her private social life. The lovers from those two worlds were strictly segregated, her
diaries a miracle of modern planning.
The idea of marriage was anathema to Roz, a silly game she neither wanted nor needed to play. Other
women’s husbands were fair game, but the thought of getting one of her
own quite simply chilled her. Before you knew
it he’d be demanding to know where you’d
been the night before and searching your pockets for clues.
No, lovers were far more sensible and
understanding, and until now she’d always
been lucky.
Nico, it went without saying, was divine. Her horoscope
had warned her that she was in for a spectacular weekend and it had been even better than that. Meeting him at one of
Loulou’s famously debauched parties and spending the next three days in
bed with him had been a coup by anybody’s standards.
After that her very lack of interest had bound him to her
and now, over a year later, the affair was
still going strong. As long as Nico continued to propose marriage to her
and as long as she refused to accept, there
was no reason why anything should happen to spoil it .. .
Darling Sebastian on the other hand .
. . Roz’s lips curved into a
smile at the thought of him. Sebastian would never dream of asking her to marry
him, yet their long-standing affair meant more to her than almost anything else
in her life. What could be more romantic, after all, than a relationship forged
over fifteen years ago and maintained between two countries for such an amazing length of time. Sebastian took pride in her
career successes, whilst spiralling equally dramatically up the banking ladder in Zurich. They were a couple of achievers,
he was fond of telling her, who had
their lives under perfect control and knew
how to keep them that way. The brevity of her flying visits to Zurich and his own occasional weekends in
England when he could manage to
juggle his schedule were exactly what
they both needed to keep their relationship exciting and alive. And if
Roz ever felt that maybe their time together needn’t be quite so ruthlessly
rationed she made sure she kept those thoughts
to herself. She and Sebastian were two of a very particular kind and she wasn’t
going to do anything which might risk frightening him off.
No, Sebastian and Nico were perfect, just as they were.
Jack had been fairly perfect, too. Until he
had gone and spoilt everything, of course, by reminding her that
somewhere, deep down, she did still possess the tattered remains of a
conscience.
’Talk to me, Nico,’ said Roz with a hint of impatience. ‘I
don’t always just want sex, you know.’
‘You surprise me,’ Nico grinned, sliding his hand slowly
up her thigh and experiencing the usual thrill when he reached the top of her
sheer silk stocking and the even silkier texture of warm, bare skin. Stockings
and suspenders never failed to turn him on, even if his hand seemed to be
having quite the opposite effect upon Roz this evening.
‘Sometimes,’ she continued crossly, removing the offending hand as if it were a dead animal, ‘I’d
prefer it if you treated me as a friend instead of a lover.’
Nico
responded with a wink. ‘Can’t we be both?’
Glaring at him, Roz snapped back: ‘Can’t
you be serious?’ God,
he was purposely trying to irritate her and tonight of all nights she could do
without it, she thought with rising frustra tion. Sebastian would have taken her
seriously, would have realized
that she wasn’t in the mood for jokes – if he weren’t in bloody Zurich. Jack was out of the window now, so
Nico was all she had left. She really
needed another man, she decided, closing her eyes and falling back
against the chaise-longue.
Nico rose to his feet, crossed to the drinks cabinet and
poured himself a large Scotch.
‘ So tell me what’s on
your mind,’ he said eventually, still with his back to Roz. ‘It is man trouble,
I take it?’ It cheered him somewhat to discover that the thought of Roz
with
diaries a miracle of modern planning.
The idea of marriage was anathema to Roz, a silly game she neither wanted nor needed to play. Other
women’s husbands were fair game, but the thought of getting one of her
own quite simply chilled her. Before you knew
it he’d be demanding to know where you’d
been the night before and searching your pockets for clues.
No, lovers were far more sensible and
understanding, and until now she’d always
been lucky.
Nico, it went without saying, was divine. Her horoscope
had warned her that she was in for a spectacular weekend and it had been even better than that. Meeting him at one of
Loulou’s famously debauched parties and spending the next three days in
bed with him had been a coup by anybody’s standards.
After that her very lack of interest had bound him to her
and now, over a year later, the affair was
still going strong. As long as Nico continued to propose marriage to her
and as long as she refused to accept, there
was no reason why anything should happen to spoil it .. .
Darling Sebastian on the other hand .
. . Roz’s lips curved into a
smile at the thought of him. Sebastian would never dream of asking her to marry
him, yet their long-standing affair meant more to her than almost anything else
in her life. What could be more romantic, after all, than a relationship forged
over fifteen years ago and maintained between two countries for such an amazing length of time. Sebastian took pride in her
career successes, whilst spiralling equally dramatically up the banking ladder in Zurich. They were a couple of achievers,
he was fond of telling her, who had
their lives under perfect control and knew
how to keep them that way. The brevity of her flying visits to Zurich and his own occasional weekends in
England when he could manage to
juggle his schedule were exactly what
they both needed to keep their relationship exciting and alive. And if
Roz ever felt that maybe their time together needn’t be quite so ruthlessly
rationed she made sure she kept those thoughts
to herself. She and Sebastian were two of a very particular kind and she wasn’t
going to do anything which might risk frightening him off.
No, Sebastian and Nico were perfect, just as they were.
Jack had been fairly perfect, too. Until he
had gone and spoilt everything, of course, by reminding her that
somewhere, deep down, she did still possess the tattered remains of a
conscience.
’Talk to me, Nico,’ said Roz with a hint of impatience. ‘I
don’t always just want sex, you know.’
‘You surprise me,’ Nico grinned, sliding his hand slowly
up her thigh and experiencing the usual thrill when he reached the top of her
sheer silk stocking and the even silkier texture of warm, bare skin. Stockings
and suspenders never failed to turn him on, even if his hand seemed to be
having quite the opposite effect upon Roz this evening.
‘Sometimes,’ she continued crossly, removing the offending hand as if it were a dead animal, ‘I’d
prefer it if you treated me as a friend instead of a lover.’
Nico
responded with a wink. ‘Can’t we be both?’
Glaring at him, Roz snapped back: ‘Can’t
you be serious?’ God,
he was purposely trying to irritate her and tonight of all nights she could do
without it, she thought with rising frustra tion. Sebastian would have taken her
seriously, would have realized
that she wasn’t in the mood for jokes – if he weren’t in bloody Zurich. Jack was out of the window now, so
Nico was all she had left. She really
needed another man, she decided, closing her eyes and falling back
against the chaise-longue.
Nico rose to his feet, crossed to the drinks cabinet and
poured himself a large Scotch.
‘ So tell me what’s on
your mind,’ he said eventually, still with his back to Roz. ‘It is man trouble,
I take it?’ It cheered him somewhat to discover that the thought of Roz
with
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