An Unexpected Gift by Lily Zante Page B

us.”  Caitlin listened attentively. The sound of Daniel’s
voice calmed her. She held the phone closer to her ear, as if the very act of
doing so would bring him closer to her.
    But
news of filing charges against the man who had attacked her, and the inclusion
of Carl back into her life which this implied, sent her raised spirits crashing
to the ground. Not that she had any reason to be raising her hopes just because
Daniel had phoned her. He’s married.  She reminded herself yet
again.
    “What
are you going to do?” she asked, playing with the telephone wire. How did he
get my number?   Then she remembered that Kerrie had told him where she
worked. It didn’t take a genius to get through to someone’s work number if you
had their name and place of work.
    Daniel
paused before he answered. “I was hoping we could meet up and discuss that.”
    Her
face flushed and she was thankful that he couldn’t see her.
    “Okay,”
she replied slowly.  He could sense the hesitancy in her voice. She
reminded herself that there was nothing else intentional in their meeting. They
had both been party to a vicious attack and if the police wanted to file
charges, it made sense that the two of them, as victims, would want to discuss
what their next course of action would be.
    “Tonight’s
good for me Caitlin. You?”
    She had no social life at
the moment and every night was free in her calendar, lately.
    “Tonight’s
good.” She replied.
    “See
you at six then. Where do you want to meet?”
    “Holborn
station?”
    “Sounds
good. See you later Caitlin.”
    Why
are you calling me? And why do you want to meet? Why not just discuss this over
the phone?  But instead she
said, “See you at six.”
    Caitlin
spent the rest of the afternoon trying to concentrate on her work. It was all
so complicated. Carl, the bastard. And now Daniel, her savior. Maybe that was
painting things in black and white. But Daniel literally was the exact opposite
of everything Carl had been.  And try as she might, she couldn’t stop
thinking about him.
    But
the stark reality of his circumstances, that he was married and had a son, quickly
put an end to any thoughts she might have started to have about him.
    Was
it wrong of them to meet this evening? Surely the police would not encourage
two victims to discuss a crime? Part of her didn’t want to meet him because she
found him attractive.
    Yet
even though she had resolved to have nothing to do with men this year, she
still found herself thinking of Daniel. There was something about him, and she
was sure it was not all to do with his looks. It was to do with the fact that
he had saved her. He had come to her rescue when another man was beating her
up. Wasn’t this the stuff that many young girls dreamed of? To be rescued by a handsome
stranger? He made her feel safe and their awful ordeal bound them inextricably
together.
    The
fact that he was so good looking further added to the attraction.
                                                                                        
    Daniel
hung up having spoken to Caitlin. He was looking forward to seeing her this
evening. He was even more relieved that she had agreed for he had sensed some
hesitancy from her. As far as he was concerned, it had been fortuitous that
they had run into each other at the weekend. He had been thinking about her,
even though he had promised himself he would have nothing to do with women for
now.
    But
the way they had been bought together, in such vicious circumstances, made him
feel a special bond with her. It wasn’t anything that he could put a finger on
or explain. She wasn’t even his usual type.
    He
normally found himself attracted to women much taller, not necessarily blond,
but taller and more obviously model looking. And look where that had gotten
him. But he couldn’t deny that for the past few weeks he had been thinking
about Caitlin.