12 Days to Find a Husband

Chapter 8 - Mr Right or Mr Wrong?

Anna-lea's day had been drama filled to say the least. She had forgotten all about Hettie and the cats and had decided to go to Hilda's place first to make amends. Her hot bath, a trashy romance novel and a bottle of wine were quickly back on her agenda for the evening after her spirits had been raised by John Benton, but she'd wanted to see Hettie first.

Hettie had been glad to see her. The cats were too. They missed Hilda's affection and were all over Anna-lea as soon as she'd walked through the door, meowing and rubbing themselves around her legs.

"Yes, yes, I've missed all of you too. Have you been fed tonight?" she'd asked them in the baby type cat voice she reserved wholly for communication with them.

"Yes, I've just fed them," had come a voice from behind her.

Anna-lea had nearly jumped through her skin. She'd thought she'd been alone with the cats and hadn't seen or heard Hettie walk into the room.

After hugging Hettie and cuddling the cats some more, Anna-lea had made her apologies and quickly left, promising to catch up with Hettie the next day. She knew Hettie needed more from her as she was alone and still very much in a state of grief, but she was so drained and knew she needed to look after herself first, starting with a hot bath.

Within minutes she was finally soaking in hot water with a rejuvenating bath bomb Tracey had given her for Christmas and both her weary body and mind were thankful for it. She had decided to forgo the trashy novel and bottle of wine and just soak in the tub until the heat left it. Anna-lea was never more grateful for Tracey and her gift. She could feel the aromatic lavender oil relaxing her muscles. She closed her eyes and slipped under the water to take in their full effects. All Anna-lea could hear now was the sound of her own breathing. It was slow and rhythmic. She stayed like that for as long as she could until she had to come back up for air. She thought to herself what a pity it was that she couldn't breathe underwater. It was one of her favourite places to be, whether it was just in a bathtub or in the ocean, she loved it. Water always made her feel calm and at peace.

As Anna-lea surfaced, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind; John Benton. He must have been waiting for her call so they could exchange insurance details. Immediately she was flustered again. That poor man trusted me to call him and I haven't, she thought.

Quickly she stood up and made her way out of her beautifully warm bath. She'd have to heat it back up in a minute. It was only a phone call and shouldn't take too long, she thought. She grabbed her bath sheet and wrapped herself up in it. Rain was still bucketing down outside and the temperature had dropped significantly. So much for summer, Anna-lea thought to herself, hugging the fluffy towel tight to her body.

She made her way out to the lounge room, grabbing John's phone number out of her wallet on the way and picking up her phone that was sitting on the coffee table. Taking a seat on her plush lounge, she dialled his number. It rang four times before it was answered.

"John Benton."

"Hi. It's Anna-lea Warrington here. Sorry it took me so long to call."

"Hello. No, don't worry, it's fine. I wasn't really expecting your call this evening," he lied.

"Oh, really?" she said, surprised. "Well, in that case, sorry for disturbing your evening. I thought you would be anxious about the accident if I didn't call with my insurance details."

"I wasn't anxious. I knew I could trust you. Anyone who takes responsibility for an accident isn't going to do a runner. And you're not disturbing my evening at all. In fact, I was just wondering what I was going to do with my evening. Can you suggest any nice restaurants or anything? It's been so long since I've been here and everything seems to have changed so dramatically."

"Sure. So, you're from out of town, are you?" Anna-lea asked, intrigued by this man.

"Yes. I grew up here but moved away when I was quite young. I'm only in town for business for a few days and thought I'd be spending the evening with my brother tonight but, apparently, he had other plans."

"Your brother? His name wouldn't happen to be Gregory would it?"

"Yes it is. Do you know him?"

"Lawyer? Lives in Holgate?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Well then, unfortunately I do," Anna-lea replied, remembering how rudely Gregory had spoken to her this afternoon and then had hung up on her.

"He can be a bit of a dick, can't he?" John said, all the while wondering why Anna-lea hadn't fallen for the handsome lawyer already. Most women did, until they realized he was still hung up on his dead wife and they'd never get anywhere with him. Still, John was happy about it and wanted to work fast.

Anna-lea laughed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh, but the way you said that so matter-of-factly, it just hit my funny nerve."

"Laugh away. It's true."

"So I take it you and he don't get along famously then?" Anna-lea asked. "Or am I being too personal asking you that?" she added.

"No, not at all, it's fine. Ask away. In fact, what are you doing tonight?" John asked.

"Ah, I was taking a hot bath and had planned on having a quiet night in," she replied.

"I'm going stir crazy in this hotel room and would appreciate some company. How about I pick you up and we share a nice meal and chat about Greg and the insurance details, my treat?" he asked.

"Oh, that's really nice of you but it's not a great night to be out and I've had a really horrible day," Anna-lea replied, torn between spending the evening with someone who seemed nice and genuine or soaking in a hot bath. Due to the weather, the hot bath had the advantage.

"Okay then. You've had a horrible day and the weather is, quite frankly, excuse my French, shit. How about I grab a pizza and a bottle of wine and I come to you? That way you don't have to go out in the rain, you get dinner delivered and I get the privilege of some fabulous company."

Although Anna-lea had just met John, she felt she could trust him and she figured she could have the best of both worlds. She'd have enough time for at least a ten-minute soak in the bath and then not have to worry about cooking and she'd also get to spend some time with a man that may be someone she could add to her list of potential suitors. It worried her though, that she was now viewing every man she met as a potential husband.

"That sounds lovely," she replied, taking the bull by the horns and deciding to jump in.

"Great! Just let me grab a pen and I'll jot down your address," John said with enthusiasm, all the while thinking Anna-lea was playing right into his hands. By morning he'd have her wrapped around his finger.

After giving John her address and telling him which restaurant served the best pizza, she hung up the phone and gave a little yelp of delight before rushing back to her bathtub to enjoy a ten-minute soak. Tonight's going to be fun, she thought to herself, happy that her day was going to end on a high note.