‘Olivia. So lovely to meet you at last.’
‘Harry!’ I’m bursting with what this means. It’s such a little thing on the surface, but it means so much more, I feel. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I add immediately. ‘It’s just, that’s what Beckett always calls you.’
‘That’s perfect,’ he answers with a breathtaking smile. Oh, I just bet he’s a hit with the ladies. ‘All my friends call me Harry.’ And I am a new friend. Check. This. Out!
‘You can let go of her now,’ Beckett grumbles, fairly pulling me away from his friend. ‘You don’t mind if we gate crash, do you?’
‘The photographer doesn’t,’ Harry interjects. As we turn, I realise Beckett and I will also be included in their feature now.
‘The couple of the moment,’ Danielle, the reporter calls giddily. ‘Our readers will love it!’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ I answer, still smiling as I turn back to the pair. ‘You can help me out with Miranda.’
‘Why? What’s wrong with her?’
‘She’s drunk.’ I roll my eyes as Beckett’s narrow.
‘While she’s getting paid?’
‘Technically, she’s not. I was just going to give her the day off.’ We’d been planning this event for months and, at that point those months ago, I didn’t have any spare money to spend on overtime.
‘Then she’s getting paid,’ he contends. ‘And the girl is drunk at work.’
‘We can argue the semantics of it later but help me out here. I’ve got enough on my hands without dealing with her.’
‘Point her out and I’ll take her to a corner and ply her with coffee,’ Harry offers.
‘Would you? That would be so helpful. That’s her. The girl in the blue dress.’ I point at Mir, currently weaving in and out of the tables. And patting one of the male attendees on the head.A bald attendee. And then kissing his pate.
‘Consider it done,’ Harry says, already on the move.
‘So, this is this a bit of a surprise,’ I say, turning back to Beckett.
‘Is it really? I seem to be unable to stay away from you these days.’
‘I’m not complaining.’ My hands clasped behind my back I find myself twisting left and right as Beckett follows the swish of the hem of my dress. His thumb taps his pouty bottom lip as though contemplating something.
‘I know that look.’ I’m hyper aware of the way his eyes devour me, warmth flooding my body as a consequence.
‘Do you indeed.’
‘You look like you’re thinking of doing something, which is lucky because...’ His eyes widen slightly as I hold out my hand as though in greeting. ‘Hi. My name is something.’
His laughter is deep and pure and he uses my hand to pull me into his broad chest. ‘You still have a little to learn about negotiating.’
‘Yeah? And what’s that?’
‘Never make the first offer,’ he growls into my skin.
The evening passes quickly and when the speed dating part of the experience is over, the singles get to mingling. The photographer takes some candid shots and Danielle interviews a few attendees vox pop style, before she exchanges a few words with theLust Islandguys again. We chat before she leaves, and she promises not to include what has become the comment of the night in response to the prompt cards.
Question: Tell me something fascinating about yourself?
Answer: I don’t have a gag reflex.
It’s not exactly the evolved romance vibe I was going for. And not exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from a woman named Prudence who is five-foot-tall if she’s an inch, and looks a little like an angel, is a kindergarten teacher, and has a very squeaky voice. You certainly can’t judge a book by its cover.
Eventually, the crowd begins to disperse leaving us to pack up our stuff.
