Free Tripping on Love by Carrie Stone Page B

he did. Deep down she knew the fact of the matter was partly that she had fallen out of love with her husband. Chris on the other hand – Chris was sensitive, loving, and fun; everything Miles used to be.
    'Darling, I was talking to Adam the other day. He mentioned there's a corporate sailing weekend in Cowes we may like to attend. I thought you might enjoy it?' Miles' voice cut into Stella's thoughts. He looked up, waiting for her reaction.
    Stella stiffened; the last thing she wanted was to spend a full weekend with her husband. Did he really expect after six months of being unavailable that she would want to pander to his wh ims for forty eight hours solid?
    'Hmm sure, but what will we do with the kids?' Stella asked, distracted. 'Emily's already told us she wants to cut down on weekends.'
    Emily was the children's nanny. The type of woman who was unfortunate enough never to have been taught how to dress feminine or apply make-up, the end result being a woman that lived in baggy trousers and oversized t-shirts with her hair scraped back.
    Stella had been dying to make her over for the past five months, but short of taping Emily to the dressing table, she was having none of it. She had said on more than one occasion that the girly look wasn't for her and she felt comfortable in her baggy masculine clothes. Stella secretly wondered if Emily was hiding a set of testicles in the jeans. It would make sense as to why she also had a slightly hairy chin.
    Miles ignored Stella's comment. He was already engrossed once again in the finance section of his newspaper.
    Stella looked at his neat, clean cut appearance. His short, cropped blonde hair, perfectly waxed into place. She thought back to the days that she'd found him irresistible. He'd been young and ambitious and such a catch for his age.   One of the only men she knew at the time to drive a Porsche and rent their own apartment within minutes of the city.
    Stella on the other hand, had been poor and lazy. Her sole ambition to find someone that could give her a wonderful life and take care of her. How she'd tho ught she'd hit jackpot when he asked to take her for dinner. The romance had blossomed and within a year she was a banker’s fiancée, socialising with the women she'd often admired, those who lunched at exclusive hotels.
    Nearly ten years later, Miles was still oblivious to the knowledge that Stella had spent the first couple of weeks prior to their date, stalking him.
    Aged just twenty-two, Stella had first spotted him at a restaurant where she was on a date with a property lawyer. She had purposely suggested the upmarket, out of town venue, because her date looked more suited to an OAP day out, than her attractive young self. She hadn't minded; the lawyer drove a Bentley and paid for her every whim.
    Miles had been dining with colleagues when he'd caught her attention on the way to the ladies room. He had an encapsulating aura about him and Stella knew from his expensive watch and suave suit, that he was exactly what she'd been looking for.
    She had made it her business in the weeks that followed to check out his status. Eventually a chance meeting, whereby she had strategically bought a coffee and waited outside his office to bump into him, brought them together. The coffee spillage down her new smart but provocative top, triggered his gentlemanly and generous ways as she'd expected. Before she knew it, they were laughing over fresh coffee and cake.
    The relationship developed far sooner and more deeply than she'd expected. Not only had she landed her catch – she'd fallen in love with him too.
    'Right - I must dash. Big meeting this morning with the board about the merger' Miles folded his newspaper and stood up, walking closer to her, adjusting his tie. He looked serious, lost in thoughts of work. His eyes softened as he neared his wife. She really was beautiful. He was the luckiest man alive.
    Miles finished straightening his tie and leaned towards