Page 13 of Read My Lips

“Incriminating?” Simon’s eyebrows notched upwards in outraged offence. “How would it be in my interests to sabotage my client’s engagement to his pregnant fiancée? I’m supposed to be protecting his reputation, not trashing it.”

“Yeah, but he’s not just a client, is he?”

I breathed slow, letting each sentence rearrange itself, shaping Sev’s phrasing into BSL like the words weren’t even touching me. But my insides desiccated at the confirmation. Sev knew how things were between them. Mistake my arse – Richard and Simon had history. And at this rate, by the time dawn hit properly, my useless pining heart would be scattered across the floor in little square chunks like the glass of the passenger window that time we found a brick on the front seat of Matt’s Corsa.

Agreeing to be here was a mistake.

“Sev, I know you’ve shacked up with my sister and life is one long stream of hearts and roses for you⁠—”

“Oh you can piss right off.”

“—but hear me when I say I have never wanted to marry that man.” A confusing sort of amusement coloured Simon’s declaration. My heart flip-flopped. I knew he wasn’t so much of a bad judge of character he actually liked the guy.

“Simon, they ditched you.”

“They did not.” Incredulous laugh. Soft bright eyes. “They decided to move into a more committed life stage, and I didn’t want in. Frankly I’m glad to be out of it. It’s far too much work being on all the time.”

“Being on all the time? Babes.”

The lift juddered to a stop at the top of the building, but Sev blocked the exit, legs wide, boots stopping the doors closing. And I tried not to have a claustrophobic meltdown about how much I wanted out.

Simon sighed wearily. “You know I have no interest in relationships.”

Well, shit. The fantasy of me and Simon ever happening disintegrated like an overly tea-soaked biscuit plopping into the bottom of my mug before I got to take a bite. He wasn’t going to change his mind for me when he hadn’t for a pair of bloody millionaires. I sagged against the wall of the lift. What was I even doing here?

Simon shot Sev an exasperated look, thin-lipped, wide-eyed and irritated. “Were you raking through my personal life in front of my interpreter for shits and giggles, or was there something relevant to the current situation?”

Oh for the power to disappear at will. I was only supposed to be here for the meeting. He wouldn’t be sharing any of this if it was us two having a chat. Because we didn’t bloody well have chats.

Sev grimaced. “I’m not dragging this all up for fun. Listen–”

She whipped her phone out, bipping up the volume obnoxiously loud and my whole body seized.

Oh sweet Jesus. Simon must have had the sound off in the taxi. I wanted to block my ears. One hundred and eighty seconds was a whole lot of sweaty bollock-smacking. Closeted public-school millionaires in polyamorous relationships Did It Better than deeply obsessed and available employees.

I should bumper-sticker that so I never forgot. Get it tattooed across my forehead.

“Ben, you don’t have to interpret this.”

Thank Christ.

The fleshy rhythm peaked, and⁠—

“Shit!” I flinched. A nauseating warbled screech of feedback shrilled off the close-set elevator walls, melting my fillings right out of my head. Simon yanked his hearing aids out, wincing.

Sev killed the video, plunging us back to blissful, echoing silence.

“See?”

His hearing aids didn’t play up often, but their feedback whine was unmistakable. Oh god. He was cooked.

“I’d forgotten that happened.” The glimmer in his features dulled out like a torch battery failing. “Shit.”

Frowning, Simon slotted each earpiece back in carefully, eyes going soft focus like he wasn’t really here. And then he closed his eyes completely.

My breath felt like the last puff of smoke from a candle. I didn’t want to be here. He had no corner for me to help him fight. Everything was ashes. We were screwed.

He sucked in a deep breath like he’d broken the surface of the sea, shaking it all off, coming up for air. “Okay.” He held a hand out. “I can work this. Did you tell Mel about someone trying to wipe the sound?”