‘I didn’t realise you’d actually worked with Mel before.’
Finn gave a casual shrug. ‘I thought I told you.’
‘No.’
‘Oh,’ he replied, just as casually. ‘I must have forgotten. Why? Does it matter?’
‘No. I just thought you might have said.’
His hands gripped the wheel tighter before he stretched out the long fingers and reset his hold. ‘Like I said, I thought I had.’
Mum and Dad remained silent in the back of the car.
‘What did she mean, about you two working together again?’
‘It’s just one of a few possibilities I’m looking into for my next job.’
‘Right. Is that local too?’
‘It’s all still very much up in the air at the moment.’
I turned in my seat to face him more, or at least the side of his face, a silhouette in the darkness of the windy country roads, his features illuminated only by the lights of the dashboard. ‘But you must know where it would be.’
Finn cleared his throat. ‘Yes.’
I waited. Nothing else was forthcoming.
‘So?’
‘It’s in Dubai.’ He spoke the words quietly. I only just caught them and I was pretty sure Mum and Dad hadn’t heard at all. I soon rectified that situation.
‘Dubai?’ I replied, somewhat – a lot – louder.
‘See?’ Finn flashed me a very brief look. ‘This is why I didn’t mention it. I knew you’d over react.’
‘I’m not over reacting! I’m just… surprised.’
‘My job has always taken me all over the world, Elizabeth.’ There was a defensiveness to his tone that I didn’t appreciate.
‘I understand that. And I would never want to stop you. I’m just surprised that you hadn’t mentioned it at all.’
‘It’s not even a definite thing yet. I didn’t see the point.’
‘It’s obviously definite enough for Mel to know about it.’
He let out a breath between his teeth. ‘Please don’t tell me you’re going to get jealous about her now.’
‘What the hell’s up with you?’ I asked, carrying on before he had a chance to answer. ‘No, I’m not jealous. Don’t flatter yourself! I just thought we were at the stage where we discussed things.’
‘There’s nothing to discuss.’
‘Mel obviously thinks there is,’ I sniped back.
Finn did another throat clear. ‘Do you think we might be able to talk about this later?’ He shot me a meaningful look.
I twisted back to face forward, crossed my arms and sat in the thick silence until we pulled up at my parents’ house.
‘Thank you for the lovely meal,’ Mum said, as Finn held out a hand to assist her from the car.
