“My date.” She gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Not that I had high hopes anyway. He was a friend of the structural engineer working on my new house. Turns out he has a girlfriend.” She looked as if a rotten egg had been placed under her nose.
“How did you find out?”
“I overheard him talking to her on the phone, or rather talking to a girl he was calling babe. Then I stalked him online while he was in the bathroom,” she said, her free hand moving as she spoke. “Nothing on Facebook, but his Instagram was a different story. Literally. As in a picture he’d put on his Instastory about half an hour before he’d met with me. Him and his girlfriend.”
“You stayed for the date?”
“And I let him pay.” She smiled evilly. “And I’ve also followed him on Instagram and liked that picture. If I’m feeling really nasty, I might leave a comment later – nothing horrendous, just so he knows I knew.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I almost feel sorry for him. If someone fixed you up on a date, didn’t they know he was seeing someone?” I said, ignoring the odd feeling I had in my stomach that I was pretty sure wasn’t from dinner.
“Who knows?” she said, sipping her drink. “Building sites can be an old boys’ club sometimes and they’ll cover for each other. I have a thick skin so I don’t tend to think in depth too much about who knows what and what their motivations are else I’d never have anyone working for me.”
“How’s the house? The priory?”
This time her smile was genuine. “It’s going to be an amazing family home. I've had two sets of people interested in it already so I don’t think I’ll have any trouble selling it, even before it’s finished.”
“How’s it looking?” It had been four weeks since she’d bought it. I knew from Max and Payton that she was working on it pretty much non-stop, herself and the teams of tradesmen that she employed.
“I’ll show you some photos. If I can, I like to document the work done on a house and make a book out of it for the new owners so they get to appreciate its history.” She started to show me photos of old fireplaces she’d uncovered behind plaster board and an original Thomas Crapper toilet. There was a range of wallpaper that could possibly be used by Max’s girlfriend, Victoria, in one of her history lectures and a treasure trove of old belongings left years ago by the ex-residents.
“I found these too. There was a small room in the cellars that’s been boarded up. I think when I take the boarding down I’m going to either find a room behind it or a passageway and stairs that might lead into the library above. I can’t wait to investigate,” she said and gestured to the bartender for more drinks, asking for a different cocktail this time.
“When are you taking the boarding down?”
“Maybe Sunday. I kind of want to do it when the place is empty. I used to dream of finding secret rooms in houses when I was a kid. Maybe tomorrow afternoon when my electricians have finished.” She eyed me. “Why don’t you join me? You know, just in case I find a rats’ nest there or something.”
“So you’re basically asking me to be your protective detail in case of vermin?”
She shrugged. “I’m actually not that bothered by rats. I found a snake once: that was rather icky.”
“What did you do?” I asked, figuring I knew the answer.
“Shifted it with a long spade so it was out of the way and hoped for the best.”
Yep, I was right. No screaming or running away in terror. She had bigger balls than I did. “Why am I not surprised?”
“So tomorrow. You up for being part of the Famous Five or what?”
“What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll buy you dinner.”
“What’s that going to be? Fish and chips in a newspaper?”
She laughed, our drinks arriving, only this time there were two of each. I pointed to them and raised my brows. “Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?”
“Elijah, I don’t need to get you drunk to do that.” Her voice was dramatically sultry and she fluttered her eyelids in mock flirtation. “All I need to do is this…” She placed her forefinger under my chin and brushed her thumb over my lips. I had the urge to do two things: push her hand away so she couldn’t realise the effect she was having or bite that thumb.
I went with the second.
Then sucked.
Her laugh was loud and playful, enough to draw eyes towards us. “Eli,” she said. “You’ve already eaten.”
“Maybe I’m still hungry.”
Her eyes changed, the playfulness deserting them and instead I saw desire. What I felt wasn’t just one way and as much as she was laid back and casual, this wasn’t just three nights of fucking.
