Archie cleared his throat and shrugged. ‘I suppose I just… I assumed.’
Caitlin shook her head. ‘Why on earth would assume that I’m gay? I have a daughter.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Gay people do have kids, you know; these are the twenty twenties not the eighteen twenties.’ He seemed quite perturbed. ‘And… it’s just that… I’ve known you for years, but you’ve never had a man in your life that I’ve seen. You’re not married, or divorced, that I know of. And so… I just guessed…’
Caitlin folded her arms across her chest. ‘Well, you guessed wrong.’
‘Aye. I know that now. I’m sorry.’
She glanced around, but everyone was back to their own conversations. ‘Don’t apologise. I’m not offended. Just a wee bit shocked, that’s all.’
He shrugged. ‘I’ve got lots of gay friends, you know. I don’t judge,’ Archie informed her.
She gritted her teeth. ‘Again, Archie, I’m not a lesbian. I’m a heterosexual woman. I like men. With men’s bodies and beards and… men.’
He held up his hands. ‘Aye, I know now, I was just saying.’
‘Well, don’t!’
Archie gave a sad smile. ‘Look, I’ll go. I get the feeling I might be cramping your style. I didn’t exactly help get your evening off to the best start, did I?’
Feeling a little deflated, Caitlin told him, ‘It’s fine. I think I’m going to go home anyway. I… I shouldn’t have come.’
‘No! Don’t do that. Not because of me. I’ll feel crappy if you go. Mingle a bit. You never know, your dream man might be in this very room.’ He gestured around dramatically before leaving her alone.
Caitlin glanced over his shoulder at the other attendees who were all deep in conversation and sighed. ‘I sincerely doubt it.’
Perhaps her dream man was currently serving pizza to her daughter instead. She thought back to Lyle’s smile and compliment when she dropped Grace off. He was quite attractive, she’d always thought so, but had pushed that thought to the back of her mind, seeing as he was a married man… although now he was single. He was around forty-five, tall, stocky and had grey hair and a neatly trimmed beard. In fact, there was a look of that TV chef, Paul Hollywood, about him. Not that he had shown any interest in her, but after Archie’s revelation, she wondered if he thought she was gay too. Then again Grace had just announced to all and sundry that she was desperate. Not that she had used those exact words, but she may as well have.How to put a man off in one easy step.
She finished her drink and gazed around the room. Lots of people had already paired off and were chatting merrily, some were even getting quite cosy. Archie had moved on from the first woman he’d been talking to and was now heavily ensconced in conversation with another. She had seen him with several women over the years, no one had ever really stuck around. It wasn’t that he was repulsive, he certainly wasn’t, but he had always seemed quite set in his ways. Although she didn’t exactly know him well – they were more acquaintances than friends really – but his businesses, the outdoor shop, the campsite and his IT work, all seemed to take precedence over his love life, something she was all too familiar with, but evidently, he was trying to change that, just like she was.
‘All right? Can I get you another?’ a rather handsome man asked, nodding towards her glass. He was a fair bit younger than her and had an attractive face and smiling eyes. His T-shirt was tight and showed the outline of his muscular chest and arms.Down, girl!
She sat up a little straighter. ‘Oh, that would be lovely, thank you.’ She smiled warmly and was on the verge of deciding that perhaps the evening was about to improve. ‘Just a J—’
‘Aye, it’s okay, I served your friend with the first round, I remember.’ He winked, collected her empty glass, and walked across the room and behind the bar.
‘Ugh… seriously. Talk about too good to be true,’ she chuntered to herself, feeling a little foolish for thinking he had been flirting with her.Sod it, I’m definitely going home now.
She stood and began to walk towards the door.
‘Hey, you’re not heading home, are you?’ Archie asked, appearing with the stealth of a ninja and making her jump.
She huffed. ‘Yes, Archie. I don’t think this is the type of event for me. You seem to be doing okay though.’
Archie crumpled his brow. ‘I do?’
She laughed and whacked his arm playfully. ‘Come on, Mr Smooth. I’ve seen you handing your number to a couple of women this evening.’
Archie grinned and his cheeks coloured. ‘Oh, that. Nah, it was all work stuff. One was asking about camping in the area for her friends from down south in England, and the other was needing a virus clearing from her computer.’ He shrugged. ‘I think I must project a kind of oracle-cum-handyman aura, rather than a come-hither one.’ He laughed. ‘No nibbles at the worm for me tonight.’
‘Archie! That’s so rude!’ Caitlin was shocked by his turn of phrase, and what man would refer to his todger as a worm? Eeuw!
Archie’s eyes widened and he appeared horrified. ‘Oh no, you misunderstood! I meant… you know, like fishing?’ He mimicked casting an invisible rod. ‘Plenty of fish in the sea and all that? That I’m here fishing, not trying to get a woman to nibble my—’
Caitlin held up a hand to stop him. ‘Right, I get you. My apologies.’
He rubbed his chin and hesitantly said, ‘Look, there’s a singles event across on the mainland next weekend. A kind of speed dating thing. It’s at a hotel in Kyle of Lochalsh. Do you fancy car sharing? Maybe there’s strength in numbers, eh?’
