Not something real, from the past or the present. Or something potential, that might be part of an unknown future.
It was something that had, until now, being nothing more than a fantasy sparked by an attraction that had always been forbidden.
Dark. Dangerous. Almost… dirty?
Butsocompelling…
14
TEN YEARS AGO…
‘They’re doing what?’ Hannah was staring at Sophie.
‘Going to a degustation.’
‘You mean one of those foodie things where you go to some swanky restaurant and have a dinner that’s made up of umpteen tiny courses with matching wines?’
‘Yep. This one’s in Notting Hill and the restaurant hasthreeMichelin stars. They’ll get things like a saucer-sized plate with a skid mark of some kind of glaze and a bite-sized piece of something special, like hand-dived scallops, possibly decorated with a little samphire branch. And something weird for a dessert course like wasabi ice cream.’ Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘There’s always some kind of foam somewhere, too.’
‘What kind of a stag do is that? Why can’t the boys have a rave in Ibiza or a strip club or chain Tom to a lamppost wearing nothing but his undies?’
‘This group is mostly friends from chef school and the restaurants Tom’s been working in since he and Luc got back from France. But can you imagine Tom wanting any of that kind of nonsense, anyway?’
‘No.’ Hannah sighed. ‘He’s got positively middle-aged ever since you two got engaged. You’ll probably spend your honeymoon house hunting online for the perfect bungalow, in the best school zone for the beautiful two point five children you’re going to raise. With a garden big enough for one of those floofy designer dogs, of course.’
‘An oodle?’ Sophie was smiling now. ‘I love oodles. A labradoodle would be cool. No… I think I want a Bordoodle. That’s a cross between a Border collie and a poodle.’
Her smile faded a little too quickly, however. Wasshethe reason that Tom had been reining in his adventurous and sometimes mischievous streak? Did he know that the thing she loved the most about him was that he made her feel so safe?
The wildest thing he’d done recently was finding a racetrack where he’d been able to unleash the power of his pride and joy – that cobalt blue performance car his father had given him as a wedding gift. He hadn’t quite reached the two hundred miles per hour it was capable of but Sophie had still only been able to watch from the grandstand through the cracks in her fingers. The thrill of it had been enough for him to be glowing, however, when she went to find him leaning against the car at the end of the ride.
‘You’ll have to come with me next time, babe. Unbelievable…’ He’d shaken his head. ‘Better than sex.’
Because it was dangerous enough for one wrong move to mean that you could die? Could sex ever really compete with that kind of adrenaline rush? Sophie knew, deep down, that it could but she was even more sure that no one in their right mind would go hunting for it. It was mad enough to be driving as if you wanted to break the sound barrier.
She snapped back to what Hannah was saying.
‘What?’
Hannah laughed. ‘I just wanted to check that you were actually listening to me. And no, there won’t be any male strippers turning up.’ She was still smiling. ‘I can’t guarantee there won’t be a few orders for Sex on the Beach at our cocktail bar, mind you.’
Sophie shook her head. ‘You’re incorrigible, you know that?’
‘That’s why you love me.’
‘And you promise there’s no stripper going to turn up in a policeman’s uniform to handcuff me to a chair?’
‘I promise.’ But Hannah pursed her lips. ‘I might save that idea formyhen do, though.’
‘And no tee shirts with embarrassing slogans?’ Sophie persisted. ‘Or silly veils?’
Hannah threw her arms around Sophie. ‘As if I’d make you do something as undignified as that. We’re going full nightclub glam, remember? Sparkles and sequins.’
* * *
Sophie couldn’t refuse to wear the discreet tiara that only added an extra bit of sparkle to her silver dress that shimmered from the hundreds of sequins attached to the fabric like fish scales.
There were cocktails and delicious canapes in the club’s private events room. Strawberry daiquiris and espresso martinis to start with until the evening had gone on long enough for the music to get louder and the dancing more enthusiastic.
