Karen was already opting for the back seat, determined to throw Richard and Lisa together as much as she could. She introduced them as she got into the car.
 
     “Richard meet Lisa, our escapee from Scotland,” she said, before she climbed into the back of the car as elegantly as she could in her long black evening dress.
 
      Because Lisa wasn't interested in him for any other reason than him taking her to Vikki's party where Alan would be waiting, she hardly acknowledged him at all.
 
    “'Hi, nice to meet you, Richard,” she responded politely, as she sat down making sure the skirt of her dress was clear of the door before he shut it.
 
     Richard tried to make conversation on the way to the party, but Lisa hardly spoke at all. She just didn't seem to be interested. Richard was really disappointed - not in Lisa, God, she was even more gorgeous than the pictures he’d seen on face book, but she had barely looked at him as she got into his car, and she seemed to totally ignore him now he was driving them to the party. He thought he must be losing his touch.
 
      By the time they got to Vikki's house, the party was in full swing, and Lisa was relieved to see Alan's car in the driveway. He must have been one of the first there.
 
     As soon as they walked in the front door, Richard watched Lisa searching the faces of the people in the hall, and realised that her lack of interest in him might be for another reason. She was making it quite obvious with her body language that she didn't want to be with him, and when he'd tried taking her arm as they walked up the drive to the front door, she'd looked down at his hand as though he had a contagious disease. He looked over at her again now and saw her face light up as she recognised the face she wanted to see. That confirmed his suspicions.
 
     Alan had been waiting for Lisa to arrive at the end of the hall. When she walked in, the splash of red from her dress caught the corner of his eye and he turned to see her. Their eyes met, and she smiled radiantly at him, hoping he would be pleased with the way she looked. He was, and the expression on his face told her just how much. When he'd seen her in the dress at his parents' house he hadn't been able to react, but now it was different. Words couldn't describe how good she looked, and, how sexy. A couple of guys next to him started discussing what they would like to do to her, given half a chance, and he realised just how lucky he was, because she was his.
 
     He walked up to her and kissed the side of her face in a perfunctory greeting as Richard and Karen looked on. Taking her to one side, he put a small package in her hand and whispered in her ear.
 
     “You look stunning. I thought you might want to wear this for me...”
 
Lisa looked down at the beautifully wrapped little box before quickly putting it in her handbag.  She desperately wanted to know what was inside, and excused herself as soon as she could and escaped to the cloakroom where she could open it in private.
 
    He had remembered. It was a bottle of ‘Jean Paul Gautier’ perfume, and she immediately put some on the pulse points of her ears and wrists, taking in the heady scent as it tingled on her skin. It was the only thing she had been missing when she was getting ready to come out, and it made her feel sensual and alive.
 
     By the time she found him again, Alan was surrounded by people. When he saw her coming towards them, he excused himself and tried to get her alone, but his sister and the tall good looking guy, who he assumed was Vikki's cousin, got to her first.
 
     Richard immediately noticed that Lisa was wearing perfume which she hadn't been wearing in the car. He would have noticed it if she had because it was one of his favourites. He used it as an excuse to start up a conversation.
 
     “I love Jean Paul Gautier,” he said quietly. “It really suits you.”
 
Lisa looked impressed and stared back at him. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and they chatted for a few minutes until she saw the chance to speak to Alan alone. She tried to get away from Richard, but it was easier said than done, so she asked him if he could get her a drink .He was only away for a couple of minutes, but it gave Lisa time to make sure Alan could smell his gift on her. 
 
     “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear as the delicious smell hit his nostrils and he remembered the effect it had on him that first night when they’d had dinner at the hotel.
 
     “Pleasure,” he whispered back. “Meet me on the terrace at nine o'clock so that I can have you to myself for a few minutes. I've missed you...”
 
Lisa smiled and mouthed him a kiss before turning round to face Richard.
    
The minutes seemed to drag while Lisa waited to meet Alan, and she was actually glad of Richard's company, if only to make polite conversation and have a couple of dances. When she asked him what he did, he told her he was the junior partner in a law firm in London, and started fishing in his pockets. At last he found what he was looking for, and presented her with his business card. Lisa stared down at the card and smiling back at him, asked why he'd given it to her. Richard looked serious for a moment before he answered.
 
     “Oh, you never know, you might need my services one day - a quick divorce or something.”
 
Lisa laughed and offered him his card back.
 
     “That’s hardly likely. I’ve got to get married first.”
 
Richard chanced his luck. Vikki had told him all about Nick, and how Lisa had run off before announcing her engagement to him, but she hadn't said anything about her and Karen's brother, the one her eyes had lit up for. He used the card as an excuse to try and find out how serious she was about him.
 
     "Well you never know, I can't see you being single for long. You better keep it just in case...”
 
