“A lovely evening,” Alex scoffs. “You kicked me to the curb.”
“Truth,” James says.
“It’s not that I didn’t like you; I just thought we were looking for very different things!” Des protests.
Alex comes to stand next to him, and Des stretches out a hand and squeezes his waist.
“It’s an amazing photo,” I say.
“Thank you,” Alex says, a smile curling over his lips.
James sticks his tongue in his cheek. “Needless to say, he didn’t share any more photographs with me after that one. I’m assuming that most of them were indecent.” He leans into me with a grin, and my breath stutters as I inhale a nose full of sandalwood and spice. He whispers, “I think Alex took quite a few naked ones. One or two of those were up on the walls.”
My eyes widen. “You had naked pictures of yourself on your walls?” I say to Des.Imagine being that confident?
Des laughs at what I can only guess my face is doing. “He’s making it sound worse than it was. You couldn’t see anything, and they were both in our bedroom. The one James is in. I’ve taken them down. James said that sleeping under naked photographs of me would be weird.”
“Tell me about it,” James says dryly.
“Come and see your room.” Des beckons me toward the short corridor off the living room with a few doors leading off it. He opens the nearest one onto a room with a large queen bed on a blue upholstered base and a matching navy headboard. Behind it, the wall is painted a dusky midnight color, and above hangs a big picture of the sea with a small wooden house on a pier. My throat tightens, and for a couple of seconds, I can’t speak.
“There’s a closet in there for your stuff,” he says, gesturing to the left. “I gave it a good clean-out.”
I pull on the doors to find three rails and a considerable amount of open-plan shelving. I’ve never seen so much space.
“It’s not a lot but …”
“Oh no,” I say, jumping in over him. “It’s beautiful. I’ve never lived anywhere so …” I can’t even begin to describe this place. “I can’t thank you enough, Des.”
He beams. “You’re very welcome.” He reaches out and gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “Just enjoy.” His voice drops. “And look after him, okay?”
I was trying to forget about that part of our conversation. I’m barely keeping my own head above water: The idea of me taking care of James Royce is laughable.
Chapter 9
Des
Ilift the jeans up on one side of my suitcase, slide my washbag in, then sit on the case as I zip it shut. Alex appears in the doorway and steps into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. I grin at him.
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” he says, and I pout.
He shifts forward. “Des, you can’t seriously believe it’s a good idea to have Sadie move in here,” he whispers. “What were you thinking?”
My stomach drops. “What? Why?”
“She’s super awkward andsoquiet. I like her, but she can’t make eye contact most of the time. I just ...” He bites his lip. I wish he wouldn’t do that when we’re trying to have a serious conversation. He paces across the room and stares out of the window. “I think James is mentally in a bad place. I thought he was just a bit down, but I’ve been talking to him since he’s been staying here and …”
A strange ringing starts in my head. “Why? What did he say?”
“We were watching some TV show where a character jumped in front of a train, and I tutted at it and said it was so unlikely and a really messy way to go, and James said that he could understand someone wanting to do that.”
I stare at Alex. James Royce said that? Why would he think that?That’s something he’d never …My gaze drifts past him to a hairline crack in the wallthat runs up to the ceiling. He was lying on the roof of his building …He’d wet himself.Because … because … That cut on his face and the gash on his leg … What was he doing up there? Looking over the railing? Standing on theedge? Oh. My. God. Sensible, calm, James Royce? It’s like my chest has been encased in ice. Suddenly, having Sadie staying here with him seems like the smartest decision in the world.
“I think she’s quite depressed, too, if I’m being honest,” Alex adds, cutting right across my careening thoughts.
“Who? Sadie?”
“Yeah.”
