‘Jesus, Ellie! You can’t just bring a random man back to our house. You’re not Mum.’
‘Excuse me,’ growled her mum, and Nanna cackled.
‘What if he’d robbed us?’ Mark glared at her as he began tearing open the post, only to discard the contents in a scrunched-up pile.
Her mother seemed alarmed by the prospect, while Nanna’s lips twitched with amusement as she sipped her tea. ‘Good luck finding anything worth pinching.’
‘Nanna’s right, and believe me he’s got no reason to rob us.’ Ellie turned away with a roll of her eyes. Unfortunately, the swift movement only made her stomach roll, and she had to take a steadying breath.
‘How do you know, you only met him last night.’
Her patience broken, she turned on Mark like a provoked animal. ‘Because he’s Alex King, for fuck’s sake!’
‘Language,’ Nanna reminded her firmly.
‘Sorry,’ Ellie mumbled, before scowling at her brother with full force. ‘He’s Alex King, the movie star. What would he want tosteal from us? Flowers? Gift bags? Maybe our excess supply of novelty tea towels?’ She pointed at an offensive example by the sink that depicted the royal family as corgis.
For the second time that morning, Ellie enjoyed the stunned faces of her family. Or she would have, if it hadn’t led to even more questions.
‘Alex who?’ asked Nanna, apparently baffled.
‘Oh my God!’ gasped her mum, quickly making the sign of the cross. She leaned forward, her voice a whisper. ‘Really? Alex King?’
‘Yes,’ Ellie huffed, finally managing to tease out her favourite mug, shaped to be a black cat’s head. She held it close to her chest for a moment as if it were a security blanket.
‘Really?’ cried her mum, making Ellie question the wisdom of her revelation for the hundredth time. But she supposed this was better than Mark calling the police.
‘Yes, really. Now, be quiet before he hears you.’
‘Morning, everyone,’ came a sexy voice from the doorway, and Ellie died a little inside.
She spun to face him, still clutching her favourite mug to her chest.
Alex looked…glorious.His hair was mussed, his clothes rumpled, but he still looked as if he’d fallen out of a magazine shoot.
‘Hi,’ she squeaked. Why the hell was she nervous?Perhaps, Ellie, because you agreed to go on a date to an awards show with a Hollywood star last night?She shook her head. He’d probably forgotten all about his drunken invitation, or more likely she’d imagined that part of the night; the drinking game had been a bad choice.
‘Hiya, my name’s Angela,’ her mum said, and Ellie frowned at the breathy softness of her voice.
Oh God, she wasn’t going to chat him up, was she?
‘Hello.’ Nanna grinned and offered a little wave, enjoying this far more than was seemly for a woman in her eighties.
‘All right, mate?’ said Mark, with a gruff cough.
‘I’m good, thanks,’ replied Alex, oblivious to the fact it was a greeting and not a question. ‘And you?’
‘Yeah… erm… All right.’ Mark grabbed a slice of toast from Mum’s plate and made his way out. ‘Best get opening the shop. Nice to meet you, Alex.’
Nanna patted the vacant chair beside her as Mark left. ‘Alex, come and sit down, love. After a night out with our Ellie, I’m thinking you could do with some tea and toast.’ She appeared so innocent in her rollers and flannel. Ellie was immediately suspicious but, at Nanna’s pointed look, she quickly got to work making some breakfast for Alex. Lack of hospitality was a crime against nature in her nanna’s book.
‘You guys are all up early on a Saturday,’ remarked Alex with a faint blush, sweeping back his hair with a brush of his hand that made her stomach flutter.
‘Mum, Nanna and Mark run the flower shop together. They’re all early risers.’
‘Ah yeah, it looks awesome, I caught a peek last night. Ellie tells me it’s been in your family for several generations, that’s amazing.’
Nanna’s face lit up like a winning slot machine. Alex couldn’t have said anything better to get her on his side. ‘We’re very proud of it, thank you. It’s been in my family since before the First World War, and before that we had a flower stall…’
