Free No Ordinary Love (High Rise Novella Three) by Harper Bliss Page B

the beginning of any courtship?” Nat openly ogled the girls now and Alex stiffened at the sound of their giggles cutting through the air.
    “No. Of course it’s not.” Alex leaned over the table. “Are you saying you’ve been seeing other people?” Alex hesitated for a second. “Since you and Isabella got together?”
    “I haven’t been going out of my way to meet them. Isabella keeps me pretty occupied.” Nat met Alex halfway across the table. “And satisfied, I must add. But sometimes, when one is out and about, things…happen.”
    “What sort of things?” Alex couldn’t believe it. Maybe she’d been living under a rock of late, what with Rita resurfacing and the intensifying of her relationship with Maddie, but she’d assumed Nat and Isabella were a done deal from the beginning. She’d certainly never suspected Nat was still up to her old tricks.
    “No need to make a big deal out of it, Pizza.”  
    The smug smile on Nat’s face drove Alex crazy. She could deal with Nat the philanderer when she’d been single, but she couldn’t accept that kind of behaviour now she was with Isabella.
    “If you’re cheating on Isabella, I swear to you, I’ll never speak to you again.” Alex realised she’d recently fallen victim to over-complicating the matters of the heart in her own life, but this was just ludicrous.
    “I’m not cheating on her. We simply haven’t set the boundaries of our relationship yet. It’s only been a few weeks and I’m not sure if I’ll ever choose monogamy again.”
    Alex was at a loss for words. She knew the person sitting in front of her inside and out, but she’d never expected this. She’d always believed Nat’s loose ways were a means to waste time until the right woman came along.  
    Then it hit her.  
    She looked into Nat’s bright blue eyes and realised her best friend was scared out of her mind. Nathalie Orange was afraid Isabella would break her heart the way Claire had done and she was reacting in typical Nat fashion.
    “I know it’s scary. All these new crazy feelings crashing down on you and the insecurity accompanying them, but there are other ways to deal with them.”
    “Like regular exercise, you mean? Alessandra Pozzato’s cure for everything.” Nat went on the defence. Alex knew she’d hit the nail on the head.
    “Please, talk to Isabella about this before you ruin something really good.”
    “Don’t worry about it, Pizza. Isabella and I are fine. I like her, a lot. Despite the fact she’s fifty and, by the odd chance we’re still together in ten years, she’ll be sixty by the time I’m in my mid-forties. That’s a woman’s prime, you know.” Nat eased back into her chair, her eyes darting to the table with the girls. “Look at them. The very image of youth. Not a laughter line visible on their face and all they do is giggle.”
    “You speak as if you’re about to start menopause. That’s very dramatic, even for you.” Alex eyed the girls. They did nothing for her.
    “Drama is my job.” Nat sighed. “And I’ve come to know too much about menopause for someone my age.”
    Alex dug her wallet out of her bag and put some bills on the table. “Come on. I’m getting you out of here before you do something you’ll regret.” She extended her hand and Nat took it. She made Alex work for it and didn’t cooperate when she dragged her out of her chair.
    “How many?” Alex asked when they were on their way back home.
    “How many what?” Nat’s face was the picture of innocence, as if she didn’t know what Alex meant.
    Alex stopped to look her in the eye. “How many girls since you started dating Isabella?”
    “Does it matter?” Nat shrugged.
    “It should.” Alex suddenly felt like someone’s mother. “I know you Nat. I know why you do what you do. I’ve also never seen your eyes so vibrant and your demeanour so gentle as when you’re with her. Do this for yourself.”
    “I won’t fuck it up. I promise. I just need some