Mattie blew her a kiss. “Hey, cupcake.”
Nell snorted, and some of her awkwardness melted away. “Cupcake?”
“Maybe that’s not quite right for you.” Mattie made a show of pondering. “Sweet peach? Snugglebutt?”
“Stop it.”
Mattie tilted her head to one side. “You’re looking gorgeous tonight. Did you wear that shirt just for me?”
“Of course.” It wastheshirt. The one she’d never been much bothered about before but now loved, because it had brought her and Mattie back together. She took in Mattie’s blue plaid shirt with the top two buttons unfastened. “I like yours too. Feel free to undo the rest of the buttons.”
“Oh yeah?” Mattie toyed with the button closest to her breasts and then flicked it open.
Nell’s toes curled as she remembered what the exact same scenario had led to in London. “On second thought, you should stop. Virtual sex is one step too far to get my inhibited little self around quite yet.”
“Shame. Although ‘quite yet’ suggests you might at some point. I’m all up for that.” Mattie scrunched her nose adorably as she squinted at the screen. “Which room are you in? I don’t recognise it.”
“I’m at the table in the kitchen diner. You were only here briefly, so I’m not surprised.”
“Yeah, I was too busy berating you and being out of order.” Mattie ducked her head. “Not my finest moment.”
“It happened. We’ve wiped the slate clean. Please don’t apologise again.” Nell was relieved when Mattie acquiesced with a small nod. “Are you facing that stunning view from your living room?”
“Yes.” Mattie turned the screen, but all Nell could see was darkness with blurred lights from the sprawling buildings below.
Nell’s lips twitched. “I prefer the view of you.”
Mattie switched the camera back onto herself as she sat down again. “I know it’s only been two days since you were here, but it feels longer.”
“Sitting through hours of a parliamentary enquiry will do that to you, I imagine.”
Mattie squealed in obvious delight. “You’ve been watching me.”
Busted. “Yes, I’m aWorldwide Newsconvert, even though you were only on today’s programme for a nanosecond.”
“Parliamentary inquiries rarely make for avid viewing. I’m only there because of the rumours around the health minister’s political future.” Mattie held her finger up. “No more work talk.If virtual sex is off the agenda, let’s plan when we can next do it again for real.”
Nell opened the calendar on her phone. “I can definitely make the weekend of the 1st and 2nd November. I just wish it wasn’t three weeks away.”
“I’ll be desperate for you by then.” Mattie fidgeted. “I wish you were here now.”
“Me too.” On screen, Nell saw Mattie’s face blossom with heat. “For someone who went over a decade without sex, I seem to have gone rogue, because being with you is all I’m thinking about.” In the middle of inane meetings. While clearing away old crops in the vegetable patch. At the supermarket while staring at the fish counter. She shook her head as an increasingly familiar ache grew between her thighs.
Mattie’s laugh was husky. “You’ve got that spaced-out look on your face I recognise. Are you sure virtual sex is off the cards?”
“I’ve got Google Maps open,” she said, trying to sound serious.
“Damn.” Mattie hammed up her disappointment.
They laughed at the same time, and the sound filled the room. How often did she laugh in her own home?Hardly ever. She forced herself back on topic. “Equidistant between mine and yours as the crow flies is Swindon.”
Mattie tapped on her keyboard as she did an internet search. “Swindon is best known for its train museum, a weird roundabout, and an out-of-town designer outlet, it says here.”
“You’re not selling the place to me.”
“Who said anything about leaving the hotel?” Mattie winked. “The first weekend of November will be hit and miss, weather-wise.”
“Are you a fair-weather walker?”
