I noted his attire in equal measure. Still in his suit, his tie sat off to one side and his shirt was creased. Remembering how Gloria Chalmers’s husband had stopped putting in effort for her on the appearance front, my smile faltered. But refusing to dwell, I counter-argued with the fact that Gideon had come straight from the office.
Alex continued to look uneasy. Anyone would have thought he was attending an interview or meeting his in-laws for the first time, not a flatmate’s partner. Not that he needed to worry. Like I’d explained, Gideon wasn’t the jealous type. ‘Gideon, this is Alex, the lodger I was telling you about. Alex, this is Gideon.’
The two men stared at each other and as the silence between them grew, so did my discomfort. I leaned towards Gideon. ‘Aren’t you going to say hello,’ I said, nudging him into action.
‘Yes. Er, sorry.’ Gideon cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘And you,’ Alex replied, deadpan.
Watching them shake hands, I thought Gideon’s grip appeared overly firm, and I glanced around embarrassed, hoping no one else had picked up on that. Observing events from his favoured seat, it appeared Ted had and even he, with his farmer’s hands, winced. Alex, however, stood his ground.
‘Alex is an artist,’ I said, desperate to defuse the tension. ‘A creative like me.’
Gideon nodded to Alex’s sketchpad. ‘So I see.’
Embarrassed by his dismissiveness, my cheeks reddened. Gideon might have been a numbers man, but he could have at least pretended he was interested. To make matters worse, Alex clearly recognised disdain when he heard it and picking up his artwork, he moved it out of sight.
Gideon indicated my glass of wine. ‘Another one of those please, barman.’
Questioning if Gideon had had a bad day or if he wanted to humiliate me, I leaned into him again. ‘You mean “Alex”.’ I said, keeping my voice low.
‘Excuse me?’ Gideon clearly didn’t care who heard what.
I glared at him. ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, but it needs to stop now.’
Gideon harrumphed.
Placing a second glass next to mine, Alex stood in silence and as my gaze went from one man to the other, their increasing animosity towards each other showed no sign of abatement.
Gideon picked up our drinks and indicated a table. ‘Shall we?’
I shook my head, wondering what had got into Gideon. Yes, Alex was tall, dark and handsome; qualities that could be deemed intimidating. But they weren’t an excuse for Gideon’s behaviour. Julia wasn’t lacking in the looks department either, but I’d never once taken out my insecurities on her. More to the point, Gideon would have been furious if I’d tried.
This was not how I’d expected their introduction to go. I looked to Alex. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Following in Gideon’s footsteps, I watched him empty his trouser pocket of his phone and keys. Placing them on the table, he sat down, leaving me to take the opposing seat.
I frowned. ‘What was that all about?’
‘I don’t know what you mean?’
‘I’m talking about how awful you were just now?’
‘Was I?’ Gideon asked, drinking his wine. ‘I didn’t realise.’
Refusing to accept that for one second, I glowered. ‘You’re going to have to do better than that.’
His resolve dissipating, Gideon sighed. ‘If you must know, I don’t think he should be moving in. I mean, how well do you know him?’
I know he didn’t deserve the way he was just treated,I thought.Alex was chatting amiably with Ted. Running through what I’d learned, I knew he was as close to his grandma as I had been my gran. That he was a twin, and his family weren’t local. I knew he was a budding artist and had a great sense of humour and a kind listening ear. ‘If you must know, not that much. But…’
‘So you could be inviting a serial killer into your home.’
‘That’s hardly likely,’ I replied.
‘Andthat’snot the point.’ Gideon again picked up his drink.
I stared at him. In all the time we’d been dating Gideon may have had the odd sulk, but he’d never reacted to any situation like this. ‘What’s really going on here, Gideon?’
