The barman faffed around making our drinks, which gave us something to concentrate on other than our stilted conversation. First, he placed two paper coasters with frilly edges in front of us, then he went back for the two vodka tonics – both with lime – and then he returned with two clear plastic stirrers.
‘Would you like some olives?’ he asked.
I shook my head and Nick said, ‘No, thank you.’
‘So, what have you been up to?’ I said, after a couple of beats.
‘I’m no longer Marcie’s publicist.’
I gasped. ‘You really resigned?’
He held my eye. ‘I didn’t like the person I had become working for her.’
I didn’t know what to say. The silence was weighed down with a barrage of unspoken things. Feelings I’d pushed away, not daring to examine. Like how I’d felt at the brush of his hand against my leg in the Aston Martin; when I’d been pressed against him as he sang; when he’d kissed me. The memory made my blood surge. I felt hot and light-headed. I broke eye contact to take a sip of my mercifully strong drink.
I braved a glance back at Nick, whose attention was on his own glass. The top button of his white shirt was undone, his bow tie hung unknotted around his neck and his damp hair glistened in the low light.
He was stunning.
I’d always known that, but his good looks suddenly felt dangerous.
My breathing quickened; a response to the danger. Fight or flight instincts vying for control.
But I didn’t want to do either of those things.
When he did speak, he didn’t look at me. ‘Zoë, there are things about me you don’t know...’
I waited for him to continue, but his attention had snagged on the rows of spirits in front of us. Or maybe he was looking at the mirror behind the bottles, because there seemed to be a rather animated scene unfolding behind us.
His jaw clenched. ‘Fuck.’
He spun round and I twisted to see what he was looking at. A guy in jeans was arguing with a woman in a fifties dress. I hadn’t seen anyone wearing casual clothes, but the dress was definitely Lucy’s.
Then the man turned round and I froze.What was Jonny Delaney doing here?
Jonny must have felt his ears burning because he suddenly looked over. I could see Lucy pulling him back to her, but he shrugged her off and started to make his way towards us.
Nick rose and put himself between me and Jonny, which was a bit annoying because I wanted a clear view of him. What was Jonny’s beef?
I was about find out.
‘I want a word with you,’ he blustered as he approached the bar.
I was holding my drink, and for a brief moment, had a vision of myself chucking it over Jonny’s annoying floppy fringe.
‘A pleasure, as always.’ I added a fake smile in case he wasn’t au fait with sarcasm.
Nick looked from me to Jonny, trying to read the room.
‘Oh, you take a pleasure in ruining careers, do you?’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’
He rolled his eyes theatrically. ‘Don’t play dumb.’
Nick inched forward. ‘Leave it, Jonny.’
‘No, don’t leave it,’ I said, annoyed. ‘What stupidity has your tiny mind invented and blamed on me?’
