I gave him a funny look.
‘What?’ he asked innocently.
‘Nothing. It’s just . . . you’re being nice.’
‘I’m always nice.’
‘I know . . . well, I mean, you don’t like me.’
‘That’s not true.’
Someone knocked me as they squeezed past, almost tipping my lemonade all over me. I looked down to check my dress for any stray spillages when I felt Cal’s warm fingers grip my wrist. Our eyes locked.
‘That’s not true,’ he repeated, in a lower, more serious voice. I was so surprised at the intense way he was looking at me, that I suddenly felt all the breath knocked out of me and a warm, giddy feeling in my stomach.
I really needed to stop being affected so much by boys. How does anyone get anything done when they’re walking around with their sincere eyes and shapely jaws?
Oh my God, I just used the word ‘shapely’.
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH MY BRAIN?
‘Flick?’
Cal dropped my wrist at my mum’s voice.
‘Mum! What are you doing here?’
‘Well, my lecture’s finished, and I came home to hear that I was hosting a party for Skylar Chase.’
I felt the colour drain out my face. I hadn’t told Mum about the party earlier because I didn’t want her to worry about anything. But I had meant to phone her beforehand to mention that the whole thing was happening, you know, it being her hotel and everything. But my panic after Grace leaving and then that really nice message from Olly had totally thrown my brain and I’d completely forgotten to call her.
‘Mum, I meant to –’
‘What a resounding success.’ She beamed. ‘Flick, I could not be more proud of you.’
She reached forwards and pulled me into a hug.
‘Audrey told me everything,’ she continued, releasing me to address Cal too. ‘She said how you two clubbed together to arrange all of this and how hard you have both worked. I must say, I didn’t realise this room even existed. How did you come across it?’
‘Uh –’
‘Well –’
‘Um –’
‘No matter.’ She laughed, as Cal and I awkwardly mumbled, before putting on her sophisticated hotel-owner voice. ‘Guests can always rely on Hotel Royale.’
‘Right,’ I agreed. ‘That was the tagline we were channelling.’
‘I’d better go and talk to Miss Chase,’ she said, before placing a hand on my shoulder. ‘Flick, I think it might be about time we talk about the Christmas Ball. Don’t you?’
She smiled warmly at us and then strode away towards Sky. Without thinking, I threw my arms around Cal’s neck, bouncing up and down on the spot.
‘We did it! We did it!’
He laughed and suddenly I realised I was majorly invading Cal Weston’s personal space, so I stumbled backwards, knocking into a grumpy supermodel behind me. After apologising to her, I turned back to Cal.
‘Looks like you got your way.’ He grinned.
