“I had the medical students doing a round with me, so tortuous. I was never as slow as they were at that stage.”
“That’s arrogance. You probably were, you were just blinded by the idea of your own brilliance.” She tapped my chest.
“You look amazing.” I forgot the insult. “Those jeans would be a nightmare to peel off though.”
“Head out of the gutter.” She tapped my chest again. “Did you get Anne-Marie a present?”
“I contributed to the collection. It’s probably as much as her retirement pot.” Those who weren’t attending donated generously and made sure to sign the card so Anne-Marie didn’t facilitate some horrific revenge in the weeks to come.
“You smell good.”
“I taste better.”
That made her laugh, at me rather than with me though. “That’s ridiculously corny.”
“True though.” I kept my hand on her lower back, not caring if anyone noticed it or not. No one apart from her, Fallon, Stew and Dave knew about the wedding with Laurie, and no one else would ever find out.
We mingled, I caught up with a couple of people I hadn’t seen since before I’d gone to America, but all the while aware of where Rose was and what she was doing.
Ten o’clock arrived, and I’d had enough of the Las Vegas theme night, with Sandra and Jane from obs and gynae having had enough cheap prosecco to think they were showgirls, dancing on the tables and doing what they could to elicit tips off any of the men with some form of dancing that had never been categorised before, but was being widely filmed.
Rose had slipped off to the bathrooms, so I decided to find her there and see if she wanted to head somewhere for a quiet drink. Fallon and the cardiologist had been talking for most ofthe evening, and I doubted they were going to finish any time soon.
Rose saw me before I saw her, a hand resting on my back and then I caught the scent of her perfume, the same one she’d been wearing since she was nineteen.
“I feel like I’ve acquired a stalker this evening.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because every time I’ve seen you, you’ve been watching me.”
I shrugged, not really having an answer for that, because I had. “Want to go somewhere quieter?”
“Yes, I think I’m done. How about yours? I haven’t been there for years.” She tipped her head on one side to survey me. “You’re surprised I said that? I mean, I could do with something to eat, and we could go to mine, but Harriet’s finishing her packing so - ”
“Mine’s fine. There’s no one there. I thought you’d have preferred to go to a bar or a restaurant.” Somewhere public.
“I think I’m done with tons of people for today.” She stilled, reading my face to see if I understood what she was saying.
“Really?”
“Let’s order a pizza at yours. Like the old days.” She patted my arm in a manner that was anything but sexy.
I raised my brows, wondering if she’d read my confusion.
“What are you thinking the night will involve?”
“Me making you flustered again.” It was dark enough and people had drunk enough for me to risk pulling her closer, keeping my hands on her hips, and then stole a kiss while we were still in the shadows, wondering what this feeling was because it was new.
“We’ll see. You’ll be more flustered than me. Tube or cab?”
We took the tube, getting lucky with our timings, and were at mine in twenty minutes. I’d stayed close to her for the journey, exchanging gossip from the evening because as usual, plenty had happened that would be talked about in the next couple of weeks, which was exactly why Anne-Marie did this each year. Entertainment value.
“Here’s the keys. Let us in.” I passed her my set of keys, the keyring one she’d given to me years ago that I’d used for the last three places I’d lived. I wanted to make sure she was certain about this, because being on our own together now was going to be a lot different than before.
She unlocked the door, making a comment about being my butler, and then we were inside, shoes off, the heating thankfully on and working.
“Was there anyone else there tonight you wanted to go home with?” I asked. I’d seen her chatting to a couple of men I didn’t know, and one of them was definitely flirting. Knowing Rose, she wouldn’t have noticed, but I had.
