Free Unexpected Romance - 5 Romantic Short Stories by Norah C. Peters

day so she headed out for a long leisurely walk along the river by Kew Gardens. She lost track of time as she picked wild flowers and by the time she got to the Kings Arms she was debating whether or not to walk the long way home or to catch a bus when her phone buzzed a text. It was Sarah: "in pub, fancy a quick drink?"
    Sarah looked giddy when Helen found her sitting in her favorite spot by the open fire.
    "Did you enjoy your Sunday stroll Helen?"
    "How did you know where I was?"
    "I have my sources, you know, I have you under constant surveillance," Sarah laughed, "I was driving past and spotted you. You looked like you needed a good stiff drink."
    Two red wines later, Sarah whispered,"So, tell me, meet any hot guys on that dating site?"
    Helen crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Not yet. To be perfectly honest, it seemed like a good idea at the time but now I'm not so sure. Anyway, I went back to the site to log in and somehow I crashed my computer so I can't log in to check the messages. Actually, I can't even turn the computer back on, I think I need to get it repaired. I don't know what it is with me and technology, it just always seems to break."
    "Not again Helen, people like you shouldn't be allowed to use computers. That's the end of the online dating for the moment then." Sarah grabbed Helen's arm. "But you still need to get out there, don't use this as an excuse to hibernate, ok?"
    "I think I need a man break." Helen replied.
    Sarah persisted. "Get out of here. You've been on an extended man sabbatical for longer than I can remember, for someone with so much to offer you are the world's worst dater, seriously. Anyway, it's your life, I've nothing more to say on the subject."
    "What about you, Sarah? You seem exceptionally pleased with yourself. What have you being up to?"
    "I met a guy. And, Helen, you'll never guess where? I was sitting right here a few days ago and I got chatting with a guy who was standing by the fire to warm up. He was early to meet a friend and I was just about to leave but we swapped numbers. Nice guy, he works for the police, imagine that. Now, I really can have you under surveillance," Sarah laughed.
    Helen grabbed Sarah's hand. "That's great news. So, what's his name or is it a big secret?"
    "Jim!" Sarah beamed and laughed again.
    Helen rolled her eyes. "Oh God, I can tell you're going to be insufferable for the next few weeks. Excuse me while I go book a long holiday."
    "Very funny! Listen, Helen, I'm meeting Jim here this evening. He said he'll bring his friend. Why don't you come along too? His friend is his childhood best friend. Sounds like a nice guy, you might like him."
    "Look sis', I'm delighted for you, I really am but I seriously need that man break or sabbatical as you put it. Have a good time and text me to let me know how it went."
     
    *   *   *
     
    Tom picked up his phone and texted Jim back: "can't make it to the pub tonight. have fun". Tom paced the floor over to the windows of his penthouse and looked across the river to Kew Gardens, he admired the huge Victorian structure that housed the botanical gardens. It looked like a space ship parked inside the high garden walls and under the full Moon it glistened like wet silver.
    He really wasn't in the mood for meeting a girl. The sister of Jim's new crush. Whatever. This was the second text he'd received from Jim today. After a painful wait, Jim had finally got back to him about the image search - the computer had trawled all the social media sites and come up with nothing. He'd felt deflated the rest of the day, going out was the last thing he felt like doing.
    His phone beeped another text, who is it this time? It was his girlfriend: "It's over Tom, bye." Tom smiled, at least it wasn't all bad news. He'd had a long heart to heart with her over lunch and he told her straight it wasn't working for him, he just didn't feel a connection with her. She took it pretty badly but thanked him for his honesty. She agreed