AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘What’s your favourite colour?’ Arthur read aloud from the other end of the table.
‘Black,’ Estelle muttered under her breath.
‘You or me?’ James murmured.
She glanced up. One of his eyebrows was arched.
‘You, of course.’
‘Ah yes. Because you know me so well.’
She looked away, her cheeks heating.
‘What’s your favourite colour?’ he asked.
‘Does it matter?’
‘Don’t you want to play the game?’
Estelle didn’t want to play any game with James, as she wasn’t sure she could ever win.
‘Brown,’ she eventually replied.
‘Why?’
‘Duke is brown.’
‘Your horse?’
‘Yes, and earth is brown. And coffee, autumn leaves, my favourite riding boots, my skin.’
‘Can I change my favourite colour?’
Heart jumping, she ignored his question and pulled the first two slips of paper from the envelope, discarding the first one. ‘How do you take your coffee?’ she read aloud. ‘Easy. Double espresso—’
‘Cappuccino, double shot.’
She took out another. ‘Favourite music or song. ‘The Imperial March’ from Star Wars.’
‘I thought we were meant to be answering for ourselves, not each other?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s quicker this way.’
‘Well then, your favourite song is “When 2 become 1” by the Spice Girls.’
‘It’s one of my favourites.’ She pulled out another question. ‘Draw your first pet in less than a minute.’ Still not meeting his eyes, she handed James a small pad of paper and a pencil, then started drawing Peewee, her first ever horse. When she’d finished, she handed it to him. He passed her his pad. It was blank.
She glanced up in surprise.
His expression was impassive. ‘I’ve never had a pet.’ He looked at her drawing. ‘What was your dog’s name?’
‘Peewee was a horse, you pillock,’ she muttered, then paused. ‘Did you ever want a pet?’
James didn’t reply, instead taking another piece of paper from the envelope. ‘What’s your favourite form of exercise?’ he asked, gazing directly at her.
‘Riding,’ she replied, her traitorous brain substituting James for Duke.
‘Sounds fun. I might have to try it.’
