Chapter 5 #3
I turn back to him. “Dinner would be lovely.”
The next evening, I come into the lounge and stop short. “Hey, is she going to–”
Niall looks up from the floor. He’s lying on his stomach with his long legs stretched out, his head resting on his hands and Dotty curled in the hollow of his back. They’re watching Cora who has rolled onto her stomach and is staring back at them with a mischievous look.
“Not yet,” he murmurs. “But she’s close.”
“She’s been rolling over for ages but normally she just stays there for a bit making little noises.”
He laughs and holds out his hands to her. “Come on, Cora Bora. Come to Uncle Niall and Uncle Milo. Let us be the first people to see you crawl.”
I nudge his ribs with my foot. “You’re the most competitive person I know.”
He laughs. “Have you met the small Irishman you hang around with? If you were in the queue for heaven, he’d trip you up to get to the gate first.”
I grin and crouch down. “True. Come on, baby,” I urge. “Come here.”
Cora just smiles, coming up on her hands and punting her tiny body back and forth like she’s on a starting block but then doing nothing else.
He laughs loudly. “Milo, I always knew you had a dark side.”
“You have no idea,” I mutter.
“Make sure Art Boy doesn’t either.”
I shoot a glance at him. “ What? ”
“You heard.” He rolls and comes to sit up as Dotty jumps down, shooting me a dark look as she does so as if I’m the source of all the world’s evils. Niall looks me up and down. “You look nice,” he says darkly.
I look down at my outfit of skinny grey trousers and a thin clingy black jumper. “Do you think?” I scuff my shiny black ankle boots along the carpet. I hate clothes that look so perfect. I’m happier in old stuff that I can just fling on. “He’s very rich. I hope we don’t go somewhere really posh.”
“Like Wellington College? I do recall you went there.” He winks. “Even if it was as a day boy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply that whatever he is, you are his equal and I happen to think his better. You’d be that even if you didn’t speak well and hadn’t gone to a posh school. You’re anyone’s equal, Lo, and it doesn’t matter whether he takes you to The Ivy or Burger King.”
I swallow hard. “Thank you.”
He nods his head slightly. “You’re welcome.” He looks at me. “Are you still on for coming to watch me do the mud run tomorrow?” he asks slightly diffidently.
“Of course,” I say, surprised. “You asked me ages ago.”
“I wasn’t sure whether now Simeon is on the scene …” He drifts off as I look questioningly at him.
“Whether he’s on the scene or not, we have a date.” It’s my turn to pause. “Well, not a date but–”
“Never mind,” he says quickly. He eyes me again. “Do you have to go?”
I stare at him. He’s as unfamiliar to me at this moment as a complete stranger. “Niall,” I begin but he shakes his head.
“Doesn’t matter. I thought it’d be nice to have an evening with Cora. You go. Have a good time.”
The last sounds like it’s through gritted teeth and I open my mouth, filled with the urge to tell him I’ll stay, that I’ll get changed and be with him tonight and see where the evening takes us, because I sense a tug between us like he’s finally noticed the rope that somehow binds me to him and he’s pulling at it on his side.
Luckily the doorbell sounds and rescues me because who the fuck would think that was a good idea.
To my astonishment Dotty comes towards me, her tiny white paws padding silently.
She stares up at me and I cautiously offer her my hand, prepared to retract it and run like hell.
However, she stares at it for a second before licking it delicately, her tongue rasping over my fingers.
“I don’t know whether to be touched or run away,” I say slowly. “It’s a bit like Sweeney Todd giving his customers a nice scalp massage before he cut their throats.”
He grins. “If she’s anything like her human namesake I’d run like hell. My grandmother was very fond of shaving my grandfather with a cutthroat razor.” He pauses. “I never knew what happened to him. I must ask my mother.”
I laugh and the doorbell rings again. “I have to go,” I say hesitantly, grabbing my black coat from the chair.
He nods, his eyes dark and searching. “Be good,” he says, and it sounds caught between being a plea and a warning.
The restaurant that Simeon takes me to is lovely and I feel stupid for worrying so much. It’s dimly lit with booths tucked into corners, the ceiling lit with fairy lights and the tables with guttering candles.
“You don’t mind this, do you?” he asks, removing my coat while I give him a startled look at the chivalrous gesture. “I love Italian food, and this is the best in a hundred-mile radius.” He pauses. “Oh shit! Tell me you eat it and you’re not on one of those no-carb diets?”
