Kitty leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea. ‘Have you ever had a proper job, Nick?’
‘Of course, I have a pint of Proper Job most nights.’ He grinned, reminding her of the first night they met.
Kitty sighed. ‘I wasn’t talking about beer.’
‘Fine. Define a proper job.’
‘Regular hours, steady wage, answering to a boss, that sort of thing.’
Nick tipped his head down and peered at Kitty from beneath his lids. ‘Not exactly.’
‘How do you afford to live?’
‘My parents don’t charge me rent, and until a few years ago, I got a monthly allowance.’
Kitty spluttered, and tea dribbled down her chin. ‘An allowance? Seriously? How old are you?’
Nick mumbled something inaudible as his cheeks grew pink.
‘Seriously,’ said Kitty, ‘how does that work? What do you do with all that spare time?’
‘Um… I… go to the gym.’
Kitty laughed. ‘You go to the gym. That’s it?’
‘No, I go swimming and kayaking, meet up with friends….’
‘Fine. Do you actually do anything useful?’
‘Useful?’
‘Yeah, like something for other people.’
‘Not currently.’
‘And you’re happy with that?’ Kitty knew she sounded as incredulous as she felt.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ Nick’s voice had turned truculent, like he realised he was kidding himself.
‘Because you do nothing in your life to give you any self-esteem. Taking handouts from your parents at your age must be kind of embarrassing.’
‘If you say so.’
Nick crossed his arms across his chest, sounding and acting like a sulky teenager. Kitty was reminded of how he’d behaved a few nights previously at Alice’s. If she’d learned anything about Nick, it was that he didn’t make it easy to like him, although Luke and Alice seemed fond of him. They must see something in him Kitty couldn’t.
Nick shifted the conversation. ‘Are there any spaces at the school?’
‘As it happens, yes, there are.’ Kitty took a sip of her unsweetened tea. ‘According to Suzanne, the intake has been disappointingly low this year. I’ve only got twenty children in my class.’
‘Twenty kids?’ Nick visibly paled. ‘How the hell do you cope with twenty kids? I can barely look after one!’
‘It’s different if you’re not the parent,’ said Kitty graciously, ‘and I’ve had years of training to do what I do.’
‘Could you speak to the school for me about getting Emily a place there?’
Kitty laughed and set her tea down on the table. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘Why not?’
