She hadn’t told Alan about him. It wasn’t any of his business. And besides, she still felt more than a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. Looking back on it, how she could have walked into his shop thinking he’d fall head over heels for her, or even dream that he would give her a second glance, was enough to screw her insides up with shame. Yet he had seemed to be taken by her, or was that just his stock in trade? She still didn’t know what to think, in fact preferred not to think about it at all if that was possible, mortified as she was by her behaviour. She could imagine him smirking over it, if he still remembered it enough to smirk – accepting Alan’s invitation for a date had taken some of the sting out of it and it had gone on from there. She’d always been keen on Alan but felt nervous of getting too serious for the moment. For one thing he might see her as a handy convenience after his unhappy marriage, and for another, was she ready to get involved, also being on the rebound, so to speak, now that her own silly hopes had been nipped in the bud?
