‘Best behaviour everyone, the police are here!’
‘Sergeant Ford. Nice to see you.’ Marcus smiled as his dad reappeared from answering the door with a new guest. I made a point of trying to avoid using clichés on my blog, but one popped into my mind right now; Sergeant Ford definitely fell into the tall, dark andhellocategory.
‘Marcus, you little squirt. How are you?’ The new arrival threw a tanned, muscular arm around Marcus’ shoulders and gave him a manly squeeze.
‘All right, thanks, mate. How’s you?’
‘Good, thanks. How’s the corporate world? Still setting it on fire?’
‘Every day.’
The latecomer laughed, his face radiating joy as he did so. ‘Glad to hear it.’ His eyes shifted briefly to Amy and me before fixing back on Marcus. ‘Are you going to do the honours or shall I do it myself?’
‘Ladies, this is Alex, Charlie’s oldest friend.’ He put an extra emphasis on the word oldest and received a flick on the ear in return. Laughing, he continued. ‘Alex, this is Amy, my girlfriend, and this is Libby.’
‘Nice to meet you.’ Alex shook our hands. For a moment it felt as if his hand rested in mine a little longer as he met my eyes, smiling. I quickly dismissed it until I caught a glance at Amy, who gave me a look that confirmed I hadn’t been imagining anything.
‘So, you work with Marcus?’ Alex asked Amy.
‘Yes, that’s right. Well, we’re in different departments so I don’t actually see him all that much at work, to be honest.’
‘Probably just as well. Don’t want you to get sick of him too quickly.’
‘Oh, ha ha.’ Marcus pulled a face. ‘Hilarious. You know, if policing doesn’t work out for you, you should go into comedy.’
‘I’ll think about it, thanks.’
Marcus grabbed a sausage roll from a nearby tray. ‘By the way, you should really try these, Alex. They’re amazing.’
‘OK, th—’ Alex didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Marcus rammed the entire thing into his friend’s mouth.
Alex’s surprised expression quickly turned to mirth, as he attempted to chew and swallow the pastry without choking.
‘Touché,’ he finally replied when he could speak again.
Marcus took a small bow. Amy rolled her eyes at him, laughing.
‘So, do you work with them as well, Libby?’
‘No, I have my own small business.’
I was still getting used to telling people that my blog was my business as often they didn’t really get it. A vaguer explanation was easier and generally did the job. But not this time, apparently.
‘And what is it that you do?’
I looked up to reply, finding Alex’s clear hazel gaze fixed on me along with one of the best smiles I’d seen in a long time, besides Charlie’s.
‘I run a lifestyle blog,’ I said, waiting for the glazing over to begin. But it didn’t.
‘Oh, wow! That’s great! Some of those are really big business now, aren’t they?’
OK. That was new.
‘Yes, a few of them have really taken off.’
‘And that’s your full-time job?’
‘Yep.’
