Chapter Seven
Ashleigh – Legends Bar, Brighton Seafront
The hotel bar which Ashleigh, Romesh and James visited regularly was down on the seafront. In the summer it was blissful to sit outside and watch the sea and the lights of the pier, but the whipping wind off the water in winter made it too chilly to sit out under the colourful umbrellas on the terrace.
Inside was just as bright though, with a whole spectrum of neon spotlights overlapping behind the bar, on the stage and dance floor and around the bar stools and comfortable seating. In addition, they had decorated for Christmas with the gaudiest decorations Ash had ever seen. Strings of small porcelain figures that at the best stretch of the imagination couldn’t be considered connected to Christmas but for the fact they were caked in gold and silver and pink glitter; flamingoes and peacocks, little pugs on armchairs, YMCA-styled mermen and – Ash’s personal favourite – hippos in tutus. The whole thing was wonderful.
Even for a weeknight, it was busy and the Christmas quiz was likely to be pulling in even more punters. Ashleigh headed straight for the bar, knowing Romesh would wait there for her. He was standing with another man, but it wasn’t the shorter, lean figure of James with his neat black short back and sides – Romesh’s companion was taller with chestnut hair…
Oh God, Romeshhadn’t…had he?
Ashleigh’s step faltered as she moved around a group who were getting seated and drew closer to the bar. The man Romesh was talking to turned his head further to the left, showing off his straight nose, curling eyelashes and the big dimple in his cheek.
Yes. Yes – Romesh had totally invited Olivier and somehow forgotten to mention it. She was going to kill him as soon as there were no witnesses.
‘Ashleigh.’ Olivier spotted her and turned to face her, his smile growing wider and making her stomach quiver.
Romesh looked over his shoulder at her with a smile too but it dimmed a little when he caught her eye. They knew each other too well and he knew he was in trouble for something. ‘Hello, Princess. What can I get you? It’s my round when Luke ever gets his cute little butt down here.’ He called the last part of the sentence out louder so Luke, the bartender they’d known for years, could hear him. He straightened the pink Santa hat he was wearing and flipped Romesh the bird with a grin.
‘I’ll have a glass of red please. Large.’ She lifted her eyebrows at Romesh so he could read her mind where she was projecting:I think I’m going to need it now.
‘Your wish is my command. Why don’t you two grab a seat near the stage? The closer we are to the front, the more likely we’ll be able to flirt with the quiz master and get bonus points.’
‘You and your bonus points.’ She shook her head and took a deep breath. ‘This way, Olivier.’ Olivier followed her as she walked towards the dance floor, the back of her neck prickling self-consciously. She pressed her lips together hard and told herself to get a handle on it. So, she had a crush on him as a teenager, they’d had a…moment the last time he visited, but that was a long time ago and just because he was a handsome man, didn’t mean she was going to start acting like an idiot. Like she’d said to Romesh last night, she didn’t even know him now.
She spotted a table in an alcove that was all pink and blue under the lights. She scooted into the corner of the booth seat and tried to put on a relaxed smile, but he was busy steadily unbuttoning his coat. In the back of her mind ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You’ was playing, like she was watching her own personal Diet Coke advert. For God’s sake, she’d trained as an actress hadn’t she? She could do this.
‘Sorry, by the way – I didn’t even say hi, did I?’ she rambled once he’d finished removing his coat and slid in next to her. ‘Too busy getting my bar order in.’
‘Priorities.’ He grinned and his dimple deepened. ‘Has it been that kind of a day?’
‘No. Not really. I’ve been practising putting on a puppet show. Not exactly a high-pressure environment. I’d just love a glass of wine.’Way to make yourself sound like a lush, Ash. She gathered her hair back and pulled it over one shoulder, then hurriedly dropped her hand. Playing with your hair was flirting wasn’t it? ‘What have you been doing?’
‘Not a lot actually.’ He raised his eyebrows a little, like it still shocked him.
‘Well, you are on holiday.’
‘Supposedly.’ Before he could elaborate, Romesh arrived with the drinks.
‘Why supposedly?’ she couldn’t help but ask once the drinks were distributed.
‘Ah, I’ve said I’ll do the Christmas display for my maman’s chocolate shop.’
‘Oh, that’s always so beautiful,’ Romesh said.
Olivier grimaced. ‘It is. Quite an act to follow. I must be crazy because I’m not a chocolatier, but…’ He gave one of those big easy shrugs that she remembered him always doing. Except now his shoulders were wider, his arm brushing against hers. Was she sitting too close to him? Should she move, or would that be too obvious?
She took a big gulp of wine and refocused her attention on the conversation rather than his body. ‘So, you’re just going to give it a go anyway? Even though you’re not sure you can pull it off?’
‘What have I got to lose?’
‘Your time? Your reputation? The reputation of your mother’s shop? Lots of money on wasted chocolate?’
If there hadn’t been music pumping in the background, Ash was sure she’d have heard crickets. Okay, maybe she’d gone a bit over the top there. Olivier’s eyes met hers, widening enough that even in the dim lighting, she could see the shades of golden brown and green that made up his irises.
Then he broke the shocked silence with a good-natured laugh and Ro joined in.
‘You remember our Ash, don’t you?’ Romesh said, his voice full of wry warmth. ‘Always a sobering, sensible influence when we were scheming to do something ridiculous, like steal that cardboard cut-out of Heath Ledger from HMV.’