I laugh as I sit down. “No. I love carbs. I eat anything. I exercise a lot and do yoga intensely, so it evens it out.”
“I saw the mats on the floor when I visited last night. Does Niall do it too?”
I smile. “Bloody hell, no. He’s not very bendy.” My smile fades slightly as I remember rubbing on him. My cheeks redden. Shit, Niall must think I’m a total weirdo.
The waiter breaks my thoughts at that second, handing us each a menu and beginning to recite the specials. My phone pings from the table, and when I check it there’s a text from Niall.
Niall: Cora is making a noise like a little tugboat but still not crawling. I’m beginning to think she’s taunting us.
I smile and tap a reply.
Me: Be patient. If that’s at all possible. Try and remember how old you are and act like the sage elder you should be.
I grin at the thought of his face when he reads that. Almost instantly the phone buzzes.
Niall: I’m thirty-nine. Even Simon Cowell is older than me. Anyway, there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle.
I shake my head.
Me: I’m not sure why anyone had to go to the trouble of making that homily up. Look at all the Stradivariuses around. It should be fairly obvious that old things play well.
Niall: There are so many replies to that statement. Just know that I have manfully suppressed my inclination to type all of them. Also, know that you will never be calling me Daddy.
I laugh.
Me: Even if I’ve been bad.
There’s a long pause before the phone buzzes again.
Niall: Have you?
I stare at the screen for a long second with my heart hammering and then reluctantly type.
Me: No.
The next text comes through quickly and I stare at the words, feeling heat rush through me.
Niall: Good boy.
“Milo?” Simeon’s voice interrupts me, and I jump and look up to find him and the waiter staring at me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say anxiously. “What did I miss?”
“The specials. Would you like the waiter to repeat them?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll have the vegetarian lasagne, please. It sounds lovely.”
Simeon gives his order and the waiter smiles and leaves us. Silence settles at the table for a second until he stirs.
“You’re an extraordinarily attractive man, Milo.”
I immediately feel awkward. “Thank you.”
He smiles. “And you hate compliments too.”
“Not all compliments.”
“Ah, no. You didn’t mind Niall complimenting you last night.”
“That was about my job,” I say defensively. “And Niall is … well, Niall is different.”
“In what way?”
I bite my lip, looking around for a distraction. There isn’t one. I look back to find him watching me patiently, which makes me relax for some reason.
“I’ve known him many years. He’s known me since I was young. He’s … he’s always been there for me.”
His eyes are dark and almost knowing. “Ah yes, that’s what I sensed.”
“You sensed something?” I sound alarmed.
“Yes, a familiarity in the way you moved around each other. Whatever it was, it denoted an ease that I haven’t seen in you yet.”
“I’m not a terribly confident person,” I say apologetically.
He smiles gently. “I think you are. You just haven’t realised it.” He sips his wine. “You don’t have to be a cock of the walk to be confident, Milo. Just know your own worth and value it accordingly.”
“I’m not sure it’s that high.”
He shakes his head. “That’s unfortunate, but it won’t always be like that. Luckily you have Niall, who appears to know your value to the penny.”
I shrug awkwardly and take a large slug of my wine. “Yes, and perfectly prepared to boss me around until I sell for a high price.”
He blinks and refills my glass. “I’m not sure where that came from.
Unless Cornwall is a lot wilder than I’ve been led to believe.
” I laugh. “Mr. Fawcett appears to be a very confident man.” My mouth quirks and he smiles.
“I’m sure that covers a multitude of sins but his regard for you seems to be … honest.”
I look at him in query and he smiles sadly. “Honesty is fresh and real. Don’t mistake it for disinterest because it’s far from that.”
I drain my glass again and look at him assessingly. There is not one iota of the lovely heat that just being near Niall runs under my skin like a mine of lava.
“This evening is not going as I intended,” I mutter.
He laughs and, filling my glass again, he taps his glass against mine. “Me neither. How about we talk about me? That should make you feel relieved and me very happy.”
I laugh, liking him suddenly for that wry statement. Watching him as he signals for another bottle, I search for some shred of attraction but I can’t find it. I think we both know this isn’t going anywhere unless it’s to a friendship, which I can definitely do.
Fucking Niall is a cockblocker from twenty miles away. It’s like a bloody superpower.