I frowned. ‘I don’t see the connection.’
‘There isn’t one – they’re my two passion areas. I’ve always been good at telling stories and getting attention. Editor ofThe Mancunionat uni, wasn’t I?’
‘Were you? Is that a local fanzine?’
He gave me a withering look. ‘The student newspaper. Animals are more of a hobby for me now. I’ve got two dogs, three cats, a cockatoo and a tortoise.’
‘Two cocks, eh? No wonder you’re always smiling.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘You could start your own petting zoo with that lot. Sounds noisy.’
‘Not at all. They all get along. The cats and dogs are rescues and they kind of look after each other – almost likethey know, you know?’
‘No?’
‘The shared trauma binds them together and now they’re safe, they like to stay close. All in the same bed and all that.’
I wrinkled my nose. ‘You let them sleep in your bed?’
‘No, just one big cat and dog bed for all of them. Not the tortoise, obviously.’
‘A blended animal family.’
‘I think if you’ve been abandoned in life, it makes you cling onto the good stuff when you find it.’
‘Like this…’ I said, as another whale appeared.
‘Exactly. Underwater life is something else. We don’t even know for a fact that the blue whale is the biggest animal on earth. There could be loads of other things down there.’
‘I hope not! The blue whale is plenty enough to worry about without imagining anything bigger. We all know what happened to Geppetto.’
Leo laughed. ‘True. Although he survived in the end.’
I sighed. ‘I thought PR would be fun and glamorous. Not the hard slog it is these days.’
‘Yeah, it’s relentless,’ he said, swiping us fresh martinis from Oli’s tray as two whales breached simultaneously to rapturous applause.
‘Obviously this kind of thing isn’t difficult, but this is the first PR trip I’ve been on in a while,’ I said, taking a swig.Oof!This one tasted like it had a large gin in it. ‘This can’t be a normal workday for you either, surely? I’m usually either glued to my laptop or trying to get across London on a sweaty tube. Not exactly living the dream.’
‘It’s much more fun than that at our place,’ Leo said, with a wink. ‘If we win the pitch, you can come and work forme – how’s that?’
I laughed. ‘Yeah, right.’ The audacity of this guy. He was so obviously used to getting everything he wanted in life. He just had to ask for it. ‘You couldn’t afford me.’
‘With an extra couple of million coming in, I’m sure we could.’
‘Sorry, but I’m taken.’ I turned my back on him, my gaze laser-focused on the whales.
All three whales breached at the same time and there was a collective clicking as everyone tried to get the shot. Except me. I watched as these magnificent beasts propelled themselves out of the water, then smashed back down, sending waves in our direction. Why were they doing it? Were they putting on a special show for the cruise ship? Was it some sort of dance or were they just playing? This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that could only happen right here and right now. Being this close to breaching whales with a cocktail in hand, was nothing short of magic.An Unimaginable Moment.
Ten
The party had more than started by the time I got there. It was supposed to be a silent disco, but there was plenty of noise as people bopped away together around the swimming pool. It was too late to join in now, surely. Maybe I could give it a miss – would anyonereallynotice if I had an early night? I scanned the crowd, and Dahlia caught my eye across the pool, immediately running over with a set of headphones.Damn.
‘Oh, hey! Thanks, Dahlia, but honestly, I’m not really a disco kind of person…’ She ignored my protest and popped them over my ears. The soulful depths of Kate Bush plugged straight into my brain, and I couldn’t help but start running up that hill. Brooke was swaying with her eyes closed on one of the podiums, both arms in the air, on her way to The Upside Down, and the room was alive with flashing headsets in electric blue, acid red and luminous green. Heidi was shimmying in the corner, slurping a dirty martini full of olives and Barbie Queue was quite the spectacle in a blackand white ball gown, complete with turtle dove head-dress. The music was all-consuming and took me straight back to the multicoloured dance floors in sticky Bootle nightclubs. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find Leo holding out a glass of fizz. My heart jumped at how handsome he looked in double denim, giving cowboy vibes with his brown leather belt and boots.
‘HI!!! THANKS!!!’
His eyes twinkled as he put a finger to his lips. ‘You’re shouting,’ he mouthed.
‘AM I??!! SORRY.’ I gave him a pained look and pointed to my headphones. Kate Bush, champagne and zero conversation. Yes, please.
