Free Desperately Seeking Heaven by Jill Steeples Page A

side.’
    I looked across at the dining table. It had been laid with a heavy white linen cloth, a candle was flickering at the centre and with the lights dimmed it created a mellow, romantic atmosphere.
    ‘Besides,’ I added, ‘tonight will be the perfect opportunity.’
    ‘A perfect opportunity for what?
    ‘To have a séance! You’ve been here for over a week now, Jimmy, and there’s no sign of you being moved over. I’m worried the longer it goes on the harder it will be to make the transition. Let’s ask the spirits for help. I’ve had a look on the internet, it all seems quite straightforward. And if anyone can give us some answers it will be them.’
    Jimmy frowned, giving me a scathing look.
    ‘Absolutely not, Alice. Promise me you’ll never try that. Don’t you know how dangerous those things can be? We might make contact with the wrong type of spirits entirely and get ourselves into a whole heap of trouble. You don’t know what you’re messing with.’ He stormed over to the fridge, yanked open the door and pulled out some vegetables. ‘Are you really that desperate to get rid of me?’
    ‘No, it isn’t that, Jimmy. You can stay for as long as it takes.’ I paused, looking across at him, his arms laden with food, my heart tugging at the hurt expression on his face. ‘I love having you here and, oh my God, it will be so quiet and lonely when you’re gone, but I know that you don’t really belong here. This isn’t fair on you. Aren’t you desperate to get wherever it is you should be going?’
    He shrugged, the corners of his mouth twisting in a smile.
    ‘Oh, I don’t know, I quite like it here,’ he said softly. He released the ingredients in his arms onto the worktop and wandered over to where I was standing. He stood opposite me, and grabbed my arms, his gaze penetrating my face.
    ‘I’m sorry. I know it must seem as though I’m not being very pro-active in getting myself out of your hair, but that’s only because I don’t believe there’s anything I can do. I don’t think it’s one of those things you can force. Don’t ask me how I know that. It’s just something I feel inside here.’
    He tapped his heart with his fist, his sincerity shining through.
    ‘I think when the time is right, I’ll be taken across regardless of anything you or I might be doing. And I honestly don’t think it will take that long. A couple of weeks at the most. Do you think you can put up with me until them?’
    ‘Of course I can. It’s not about that. It’s just that I feel responsible for you. It’s as though I’ve been handed this task of looking after you, of making sure you get to your spiritual home, and I feel completely frustrated that I’m unable to live up to that task. I feel like a failure if you must know. If I’d been at work, I’d have probably been sacked by now.’
    ‘Nonsense,’ he said with a smile, stroking my hair away from my face. He was that close I could smell his masculine scent, see the pores of his skin and feel his breath on my face. The air between us sizzled with electricity. ‘You’ve been doing a brilliant job at looking after me. I’ll tell you something, some of the five-star hotels I’ve stayed in haven’t been half as good as this place. And it’s not as though you haven’t tried getting rid of me. That ceremony in the field with that irate farmer was inspired! Why it didn’t work I have no idea!’
    ‘Oh stop it!’ I felt my face flush with heat at the memory. Or was it from the close proximity of Jimmy? I wasn’t sure. I only knew my stomach was tense with anxiety and desire. I didn’t want to admit to Jimmy just how much he had come to mean to me in such a short space of time. He had enough to think about without worrying about me and the silly crush I was nursing. Being a TV star, I guessed he was used to that kind of attention, but in his current predicament I was certain it was the last thing he needed. I sighed and gave a rueful shrug.