In the Name of Love by Katie Price

door, fully expecting to be kept waiting for the next half-hour while her friend finished straightening her hair, curling her lashes, or doing any one of the many beautifying rituals she deemed it essential to perform before a night out. But Zoe was even further behind than usual as she opened the door in her white towelling robe, without a scrap of make-up on. It would be a miracle if they got to the restaurant before midnight. Charlie was about to tell Zoe to pull her finger out when her friend groaned and said, ‘I’m not going to be able to make it, I’ve got terrible period pain.’ She really did look awful.
    ‘Oh, babes,’ Charlie exclaimed, ‘I won’t go then. I’ll stay with you and we’ll watch a film.’ She sounded sympathetic but actually she was thinking,
Bugger! I really want to see Felipe!
    ‘No, I’ve taken some strong painkillers and I’m going to crash.’
    ‘Are you sure? Maybe I should stay in case you need anything.’
    ‘For Godsake, it’s period pain, not a life-threatening illness! Go to dinner.’ Zoe hobbled over to the bed and lay down. ‘Dress looks good … I knew you’d rock it. It’s designer so I will kill you if you spill anything on it. Now get out of here!’
    Charlie blew her friend a kiss as she left.
    She took a deep breath before she walked into the beach-front restaurant. It had been a long time since she’d been out on a date. TFB had made it hard for her to trust men. There is nothing so crushing to the self-esteem as being cheated on, but meeting Felipe made Charlie feel that it was definitely time for her to move on. Immediately the attentive maitre d’ led her to the table where Felipe was sitting alone. As Charlie walked over she was suddenly gripped with self-doubt. Was the dress too short? Would Felipe think it slutty? Did she
want
him to think it was slutty? And where was Luis?
    ‘You look beautiful,’ Felipe told her as he kissed her twice in greeting.
    So did he, in a long-sleeved white linen shirt and black cotton jeans.
    ‘Where’s Luis?’ asked Charlie as she took her seat, tugging down the dress as far as it would go.
    ‘He has some urgent work to attend to. He sends his apologies.’ Felipe paused. ‘And where’s Zoe?’
    ‘She’s not feeling very well.’
    Felipe seemed to be trying not to smile and Charlie got the distinct impression that she had been set up. She bet Zoe had just pretended to be ill! She glared at him.
    ‘What?’ he asked. ‘Is it so very bad that it is just you and me?’ He poured her a glass of champagne.
    ‘No,’ Charlie conceded. ‘It’s not. It’s just that I’m out of practice at all this.’
    ‘This?’
    ‘Going out for dinner with a man.’ She hesitated. ‘The whole flirting thing.’ Shit! She could actually feel herself blushing!
    Felipe raised his eyebrows. ‘So you are flirting with me then? And there I was thinking we were just friends.’
    ‘Don’t tease me!’
    At that Felipe reached for her hand and lightly kissed it. ‘For you, anything. But tell me why are you out of practice? You must have men falling over themselves to be with you.’
    Charlie sighed, reluctant to bring up the subject of TFB, but if she didn’t her attitude would appear odd. ‘My ex cheated on me. It was humiliating and hurtful.’ She bit her lip. ‘I thought I was in love with him. Apparently he didn’t feel the same way. And since then … I haven’t met anyone I even wanted to go out with.’
Until now
, she thought.
    ‘Ah, Charlie, not all men are like that. And he was an idiot to do that to you.’
    ‘Yeah, I know.’ And she smiled at him.
    Felipe took the smile as a sign that she wasn’t going to run away from him – not just yet anyway. He could see such strength and resolve in her character, and yet he had also glimpsed a vulnerability that intrigued him. Paloma, his ex-girlfriend, had been supremely confident, breezing through life as if nothing affected her. Their relationship had been