‘Like what?’
‘My ex-girlfriend is here,’ he says, wincing. ‘She followed me to the airport in LA and just booked herself onto my flight.’
My jaw drops open.How many ex-girlfriends does this man have? Is the world littered with them?
‘Which ex-girlfriend?’
‘It’s Birdie,’ he says, exasperated as he rakes his hand through his hair. ‘She’s waiting in the limo. She’s… well, she’s a bit…’ I watch him struggle with what to say next. ‘She’s become a bit unhinged.’
‘Birdie has become unhinged? Why? How?’What has happened between them? Did she twang her suspenders against the soft, creamy skin of her milky thighs once too often for him to resist?
Matteo shrugs. ‘She was the one who sent me the photo of you and… Luke kissing. She kind of follows you on social media. Like, obsessively. Alerts and everything. Sorry.’
Gah!I make a mental note to switch off the alerts I have set up for Birdie’s social media.
It’s my turn to ask the questions. Just in case he probes too deeply into what level of social media stalking is deemed unacceptable. I’d hate for him to lump me in with Birdie. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing going on between the two of you? I mean, sheisFrench.’
Now all I can picture is Birdie lounging, topless, an arm flung above her head as she insists that Matteo does aTitanicon her.‘Paint me, Jack. Paint me like one of your French girls.’Or is it draw me? Sketch me? Shag me? I’ll have to do an internet search for it when we get to the hotel. But either way, in my mind’s eye, Birdie has her perfect, alluringly cruel, man-stealing breasts out on full display. Perfect cherry macarons.
Matteo smiles at me. Thankfully, he seems quite unaware of the horrified fascination I have developed with his ex. ‘Nothing is going on. She’s claiming she’s here for work purposes, too. She’s meeting some new client who is huge, which puts me in rather a difficult position trying to keep her on-side, but really, it’s because she’s jealous. A bit like Luke, I guess.’
‘Well, then. Maybe we should introduce them to each other. They seem to have a lot in common.’
Matteo squints back over to where Luke is still hiding behind the pillar. He lets out another resigned sigh. ‘I’ll go have a word with him.’
I watch Matteo march forcefully over to Luke. Luke appears startled. Even though Luke is taller and very expensively dressed, Matteo, in his shorts and T-shirt, has such a commanding presence and authoritative air that Luke instantly takes a step backwards. I see the two of them talking. Luke is shaking his head. Then he looks crushed. Then he hangs his head down and holds up his hands. Now he seems to be getting a second wind, trying to negotiate, but Matteo is having none of it. I realise I’m holding my breath; my whole body is tense, wondering what it is they are saying to each other. And, finally, Luke glances guiltily in my direction before Matteo marches back towards me. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking. He seems neither pleased nor displeased.
But I hope this gives Luke the reality check he so obviously needs.
‘I’ve told him to leave us alone,’ Matteo says on approach.
My stomach does a flip. He’s so cool under pressure. So ‘no-nonsense’. So authoritative. Decisive. It’s incredibly horny to witness.
‘What did he say?’ I manage as a wave of lust rips through me.
Matteo tips his head to the side, a frown forming on his brow as he folds his arms. I try not to focus on the small round bulges that appear, straining against the fabric of his T-shirt. I’ve always had a weakness for a toned bicep. Especially a tanned one. ‘He said he’s here for work and nothing more because he already tried proposing to you and it didn’t work.’
Ah.‘It was meaningless. Such an empty gesture, as proposals of marriage go.’
‘And that you threw it back in his face.’
I did indeed.‘He was being impulsive. Rash. It was all very on-the-spur-of-the-moment. It was nothing really.’
Matteo digests what I’m saying. ‘He said something about the two of you staying at York’s exclusive luxury five-star spa hotel. He thinks you turned him down because it wasn’t a grand enough gesture.’
‘Well, erm, about that… It’s not that the hotel wasn’t good enough, or that we were staying theretogethertogether. Well, we were. But in separate rooms because he lied. I forgot to tell you that part. He completely lied about the upgrade.’
‘Funny, because he also said you weren’t entirely truthful about not being single.’
Yes, the delay. How do I explain the delay in telling the truth?
‘And because of that, he developed feelings for you.’
Gah!‘He’s just needy for attention. And I never told him I was single. I just didn’t tell him you and I were in a relationship… because I wasn’t sure if you thought we were exclusive or not.’
Lame. Very lame.
‘That’s not all. He thinks you’re destined to be something to each other, because he saved your life.’ Matteo is giving me an incredulous look. ‘Is that true? Hesavedyour life?’
