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I can’t help it. I laugh. “Mr Meow?”
“My cat.”
“That’s genuinely his name?”
She narrows her eyes in a mock glare. “It suits him.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know why I find that so funny.”
“Because you’re judging him.”
“I’m absolutely judging him.”
“He’s judging you too.”
“I’ve never even met him.”
“He doesn’t need to meet you; he has me to tell him.” She smirks.
Her quick comeback sets of a fresh round of laughter around the group. She’s... Funny. Who knew?
Saint raises his wine glass. “If we’re discussing pets, I have Sergeant Echo.”
“Is that a dog?” Ember asks.
“He is a parrot,” he says proudly. “He only swears in Spanish. Mostly ‘Joder’ and ‘Cabrón’ whenever the postman comes.”
Lennie nearly spits out his wine. “What?”
“He didn’t learn it from me, honest.” He smirks, making everyone laugh. “He also steals jewellery.”
“No.” Luna gasps.
“Yes.” He nods. “He stole Aaron’s watch once, flew onto the curtain rail and kept shouting ‘Mierda! Mierda!’ every time we tried to get it back.”
Bri asks what we’re all wondering. “What are the swear words, dare I ask?”
“Joder is fuck’s sake. Cabrón means bastard and Mierda is shit.”
Another ripple of amusement passes around the table.
“Did Aaron get his watch back?” Ember asks.
“Eventually. Sarge traded it for a packet of salted peanuts.”
The table dissolves into absolute chaos. I watch Bri laughing, her head tipped back and eyes squeezed closed. The sound catches me completely off guard. It’s... Nice. Warmer than I expected.
When she notices me looking, she glares, but there’s no malice to it. “What?”
“Nothing.”
She narrows her eyes suspiciously as I smile into my glass of water. Maybe ‘Captain Asshole’ and the woman who slammed a door in his face aren’t destined to hate each other after all.
Chapter 12
Luna
As dinner wraps up and the table is cleared, the sky deepens into a rich blue twilight. Fairy lights hang overhead between the stone walls of the courtyard, glowing gold above the low murmur of conversation and crackling firewood. Lennie settles beside me on one of the deep outdoor sofas, stretching his arm along the back, whilst I tuck my legs beneath me and accept another glass of rosé. Around the firepit, our new friends have fallen into that pleasantly loose, warm mood that good food and wine always seem to create.
