Roka waved us both away with a grin. “Please. You were just sucking face so hard at this bar, people were pulling up stools to stare in wonder. You want me to believe you just fell into each other?”
My face burned with the kind of heat that meant I’d turned an alarming shade of crimson, and my hand shook as I reached for my drink. The adrenaline from kissing Eliza coursed through my system, making everything feel too bright and too much. The last thing I wanted was to make conversation with a pop star. But I had no choice.
Roka signalled to the bartender, who greeted her with a fist bump, and lined up three shots of the liquid that got us into this mess in the first place.
“Believe it or not, that was our first kiss. Ever.” I stared at Eliza. I still couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“You’ve been wasting a lot of time if that was the first. I suspect there might be more to come.” Roka grinned, then raised her glass. “To you two, and to our future collaborations.”
I took a large gulp to cover my embarrassment.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier about collaboration and taking risks. I’m doing a festival next month in Suffolk. Why don’t you come as my guests? VIP backstage passes, stay in one of our fancy glamping tents.”
Eliza glanced at me, then back at Roka, her eyes wild. “One question: is there a lake?”
Roka laughed. “I’ll put it on my rider: no lakes. How’s that?”
I grinned, thankful that the spotlight had turned 90 degrees.
“Are you serious about the festival?” I was already thinking about what might happen in the glamping tent. The thought of being in such close quarters with Eliza, away from our normal every day, sent a thrill through me that had nothing to do with business partnerships. Look what had happened when we came to New York. Would we kiss again in Suffolk? Would the festival vibe make things escalate?
“Completely. It’ll be fun, and you get to see me in action. I did just witness you two in action, so fair’s fair.”
Eliza’s cheeks turned purple, but she gave me a slight nod and a shy smile.
I looked at her, then at Roka, and gave her a nod.
“We’d love to.”
Was Eliza thinking what might happen in the tent, too?
CHAPTER 15
The next morning arrived, and my brain was on a go-slow, the result of last night’s evil shots, along with a kaleidoscope of weird emotions pacing around it. I shuffled into the hotel’s dining room and found Eliza staring into her coffee. In front of her was a bowl of fruit and yoghurt, along with a pain au chocolat. She hadn’t touched either.
I wasn’t sure what to say. We’d skilfully avoided talking about the kiss last night and gone straight to our rooms when we got back to the hotel. Should I get my own table? No, that would be weird. I had to confront this head-on. I couldn’t afford any fuckups. I got myself a coffee plus scrambled eggs on toast, squirted some ketchup on the side, then slid into the seat opposite.
“Morning,” I croaked.
She glanced up and gave me a slow smile.
I tried so hard not to focus on her lips, but I’m pretty sure I failed.
“Apparently it is,” she replied. “You sleep okay?”
I nodded. “Like the dead. Which is what I look like this morning, too.”
Her smile got a fraction wider. “You look great. Just like always.”
Then she winced and lowered her gaze.
We sat in silence for several seconds, both of us finding our breakfast fascinating enough to warrant intense study. I swore my scrambled eggs rolled their eyes at me.
“So,” I said eventually, because someone had to break the silence and it clearly wasn’t going to be her. “Our flight’s tonight. We’ve got the whole day to see the city.”
“Mmm.” Eliza took a careful sip of coffee, like she was afraid any sudden movements might cause her head to fall off.
“What do you fancy doing? I mean, we’ve both done the touristy bits before.”
