‘No, you won’t. You’ll actually feel a lot better. It’s been scientifically proven.’
I tilted my head back and looked up at him. For some reason it seemed even further to meet his eyes today. ‘Is that true?’
‘Absolutely. You can look it up.’
‘I will.’ There was every chance that Charlie was right, but frankly, with his quiet, studied demeanour, even when he was being funny, he could have convinced me of pretty much anything.
‘Good. And then you can ring me and tell me how right I was.’
‘Unlikely.’
‘You’re clearly sobering up. Let’s go.’
I slid off the stool. ‘Oh, I think I owe you for some pillowcases. Half of my make-up is now splurged all over the cover of one. I put it in the laundry basket in the bathroom.’
‘No worries. I’ll mention it to the housekeeping lady when she comes.’
‘You have a housekeeper?’
‘Well, not a personal one, no. But a very nice lady comes in and takes care of all that stuff.’
I pulled a face.
‘What?’
‘Nothing. I was wondering how you kept this place so nice.’
‘Hey, I have skills, you know. I just don’t have the time.’
I burst out laughing as the image of a six-foot-five Charlie in a frilly apron and feather duster popped into my head.
‘And why is that funny?’
‘No, no, it’s not. I just sort of got this image of you in my mind…’
Charlie looked at me. ‘I don’t really want to know what that image is, do I?’
I shook my head, then quickly stopped in order to halt the feeling that my brain was rolling around in my skull like a pinball. ‘No. Probably not.’
Charlie rolled his eyes at me, but I could see laughter in them. ‘Come on. Time for your walk of shame.’
I spun round. ‘Charlie!’
He turned me bodily back around. ‘It’s OK. I made you that sign you wanted. We’ll pick it up on the way through.’
‘Oh, ha ha.’
He shuffled me to the door, slinging his camera bag over his shoulder on the way as we stepped out into warm sunshine. I rummaged about in my bag for some sunglasses whilst he locked up. Slipping them on, I breathed an audible sigh of relief.
‘Morning, Charlie.’ A sultry, breathy voice drifted across on the warm breeze. We both turned in the direction it had come from. Greeting us was a sight that could only be described as a ‘bombshell’. She had curves I could only dream of, and the fifties-style sundress clinging to them did a fabulous job of enhancing everything she had going on beneath it. In contrast to the shiny platinum hair that stroked her bare shoulders, her lips were full and pillarbox red. Keeping them half parted, she focused dark eyes on Charlie. She was utterly entrancing.
‘Morning, Elaine.’ Charlie nodded. ‘How are you?’
I risked a glance at him from behind my sunglasses. The vision in front of us had brought out his cute little half-smile and that faint blush he was sometimes prone to.
‘Fine, thank you, Charlie.’
The way she said ‘Charlie’ was incredible. There was a whole invitation wrapped up in just his name.
