The Importance of Being a Bachelor by Mike Gayle Page A

virtually forced his way inside Megan had been so distressed that she had sobbed inconsolably from the moment he arrived to the moment he left. And though he loved her more than life itself Luke knew he couldn’t do that to her again and so he never did. Lost and alone at the age of thirty-one, it was all Luke could do not to fall apart. Then one day a few years later he chanced upon Cassie, the girl who would change his life, and suddenly he found hope where there had been none. But the mystery of what had caused Jayne to turn against him in that cruel way had always remained.

‘Not a clue.’
    It was the following Monday evening. Russell was staring blankly at his section of the fridge looking for inspiration when his mobile phone rang. He expected it to be Angie with updates on the latest news that her ex-boyfriend Aaron was finally getting round to moving out of her flat but when he casually looked at the screen, it was all he could do not to drop the phone.
    Cassie calling . That was what the screen was saying. Cassie calling . It had been over a month since Russell had heard about her and Luke’s engagement. It had really hurt. Being surrounded by all of his family congratulating the happy couple while inside he felt nothing but rage and self-loathing. Excusing himself straight after the meal under the guise of having a crisis on at work Russell had made his way over to Angie’s and told her everything. ‘This is it, Russ,’ she had said. ‘This is your chance to move on. Cassie’s got her man and she’s gone for good but now you’re free, don’t you see? You can grab your life back and do something really special with it. You have to move on, Russ, you have to.’
    Russell agreed wholeheartedly. It was time to move on. It was time to get a life. He had spent too long wanting something that he was never going to have. His brother’s happiness was about to set him free and so he had avoided the Bachelor Sunday lunch in a bid to rid Cassie from his system.
     
    ‘Hi, Russ, it’s me.’
    Luke tried to regulate his breathing. ‘Hi, Cass, how are you doing?’
    ‘I’m really good, babe. Work has been a bit of a bind but that’s only to be expected. If work isn’t a bind then it isn’t really work, is it? How about you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks. Where have you been hiding yourself?
    ‘Oh, you know how it is,’ said Russell. ‘Things have just been a bit mad. I’ve had to work on a couple of Sundays and then Mum was saying that you and Luke were away this Sunday. Did you go anywhere nice?’
    ‘It was absolutely amazing. Luke booked the two of us into a luxury spa hotel just outside Cheltenham for two whole nights! All we did all weekend was eat, sleep and get massaged.’
    Russell swallowed at the mental image of Cassie lying semi-naked on a massage table and tried to blink it out of existence but it wouldn’t budge. It was as though the image was burned on to the inside of his retina.
    ‘So, is this just sort of a catch-up call? Only if it is, could I call you back some time as I’m sort of running late for a thing.’
    ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Russ,’ replied Cassie. ‘There’s me gassing on and making you late.’ She sighed. ‘What’s happened to us, Russ? I miss the days when you used to drop by unannounced with a bottle of wine and we’d spend the night yakking about nothing. You do know that you’re my favourite brother-in-law-to-be, don’t you? I mean, Adam’s lovely but you’re the real cutie of the Bachelor clan.’
    Russell was lost for words. ‘I . . . umm . . . I . . . er . . .’
    ‘I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I? A girl shows a bit of affection and you’re straight back into your fortress of solitude! Well, before you spontaneously combust I’m going to take my leave but I want you to promise me that you’ll come round and see us for a proper catch-up, plus we can talk over some ideas I’ve got for your mum and dad’s fortieth. How does tomorrow