‘Kiss goodbye to any more ice cream, missy!’
Dean put his hands to his head, looking completely bewildered. ‘A job? And now this thing for Cynthia Drummond? You’re supposed to be on holiday and… the other thing.’
‘Looking for my dad,’ Angel offered.
‘I know this,’ Hayley replied. ‘And I’m not doing the job any more, just this other thing for the mother of your boss.’
‘We needed the extra money,’ Angel said, leading with an expression that said poverty.
‘I think we need to talk.’
Hayley swallowed. Dean’s voice was verging on stern. A tendon in his neck was pulsing, his face on the edge of puce. Dean usually only did comedic camp angry. This wasn’t good.
‘Shall I shut my ears?’ Angel chirruped.
Hayley got down from the bar stool and flounced out into the hallway, knowing her brother would follow. She backed herself up against the wall, her head level with a framed photo of Shirley Bassey. There was so much he could say and she wasn’t sure which bit scared her the most.
Dean arrived in the hallway and closed the door behind him. He folded his arms across his chest.
‘Very nightclub doorman,’ Hayley remarked.
‘This isn’t a joke.’
‘Which bit?’
‘Exactly!’ Dean let his arms drop then flourished them upwards. ‘The fact you said that says everything.’
‘Just get it over with.’ Hayley dropped her eyes to the carpet.
‘Oliver Drummond came to see me today. He told me he’d asked you out on a date.’
Her heart skipped. Hewasgoing to follow through. He was thinking about her. He’d meant what he said. She swallowed. Why did she feel so awkward about it with Dean?
‘How has that happened?’ Dean asked again.
‘If I told you it all began in an alleyway, would that make me sound like a hoe?’
Dean shook his head at her. Perhaps fighting her corner with humour wasn’t the best idea when he was in this mood. Her mother always hated it.
‘Should I have said no?’ she asked Dean. ‘Is there an employee family no-go zone or something?’
‘I didn’t realise you were looking for a relationship.’
Her brow creased as her brain tried to catch up with themeaning behind her brother’s words. ‘I can’t even begin to understand that.’ Her head nudged Shirley Bassey. ‘I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but what you just said indicates Ishouldn’tbe. Only the other day, you were commenting on the fact I hadn’t had many dates since I had Angel.’
‘That wasn’t what I meant.’
‘Well, what did you mean? First of all, you don’t want me to be a nun, then you want to drag me to the nearest convent? Mixed messages here, Dean!’
‘Hayley, you’re being over the top?—’
‘Over the top? Wow!’
‘What about Michel?’ Dean asked.
‘WhataboutMichel? We went to the other gallery he said he was exhibiting at when I met him and the only thing they had was a website address… which doesn’t work!’ she yelled. ‘Before you came home from work, I called forty-eight galleries and got nothing, but still Angel thinks he’s going to come running into her life like a dreamy, schmaltzy movie on the Disney Channel.’
‘I just think—’ Dean started.
