‘You can just leave?’
‘It’s Friday,’ he says with a grin. ‘And I’m the boss. One of them, anyway.’ He pats Neal on his back. ‘See you Monday,’ he whispers, grabbing the denim shirt hanging on the back of his chair.
Neal nods and gives him the thumbs-up, his eyes growing round and his mouth stretching into a goofy grin when Alex places his untouched coffee in front of him. Neal waves a manic little bye at me as we leave. I like him immensely.
‘Is there anything else you need to do in Camden while you’re here?’ Alex asks on the way back down in the lift.
‘No. What are you thinking?’ I cast him a look.
‘Shall we go to Hampstead?’
‘Hampstead?’ Random.
‘Yeah, it’s not far from Rachel’s. Less hectic than Camden. I brought my car in today and I live that way, so I could drop you to Rachel’s front door.’
Not random at all, as it turns out.
‘Are you sure? You really are finishing up for the day?’
‘I can work from home over the weekend.’
Something that feels a lot like pride bubbles up inside me. He’s so clever and talented.
Don’t get carried away, Bronte… I need to keep my feelings in check.
Alex’s car smells overwhelmingly like Alex. It’s almost too much, being so enveloped by him.
‘Where do you live?’ I ask.
‘West Hampstead,’ he replies. ‘I’ve been there for about three years now.’
‘Are your parents still in Crouch End?’
He glances at me. ‘Yeah, and Jo and Brian are in East Finchley, so we’re all pretty close by.’
I remember that Jo is his sister, of course, but I’ve never met her. I have met Brian, however. It was at his stag do that I first came across Alex.
‘They have a couple of kids now,’ he reveals, making casual conversation.
‘Do they? Boys? Girls?’
‘One of each. It’s my niece’s first birthday tomorrow, actually.’
‘Are you going?’
‘Yeah. My whole family will be there.’
I steal a glance at his tanned, toned forearms, his hands resting on the steering wheel. His denim shirt is, typically, rolled up past his elbows.
I always did think he had sexy forearms.
Steady on, I warn myself.
But there’s no ignoring my jitters.
He scratches his head and glances at me. ‘How’s Lachie?’
I turn to stare out of my side window. ‘We broke up.’