    “In case what?” she asked, as she absentmindedly put the card in her handbag.
 
    “In case it doesn't work out between you and Karen's brother. I would love to hear from you if it doesn’t,”  he added, then waited for her reaction.
 
Lisa's mouth dropped open as she stared back at him.
 
     “How do you know?” she stammered, feeling her face go bright red.”We haven't told anyone.” 
 
Richard smiled when he saw the embarrassment on her face.
 
     “You don't need to, it's pretty obvious from where I'm standing that you two are an item. The way you looked at each other when you walked in was a dead give-away.”
 
     Lisa started to panic, imagining Richard telling Karen, or anyone else for that matter. If Carla got wind of it before Alan spoke to her, it would be a disaster.
 
     “Does anyone else know?” she asked, and held her breath.
 
Richard put her mind at rest.
 
     “Not as far as I know. I'm sure Vikki would have mentioned it if she did, and I'm certain Karen doesn't know - or she wouldn't be trying to push us together.”
 
Lisa hoped he was right. She could imagine Karen's reaction if she found out. Before Richard went to get them another drink, he winked at her and smiled reassuringly.
 
     “Don't worry, your secret's safe with me,” he said, seeing how much the thought of anyone knowing was worrying her.
 
She smiled at him gratefully and started to relax. Hopefully, now that he knew, Richard wouldn't do anything to upset Alan and make him feel jealous. She asked him if he knew about Karen's bet when he returned with their drinks.
 
     “Yes, I know all about it.” he answered, pleased that he wasn’t the only one in on the scheme.
 
     “Vikki's told me all- and apparently,” he said, and bent down to whispered conspiritually in her ear.

     “Karen's bet Vikki fifty quid that we'll fall madly in love with each other and live happily ever after.”
 
Lisa looked back at him and laughed.
 
     “Poor Karen - not much chance of that happening, is there?”

 Richard eyed her up and down with a mischievous smile on his face   
 
     “Oh, I don't know - is this thing with Alan serious? I thought he was engaged to some girl who he's been going out with for years?”
 
Lisa looked embarrassed when she answered.
 
     “Very serious, but Carla, Alan’s fiancée, doesn’t know. That’s why we can't let anyone else know about us yet. She comes back from Spain soon, and Alan wants to tell her himself. It would be awful if she found out from someone else that it was over between them.”
 
     Richard was beginning to get the picture, and gave up trying to come on to her anymore. He took her glass from her hand, put it down, and took her arm before propelling her towards the dance floor.
 
     “If Vikki and Karen have a bet on, then let’s give them a run for their money.” he shouted, as they hit the dance floor and their voices were swallowed up by the music.
 
     Alan had been watching Lisa and Richard talking, and felt annoyed when he saw Richard bend down and whisper in her ear. To make matters worse, he now had to watch them dancing together. As she moved, Alan thought how beautiful Lisa looked, feeling jealous that the prat from London was dancing with her, instead of him. He checked his watch and was relieved to see that it was ten to nine. It wouldn't be long before he could hold her in his arms.
 
     At the end of the dance, Lisa excused herself and escaped to the terrace, frustrated at being away from Alan for so long. She was early, but it didn't matter, she needed the air to cool down her body because she was on fire. While she'd been dancing with Richard, she'd looked across the room, and seeing Alan watching her, she had moved her body seductively, just for him.
 
     Unbeknown to Lisa, Alan had spent the last ten minutes trying to get away from one of Carla's friends who wanted to know all the details about her return. But at last he escaped, and made his way out to the terrace, where he was relieved to see Lisa waiting for him.
 
     She stood with her back to him, her hands holding onto the balustrade, her head thrown back so that she could look up at the stars. She looked like she was bathing herself in moonlight. He couldn't resist encircling her waist when he came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. God, she felt good, he thought, smelling the beautiful scent of her perfume mixed with the intoxicating warmth of her skin. Alan was so turned on, he wished he could make love to her there and then.
 
     “Let's go home,” she pleaded, as she turned round to face him. She just wanted to be with him back at the flat, away from all the prying eyes and friends of Carla. He shook his head frustratedly.
 
     “We can't go yet, Vikki hasn't even cut the cake. Anyway, Karen will notice if we do.”
 
          Alan didn't care who caught them. He had to kiss her. When she tilted her face up towards him he took her in his arms and she felt her insides melting, wanting him, as she always did. Their kiss was like the first, when their bodies had ached for each other for days, and grew more and more passionate as their need for each other outweighed the chance they were taking.
 
     Richard watched them kiss from the patio doors where he was standing talking to Vikki's mother, and he wondered if they realised just how visible they were. At this rate, their relationship wouldn't be a secret for long. When he finished his conversation, he stepped out onto the terrace and coughed loudly to get their attention. Lisa saw him over Alan's shoulder.
 
