’ve given it up. Temporarily.’

Once again, she thought she caught a flash of emotion, as if there was something else, a deeper worry that haunted Jude. For a second she thought he was going to say more but, if that was his plan, he quickly changed his mind.

‘I won’t have wine, either, then,’ she said. ‘It’s not a great idea to drink alone.’

‘But you’re not alone.’ Jude was insistent. ‘Go on. Have a glass. It’ll do you good. You want to drown your sorrows, don’t you?’

If only she could just drown her sorrows and be rid of them. But the pain would still be there when the effects of the wine wore off. Just the same, as Jude peeled silver foil from the wonderfully aromatic tubs of curry, Emily poured herself a glass of white and gratefully flopped down in a seat.

‘That smells amazing. I didn’t eat lunch.’

‘Neither did I. I’m starving.’

At first they were both too ravenous to bother with conversation, but there were plenty of appreciative groans and nods of approval as they helped themselves to the food. Emily, however, hadn’t been able to eat much since she’d found out about Michael, and it wasn’t long before she had to call a halt.

‘My eyes were bigger than my stomach,’ she said as she watched Jude help himself to more curry. She sipped her wine instead, then because he was starting to look more relaxed, she gave in to her growing curiosity. ‘I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how long have you known Alex?’

He looked surprised. ‘Why would I mind? I’ve known him for about five years. As I said earlier, I’m a writer. Alex is my agent.’

‘Oh? Really?’ So they had a business relationship as well as a personal one. ‘That’s a handy arrangement.’

Jude frowned at her, as if, yet again, he found her comment puzzling. ‘Yes, it is. Very handy.’

‘What do you write?’

‘Thrillers.’

She gaped at him. ‘As in thriller novels?’

‘Afraid so.’

‘How amazing.’ Now it was her turn to be surprised, and she stared at her mysterious host with new respect. ‘Should I have heard of you?’

‘Not unless you like reading thrillers.’

Emily liked reading crime novels, and she didn’t mind a thriller plot, but she mostly read books written by women writers because they had more female characters in their stories. ‘I’m not keen on the really blokesy books,’ she said.

Jude actually smiled at that. ‘To be honest, neither am I. In fact, I always include at least one major female character in every story.’

‘Well—’ her respect for him was growing by the second ‘—I should be reading your books then, shouldn’t I?’

His head dipped in a mock bow.

Before Emily could ask anything else, he held up a hand as if to stop her. ‘I think that’s enough questions about me.’