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Heidi catches my eye, and her eyebrows rise. Something’s bothering her…
And then Alan’s words sink in. Wait, what? I open my mouth to speak, but my brain has gone blank.
“Please excuse us for a moment,” Vicky says. “Alan, can you double check with Sam that he’s stocked the fridge in the cottage, please? I want to check with the chef that everything’s okay for later. We’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
“No worries,” I manage to mumble, and the two of them leave the room.
Heidi immediately comes over to me. “They think we’re a couple,” she whispers urgently.
I blink. “I told him on the phone that I was bringing a friend.”
“I guess he extrapolated,” she says. Her voice holds a touch of sarcasm, but she seems more amused than annoyed.
“Why did he do that?”
“Maybe because you told them you kissed me?”
“Oh. Yeah. I thought it was funny. Shit.”
“Why didn’t you say something when he said about us staying in the cottage? That was the perfect opportunity to set them straight.”
“I panicked,” I reply. “I’m so sorry. I’ll explain.” I run a hand through my hair. I can’t believe I’ve screwed up already. I really wanted to make a good impression, and this isn’t a good start.
She inhales, then lets the breath out slowly. “Look, you don’t have to say anything.”
“What’s the alternative?”
“One of us sleeps on the sofa?”
“It’s not just about the cottage. They think we’re a couple. We’d have to pretend to be an item all weekend.” I can’t say the idea doesn’t appeal to me, but I’m here to get funding, not to get laid.
Heidi’s trying not to laugh. “Honestly, you’re such an idiot.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She rolls her eyes. “It won’t be that bad. We can fake it, surely?”
My gaze slides over to her. “I hope you’ll never have to do that with me.”
“Jesus, really? You’re cracking sex jokes when you’ve just bolloxed everything up?”
“It’s a defensive mechanism. I’m dying a little inside.”
She chuckles and, to my surprise, slides an arm around my waist. “It’s not the end of the world. We’re good friends, aren’t we? We can fake love for the weekend.”
I look down into her sparkling blue eyes, and my stomach flips. Oh shit. I’ve screwed up big time.
“We need to get our story straight,” she says. “I’m assuming they think I still live in New Zealand, and we came over together?”
I’m distracted by the feel of her tucked under my arm. I put an arm around her shoulder, fighting the urge to kiss her. “I guess.”
“All right. We started dating over a year ago, not this Christmas just gone, the one before. We live together in your apartment in Auckland. I teach in a primary school there, the one I did my training at.”
“Okay. We’re not engaged, though?”
“You haven’t asked me to marry you yet,” she says playfully.
“That’s because I’m a fucking idiot,” I murmur, looking at her mouth and watching her lips curve up.