     “Alan, we can be seen,” she whispered, as she pulled away from his arms.
 
Alan reluctantly let her go, annoyed at the interruption. He looked at her and knew that he couldn't wait until they got home. The frustration of watching her all night, seeing and hearing other men lusting after her, had nearly driven him mad already. He took her hand in his and led her to the terrace door where Richard had stood a moment before.
 
     “Let's find somewhere more private. There must be somewhere we can be alone, surely?”
 
     He led her through the party and up the stairs, oblivious of who saw them together.
 
     Lisa knew where the guest rooms were, from when she'd stayed the month before, and she led him to the door of the room where she'd slept. She checked inside, and finding it empty, dragged him inside.
 
     As soon as they had shut the door, Alan locked it. Safe in the knowledge they were away from prying eyes, they started kissing, and before long their newly found need to be as one took over. It was as though they were both turned on by the fact that they here in a strange place, and nobody knew where they were. Within minutes Alan had untied the ties at the back of Lisa’s dress, and it dropped to the floor like a red taffeta cloud around her feet. The sight of Lisa in the basque and stocking was more than Alan could bear.
 
     “God, Lisa, you look amazing...” he said, before taking her in his arms again...
 
 
 
     Nearly an hour passed before they made their way back down to the party, both still flushed by the afterglow of their lovemaking.
 
     Richard watched them come down the stairs pretending to be apart, but when he saw the luminescence of Lisa's skin, and the many escaped strands of her hair, he guessed at what had probably happened between them upstairs.
 
     When Lisa's eyes met with his, she blushed and looked away, confirming his suspicions. He watched her walk through to the conservatory where Karen was gathering everyone together because Vikki was about to cut the cake.
 
     Alan and Lisa were delighted at their timing, and happily joined the others as though they'd never been away.
 
     They sang "Happy Birthday" with everyone else, and as Vikki stood cutting her cake, Alan stood behind Lisa, wishing he could show the world they were together. He now knew he couldn't live without her, in every sense of the word. His desperate need to make love to her, after just a few hours apart, had proved it. The frustration of having to watch her talk and dance with other people, including Vikki's cousin for the earlier part of the evening, had driven him crazy.
 
     The next hour dragged by, until he felt he could take Lisa home without arousing any suspicions.
 
     At twelve-thirty, Alan looked for Lisa in the crowd of drunken party goers, and eventually found her in the lounge at the front of the house. He was slightly irritated to see that she was with Richard again. Unbeknown to Alan, he was the only guy at the party who Lisa felt safe with, because every other guy she'd danced with had tried to chat her up or paw her. They'd spent most of the evening talking, much to the delight of Karen, and Lisa had told him the whole story about how she and Alan had met and fallen in love.
 
     Alan tried to suppress his feelings of jealousy as he walked towards them, knowing that Lisa had proved, yet again, when they'd made love earlier, that she loved and wanted only him, but it was hard not to resent the ease with which they spoke to each other. When he looked at them talking, they looked like a perfect couple. They seemed to share a secret. It just never occurred to him that the secret was him.
 
     “I'm going now, Lisa. Do you still need a lift?” he asked, more curtly than he meant.
 
Lisa stood up and smiled, glad that he'd at last come to take her home. Like him, she wanted nothing more than to go back to the privacy of his flat where they could be alone in their own little bubble.
 
     Karen saw Alan standing in front of Lisa and Richard obviously waiting to take her home, and she was annoyed that he could be so selfish. Anyone could see how well Lisa and Richard had been getting on. Karen took it upon herself to try and stop Alan from dragging Lisa off.
 
     “You don't have to go now, Alan, do you?” she asked, then pulling him to one side, lowered her voice.
 
     “Don't drag Lisa away yet, Alan. She and Richard are getting on so well. She might not even want to come back with you - know what I mean?”
 
Alan couldn't believe what she was saying, and stared back at her looking angry and confused. Lisa, who was ready to go, came over and put her arm through Alan's and asked if they were going, only to receive a look from Alan which nearly rendered her speechless.
 
     'Well, we were, but Karen here informs me that you might prefer to stay and keep the super stud company for the night,” he replied with just a hint of sarcasm.
 
Lisa was determined not to let Karen's little scheme cause any more trouble. She forced a smile and looked up at him.
 
    “No, I'm ready for bed,” she replied, winking at Alan as she spoke, which made him feel ashamed for doubting her at all.

Karen had obviously got it wrong.
 
     Lisa turned to Richard to say goodbye, and whispered 'thanks' in his ear as he kissed her goodnight on both cheeks.
 
     “Pleasure,” he whispered back, and watched her leave the party, Alan by her side.