Page 63 of Be More Octopus

'What's it called?'

'Carlo's'

Em checked the map on her phone. It was a ten-minute walk away.

Lucy shouted from the dining room, 'Em! Can you give me a hand with Charlotte?'

'Coming.' She turned back to Karl. 'I'd like to see more of you. I'll meet you at Carlo's.'

'I'm looking forward to it.'

'Was that some flirting going on in there?' Lucy asked as she and Em helped a barely conscious Charlotte upstairs.

'We're going for a drink.'

'You don't hang around. Good for you. If I hadn't got Lars, I'd have gone for him myself. He has an appealing twinkle in his eye. Just a drink?'

'I'll see what happens. But don't wait up.'

'You're normally Miss “keep them waiting until the third date”?'

'A change is as good as a rest, they say. Anyway, I don't think Karl's the third date type. I wouldn't object to being another notch on his bedpost. Or perhaps he'll be one on mine.'

'He's probably had so many notches, he hasn't got any bedpost left. You're not going to regret this, are you? What about Jack?'

'Jack is back with his wife. The only thing I might regret is abandoning the rest of you tonight.'

'I doubt anyone else will notice,' Lucy said, looking at Charlotte, who was now spark out lying facedown on her bed. 'I'll cover for you if anyone says anything.'

They left Charlotte gently snoring and headed back to the dining room. Lucy suddenly stopped halfway down the stairs. 'What if Karl has terrible dress sense? For all we know, he might like wearing elasticated polyester slacks and a Hawaiian shirt when he's off duty.'

'Does he look like he buys his clothes at garden centres? Stop trying to put me off.'

'Don't say I didn't warn you.'

'Warn you about what?' Karl was in the hall now, fully clothed in a figure-hugging navy blue shirt and jeans that showed off all his assets.

'Garden centres. Very dangerous places,' said Lucy enjoying the view. 'But you look like you don't frequent them too often.'

'No.' He looked bemused. 'I haven't got a garden.'

He looked at Em expectantly. 'I'm just about to leave.'

'I'll meet you at Carlo's in half an hour then.'

'It's starting to rain,' he said. 'I can give you a lift?'

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Karl parked his car outside a very modern-looking block of apartments.

'I need to put all this stuff in my flat before we go to the bar.'

'I'll give you a hand,' Em offered.

'You don't have to.'

'I don't mind. The sooner it's done, the sooner we get to the bar.' She was curious about where Karl lived. From the outside, it looked quite swanky.