Chapter Fourteen Lee #2
I’d forgotten about those shoelaces. Gran had surprised me with them after I told her some of the girls at school made them for each other and I was feeling left out.
They said LEE on one foot and RULES on the other, and there were little pink and purple heart-shaped charms, too.
I thought they were extremely cool, but fine, in hindsight, maybe not the best for protecting my super-secret identity.
I feel a wave of love for my grandmother at the memory, followed by the sharp sting of hurt that she hasn’t reached out to me since I arrived. I don’t think we’ve ever really had a fight before, and our argument still feels too near the surface for me to be sensible about it.
‘Ah,’ I manage, returning to the conversation with Nico. ‘That could have been a different Lee.’
‘But then they wouldn’t have ruled,’ Nico teases.
‘I thought I was so stealthy.’
‘I don’t know about that. You kept on bashing into things.’
‘I couldn’t cut proper eyeholes in the sheet!’ I protest.
‘Anyway,’ Nico says, ‘the point is I know you and I know when there’s no point arguing with you.’
‘Wow, remind me who’s the stubborn one here?’
Nico pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tips my face up so that I’m looking at him.
‘Lee,’ he growls and, oh no, I like him growling my name quite a lot.
I feel a wash of heat rush to my cheeks.
‘Stop arguing with me about who is the most stubborn. I’m trying really hard to make a point here, which is that there is absolutely no pressure on you to attend this town meeting.
I know being around big groups of people is your worst nightmare.
If you’re determined to hear the plan then I can go and report back. ’
He looks down at me, calm and steady, his hand still on my chin, and the only thing I want to do is touch him, to lift myself up on my toes and press my lips against his, but instead I stare at his face. He’s got such a great face.
It’s the bone structure; so finely drawn that he’s beautiful – in that very seriously beautiful way that Italian Renaissance artists strived to capture. It’s the sensual mouth, the slightly hooded eyes, the hard line of his jaw that stops him from being too pretty.
The moment stretches out between us. A beat passes, then two as we look and look at each other. The sound of my heartbeat is so loud I’m surprised we’re not drawing attention from the next room.
Nico’s touch gentles, and his fingers trace a featherlight line up along the side of my jaw. It’s a touch that I feel everywhere, and I realise I’m holding my breath.
When he reaches the tender hollow under my ear where my pulse thrashes wildly, like some sort of caged animal underneath his fingertips, I exhale, and the breathy sound has Nico’s eyes widening. His hand drops, and he takes a step back.
‘I don’t mind,’ I croak.
Nico looks dazed. ‘What?’ he asks, shaking his head slightly.
I try for a smile to dispel some of the tension. What just happened?
‘I don’t mind going to the meeting. For you and Phoebe I’ll even make small talk with strangers.’
I watch my words land, and his body relaxes; a familiar gleam of amusement dances in his eyes. ‘Wow,’ he says with a smirk. ‘You must really like my daughter.’
‘Something like that,’ I mutter. ‘Now, tell me, do I need to get changed? What’s the dress code for town meetings? Should I wear a suit? Something more dressy? Or is it more of a coastal casual thing?’ I worry one of my small pearl earrings. ‘I think I have a striped Sézane jumper with me.’
‘Hmmm, I don’t know. Do you have anything that’s somewhere between formal and casual with a touch of elegant whimsy?’
I start mentally riffling through my wardrobe. I wasn’t sure how long I was staying for so I packed options but I’m drawing a blank. ‘Whimsy? I don’t think so, like what?’
‘Fake moustache?’ Nico suggests. ‘Or a small bird that you can perch on your shoulder?’
‘You’re teasing me.’
‘I mean, you’re making it pretty easy, Daisy. What the fuck is coastal casual?’
‘Right, fine, I’m overthinking it,’ I sigh. ‘So I’m okay in this?’ I gesture to the outfit I’ve been wearing today.
‘As long as you wear the boots, too,’ Nico says.
‘You like the boots?’ I ask, and I would swear that a hot spark briefly leaps in his eyes.
‘Yeah, they’re nice,’ he coughs. ‘But it’s not for me; my friend Kat has been texting me all afternoon and she’ll want to grill you about them.’
‘Oh.’ I try really hard not to care that Nico has a friend called Kat who has great taste in shoes and access to his phone number. ‘How did she—’
‘Don’t ask,’ he sighs. ‘Town full of busybodies. But actually I think you’ll really like Kat. She’s Luke’s sister. She’s coming out for drinks with us after the meeting, so you’ll get a chance to talk.’
‘Great,’ I say brightly, even though it is not actually great and I do not have a good track record for making friends. I try to remember what Tara said… I just need to relax and be myself.
I can do that.
‘In that case I’m ready to go,’ I say, feeling like Joan of Arc or Marie Antoinette as I give him a wide smile. ‘Let’s go and meet the rest of Roseport.’