Laura's Locket Page 4
I’m sure my eyes widened. ‘How did—’
‘Couldn’t miss that! Saw you next to her, and I hoped you’d head this way.’ He grinned again. ‘Didn’t think you’d literally fall into my arms though!’
I rolled my eyes, then scanned the table again, this time for the registration sheet. ‘Where do I sign up?’
‘Uh, here.’ He handed me a form.
As I filled it out and checked the activities schedule, Tim moved away. I glanced up as he removed his cloak and brown tunic, and slipped on a T-shirt. His back faced me and I got a good view of his wide shoulders. He had mentioned a lunch break, and I wondered whether walking around campus dressed as a Viking could get you beaten up!
He was an attractive guy, but in a different way from Philippe. But then, few men could compare physically to him.
Argh! I shook my head to dislodge his image from my mind. I had an hour before I was to meet Angie, so it couldn’t do any harm to accept Tim’s lunch invitation. Besides, it was time to put Philippe behind me.
Tim said something to another attendant, a girl dressed in a Jane Austin-style dress, who handed out information leaflets. She nodded and alerted the other attendant, a guy dressed as a Roman soldier.
‘Yeah, mate—go,’ the guy said to Tim, before going back to demonstrating the use of a sword to several admiring male students.
‘Tim,’ I said. ‘That lunch offer still on?’
His beaming smile gave me the answer. ‘So, what are you majoring in?’ he asked as we walked off the green to the Student Union Building.
‘Dip Ed,’ I said. ‘I think I’ll enjoy teaching little kids.’
He nodded. ‘Nice. I’m doing honours in Archaeology.’
There was a vacant table at one of the cafes on the ground floor. ‘Are there any jobs in that?’ I asked.
‘Soon find out!’
We ordered Thai, sat down and talked. His grey eyes sparkled when he spoke of going on digs, here and overseas. ‘I need several seasons of fieldwork to qualify. Then maybe go for an academic position.’
‘Don’t you need a PhD for that?’
‘Yup. It’s gonna be a long haul.’ He lifted his polystyrene coffee cup in mock salute.
I smiled, wished him the best, and it occurred to me, that I really hoped he’d achieve it. That surprised me. I was beginning to like this guy, but I had no intention of developing any deeper feelings. I would concentrate on my studies, enjoy new friendships and immerse myself in university life.
Yet there was something appealing about Tim, the animated way he spoke about life, his funny anecdotes and the silly pick-up lines he told me he’d used. As he talked, I laughed till my sides ached.
I’d glanced at my watch. Where had that hour gone? ‘Oops, gotta go.’
‘Can I see you again? Here’s my number.’ He extracted a pocket notebook, scribbled something down and handed it to me. ‘Call me. Please.’
I scribbled mine on a napkin and passed it to him. ‘Likewise.’
Back at the marquee, we said goodbye—for now—and I met up with Angie.
‘Ex-cell-ent!’ She said after I told her about Tim. ‘Go for it, Laura. I’ve been so worried about you, mooning over that other guy. Forget him and move on.’
‘I have.’ I really have.
At home that afternoon, I pulled out Philippe’s locket and gazed at it. That familiar ache I’d lived with for the last four weeks surfaced for a moment, but with far less intensity.
Since the clasp was broken, I tied a knot in the chain and hung it on my dresser mirror, to dangle there with my other accessories. It would be a constant reminder not to give my heart away so easily—the pain was too great. It would take a special man for me to ever fall in love again.
I heard the hallway phone ring. A few seconds later Mum called up to me. ‘Laura? Do you know someone called Tim?’
‘Goodbye Philippe,’ I whispered as I closed my bedroom door and dashed down the stairs.
THE END
If you liked this story, please leave a review, and if you want to find out who or what Philippe is, you’ll find the answers in BLOODGIFTED, Book 1 of The Dantonville Legacy series.
Here’s a tempting glimpse:
Laura is speaking—
My initial shock at being confronted by Jean turned to anger. I slapped his hand off my face. ‘Don’t you ever place your hand on my mouth!’ The last time someone did that I had been terrified and terrorised. The memory made me shiver.
‘I’m sorry. I don’t want anyone to disturb me up here. No one comes to this part of the house anymore. It’s become my secret place,’ he said as he reached up behind me and pulled down a hook on the wall. ‘What are you doing here, anyway?’ He spoke lightly but there was a strange edge to his voice.
It was incredible the way he reminded me of Philippe. Even his voice was similar—from what I remembered, but it was so long ago.
I twisted out of his hold and moved away from him. ‘Wandered up here to take a look. Alec and Papa mentioned the ballroom as the perfect place to hold the Pledge.’
‘You know Luc’s your father? When?’
‘After the Ritual. They told me everything.’
‘Ah.’ He cocked his head to one side, the way Alec did sometimes.
A nervous tingle ran through me. I recalled the strange way Jean stared at me at the time and his lingering touch on my face in the hospital.
‘You kept the locket I gave you in Sorrento.’
I froze. How did he know? Philippe had bought me a silver heart-shaped locket and asked me to wear it always. I promised I would, but I’d been only eighteen. I’d kept it all these years as a memento and it hung on my dresser-mirror alongside my other pieces of jewellery. Had he been in my bedroom?
My stomach plummeted as the realisation hit me. He’d been in my flat, in my room, with the others the night I was taken. Jean… No! The anxious face gazing at me now was not Jean. It was Philippe. Philippe!
I had no doubt. Here before me was the young man I’d met in Italy when I was eighteen. He was handsome and I’d had the biggest crush.
Compared to the boys I had known in high school, his was the first manly kiss I had experienced. It was the most wonderful holiday of my life and I didn’t want it to end, but it did, suddenly. He disappeared—never showed up on our last date. I thought I would die, but I didn’t. I grew up and he eventually receded to the memories-you-treasure part of my mind.
‘Philippe?’ I stared at him in disbelief.
‘You do remember.’
* * *
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1aEgeT1
Smashwords - http://bit.ly/17LUkOu
itunes/iBooks - http://bit.ly/1bNmAV7
Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/15go3yj
Kobo - http://bit.ly/GHz6qC
* * *
Connect with the author at:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TimaMariaLacoba
Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/TimaMariaLacoba
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6154201.Tima_Maria_Lacoba
Website: https://www.timamarialacoba.blogspot.com