‘There’s nowayyou’re going out in that excuse for a dress.’
‘I think you’ll find I am.’
‘Take it off, Scarlett.’
‘Quit treating me like a child, Gregory.’
‘Then quit acting like one.’
‘I hate it when you say that to me.’
He moves towards me. ‘I can take it off or you can.’
‘No.’
He grabs my hand and pushes it against his length, hard beneath the dark denim of his jeans. ‘Do you feel that? I’m nothaving other men looking at you and getting a hard-on, Scarlett. Take it off.’
Oh how I’d love to stay home and fix his problem.
‘Fine.’
‘Fine.’
As soon as I manage to wiggle free of the dress, I throw it in a heap on the floor and start rummaging again through the hanging clothes. ‘There’s nothing I want to wear.’
‘You really are cranky tonight, Miss Heath; what’s gotten into you?’ It’s a rhetorical question, more to make his point than actually obtain a response, so I don’t bother offering one. But I am insanely cranky; that I would both have to agree with and blame him for.
‘Here.’ He holds out a black, strapless all-in-one, fitted to the waist, with tapered bottoms. ‘This is nice. It’s sexy and sophisticated and other men won’t be able to see my spanking target if you bend over.’
Despite myself, I giggle, and take the jumpsuit from him.
‘You look stunning,’ he says as I descend the stairs to the lounge. ‘Ready?’
I nod, afraid to speak in case I accidentally forgive him for the list of things that’ve made me mad at him in the last few days. He slips a grey blazer over his black T-shirt and pulls on his leather ankle boots.
We drive to Clapham in the Range Rover. A thoughtful choice of vehicle for two women in heels. He beeps the horn once and Amanda comes running, tugging down her short, raspberry dress as she moves. She slips into the back seat, still fastening her jewellery. ‘You look yummy, hunny,’ she says,popping her head through the gap between the front seats to give my outfit the once-over.
‘You too. New dress?’
She winks with a grin. ‘It’s allowance day.’
Gregory shakes his head. Amanda still gets a monthly allowance from her father and Gregory finds it as unbelievable as I do. Gregory worked hard for everything he has. At twenty-eight, he wasn’t living on Daddy’s money; he was a multimillionaire. This is just another reason my boyfriend and my best friend can’t seem to get along.
‘Chelsea please, driver,’ she says, Gregory’s jaw tightening in response.
‘Are we meeting Luke there?’ I ask to change the subject.
‘Mm,’ she says, using her teeth to hold her bracelet in place as she fastens the lock. ‘And Shelley. Emily and Harry said they might see us out.’
‘Lawrence’s niece?’
‘Mmhmm.’
‘Perfect. It’s been weeks, no, probably months, since I’ve seen Shelley and it’d be nice to see the others if they make it. Where does Shelley live since she moved out of your place?’
‘Mm, near Monument, I think. I haven’t seen her for a few weeks either. She met a new guy, blah, blah.’
Luke is waiting on Kings Road, bouncing on the spot in dark jeans, waistcoat and blazer, a sign of just how cold it is without a cloud in the late-November sky.
