Page 59 of Unapologetic Love Story

‘What drink would you like, Tom?’ Solana asked brightly.

He would like to see her sister. ‘Whatever lager you’ve got is fine, thank you.’

She dashed out of the room, leaving him sitting awkwardly on the unoccupied sofa. He questioned how Solana Lewis knew who he was, found himself wondering if Raina talked about him to other people. She’d seemed incredibly happy to meet him, so whatever she’d been told, it couldn’t have been terrible. The idea that Raina was perhaps speaking well of him behind his back made him sit up a little straighter on the sofa.

When Solana reappeared, she was carrying a small glass snifter.

‘No lager, sorry,’ she said breezily. ‘I got you Scotch.’

He smiled, despite himself. He hated whisky. Not very patriotic of him, he knew, but he’d never liked it. However, Solana looked so pleased with herself, he sipped it in a show of gratitude and said nothing.

It was Jack Daniels, not Scotch. He said nothing about that, either.

‘Bless her, she’s no good with booze.’

Tom looked up to see a man wearing a checked shirt. He had a weak beard with a ginger hue and young eyes. He was looking at Tom expectantly.

‘I don’t mind,’ Tom replied carefully, wondering who this man was. ‘Tom Branimir.’

‘Matt Fletcher. And this is Nick.’

The other man, who seemed a little less socially fluid, nodded from the corner of the room.

‘How do you know Solana, then?’ Matt asked.

‘I don’t. I know Raina.’

The man’s demeanour changed, almost imperceptibly. ‘Oh yeah?’

Tom downed the rest of his pretend Scotch. ‘Yes.’

‘She always did take too long to get ready. I still haven’t seen her yet,’ said the man, laughing in a way that made Tom want to find someone else to speak to. The possessive note in Matt’s voice when he spoke about Raina made Tom feel argumentative.

‘Excuse me,’ he said stiffly, getting up and heading for the kitchen.

He found Solana and Pepper by the kitchen island.

‘You came,’ Pepper said dully.

‘I have to just say,’ Solana interjected before Tom could fire back a retort at the heiress, ‘I’m such a fan of yours.’

Tom’s brow furrowed. ‘A fan?’

‘I’m confused as well,’ Pepper said frostily.

‘I am!’ Solana said. ‘I was telling Raina, I’ve quoted you in every single one of my essays for Modern Political Studies. I even use screenshots of your old tweets.’

Tom’s earlier firefly of hope was instantly crushed. ‘You know me from social media.’

‘Well, the news, too. When you do next day’s papers. And Question Time. I printed off that entire thread you wrote, laying into the shadow chancellor. It was so good!’

Tom managed to muster up a weak smile. It was, of course, what he wanted to see – someone interested and engaged in politics.

He’d just really been hoping that her warmth towards him was because of Raina.

He could feel Pepper glaring at him, so he met her gaze and nodded. ‘Evening.’

She made a noise of acknowledgement.