Free An Autumn Affair by Alice Ross

her life, Julia felt embarrassed by her car. Perhaps she should take Paul up on his long-standing, oft-repeated offer of a sporty Merc after all. It would undoubtedly impress Max a lot more than a ten-year-old battered Punto.
    ‘Do you bring all your ex-boyfriends here?’
    Her head continuing to whirr, Julia blushed to the roots of her hair. ‘Hardly,’ she tutted. ‘Should we sit outside?’ She indicated the pretty garden to the side of them, with half a dozen wooden tables and benches, none of which were occupied.
    ‘Perfect,’ said Max, looking at her in a way that implied he was not referring to the potted plants.
    With shaking legs, Julia chose the table furthest away from the parking area. Max slid into the seat opposite.
    ‘I can only stay half an hour,’ she said, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward.
    ‘That’s okay,’ he said, his soothing tone and the way he regarded her so intently causing Julia’s toes to curl. ‘I’m grateful you’ve come at all.’ Diverting his gaze to the sugar bowl on the table, he added, ‘I’ve thought about you a lot over the last few weeks.’
    A sweep of euphoria washed over Julia, which she desperately tried to quell. ‘Have you?’ she asked, silently kicking herself for how lame that sounded.
    ‘I even dug out some old photos,’ he admitted, his gaze meeting hers again. ‘We had some good times together, didn’t we?’
    Julia gulped, her eyes locked on his. ‘Great times.’
    For a few moments neither of them said anything as they continued to stare at one another. The moment was broken by the waitress coming to take their order.
    ‘Anyway,’ said Max, in a much lighter tone as the girl scuttled off. ‘That’s all in the past now. And I don’t suppose you would change a thing. You’ve got your husband and your lovely family.’
    ‘I have,’ said Julia. She opened her mouth to tell him it was all far from lovely, but promptly shut it again. Whingeing about her boring domestic situation would only make her sound pathetic. And why would Max be remotely interested in any of it?
She
wasn’t even interested in it. Probably because it wasn’t the least bit interesting. She’d much rather ask him questions about his past. ‘So what about you?’ she ventured. ‘Is there anyone special in your life?’
    At that moment, the waitress returned with their coffees and Julia held her breath, desperate to know the answer, yet dreading it at the same time.
    Max picked up his cup and raised it to his lips before replying. ‘There was someone. Ellie. An American fund manager. Very successful. Very beautiful. Very …’ He broke off. ‘We were together for four years but it didn’t work out.’
    ‘That’s a shame,’ muttered Julia, thinking it really wasn’t a shame at all. The woman sounded far too … very everything Julia wasn’t.
    Max shrugged. ‘Just one of those things, I guess. Nobody’s fault. We just kind of … drifted apart. Work and stuff. You know how it is …’
    Julia nodded understandingly, despite the fact she had no idea how it was. The nearest she’d come to being a career girl was delivering newspapers when she was fourteen. ‘Sounds like you’ve had a successful career,’ she said.
    Max wrinkled his nose. ‘If you measure success in monetary terms, then yes, I suppose I have. But I can’t honestly say I’ve ever enjoyed my work. You know what I really wanted to be … a history teacher.’ He blurted it out – at exactly the same time as Julia.
    They laughed. Their gaze fused and something warm and velvety melted in the pit of Julia’s stomach.
    ‘You remembered,’ he said, beaming at her. ‘And what about your career ambitions? Did you become an interpreter for the United Nations?’
    Julia leaned back in her chair, suddenly feeling at ease. Two decades might have passed since they’d seen each other but this was still the same old Max. The Max she had loved to distraction. ‘I wish,’ she confessed. ‘My career