‘You and your bandmates are my life,’ Derek said, sounding far too happy about it. ‘Anyways, I won’t take up much of your time. I was just calling to let you know I’ve had a taxi pick your mother up just outside of your location.’
My chest tightened. ‘You what?’
‘Yes, you can thank me later,’ he said smoothly. ‘Don’t worry about her – worry about Jessy. Now all we need is a few more public suggestions of affection, and you’ll be done for the night.’
My mouth went dry. ‘You can’t be –’
‘Go on, get on with it.’ The line went dead.
‘Patrick?’
I shoved my phone in my pocket as I looked into the eyes of the woman I was starting to find a little too enticing.
Go on, get on with it.
‘That was Derek.’ I pointed – unnecessarily, probably – to my pocket. ‘He was just warning me –’ I cut myself off. I wasn’t ready to get into my mummy issues with Jessy. Especially not when I was already feeling so raw from her rejection. ‘He wanted to remind us of … erm … the public suggestions of affection.’ Which was true.
Jessy swallowed. ‘Oh. Right.’
‘But you don’t have to –’ I began.
‘I know. But it’s OK,’ she said with a small smile.
What kind of smile? My brain tried to analyse it even as she stepped into my arms. Delighted? Worried? Cornered? Perhaps –
The kiss on my cheek should have been nothing. It was hardly even a kiss, just her lips brushing the stubble I hadn’t bothered to shave.
But, fucking hell, it was something. It was everything.
The warmth of her body pressed against mine, the shift of her breasts, her palm splayed on my chest, that scent, the way my hands immediately moved to capture her waist –
She’d been about to step back, but I halted her, keeping her close, nuzzling her cheek with my neck. God, I wanted this moment to last forever.
I felt – heard, sensed – the hitch in her breathing.
‘Patrick –’
‘I just wanted to say thank you,’ I murmured, my pulse skipping a beat. ‘For making this bearable. For being … yeah. Great.’
Jessy tilted her head up, her gaze meeting mine, and for a moment – a moment that ached far more keenly than it should have – I thought she was going to lean forward and press those pink lips to mine …
Jessy stepped out of my arms and gave me a teasing smile.
‘There. Public suggestions of affection complete,’ said the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, before she stepped away, leaving me emptier than I had ever felt.
TEN
Whoops, that was never meant to happen – can we pretend it never did?
–from ‘The Mistake’, by These Exiles
‘JUST ONE MORE DRINK!’ Anna begged as I glanced at my phone and saw it was near midnight. ‘Come on, it’s Friday night!’
ItwasFriday night, and it had been a damned long day. Once I’d got settled in the hotel Derek had arranged for me after the ‘date of epic complications’ – as Laura and Anna had dubbed it – I had taken to completely avoiding Patrick. Again.
A little difficult, when I was supposed to be dating him. Even more difficult when I could not stop thinking about a kiss that wasn’t actually a kiss but maybe should have been a kiss. And practically impossible when your sister and best friend kept sending you trending videos about him.
Him, and you.
