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“Why did you come out with us today?”
I hadn't expected to see surprise on Radleigh's face, and for a second or two he looked as though he genuinely didn't know the answer.
“Well,” he said after a while, “I didn't want to disappoint anyone.”
“You could have made an excuse. Sure, Jamie would have been a little upset, but he'd have got over it.”
“Maybe Jamie wasn't the person I was worried about disappointing.”
I watched him for a sign that he was joking. His face stayed serious.
Round One to McCoy.
“You arrogant berk. You don't think I would have cried myself to sleep because you said you couldn’t come?”
“Oh, you wouldn't have cared?”
“No,” I answered, honestly. “You were never involved in my plans today, you just got invited along. Strange as this may seem to you, I don't spend every minute of the day wishing you were with me.”
He smirked at my insult. “Okay, I'm sorry. I came because I wanted to. I thought it would be fun. And it was. Your family’s really nice, Leah.”
“You sound surprised,” I teased. “What would you expect relatives of mine to be like?”
“I knew they’d be nice but I didn't expect your nephew would want to hold my hand, and I didn't expect your brother to be so laid back.”
“Why not? I'm laid back.”
“Right,” Radleigh said, laughing. “Sure you are.”
“I am!” I said, punctuating my point by whipping a pillow from behind my head and hitting him with it. “You just don't know because you’re the one who winds me up!”
Radleigh laughed harder, taking the pillow from my hands. “You were laid back today.”
“Well I knew you wouldn't try to bug me today. You wouldn't want to look bad in front of your adoring fans.”
“Leah, come on, cut me some slack. I know how much you missed them. I didn’t want to ruin your day.”
He smoothed the pillowcase out before handing it back to me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“A few times you've mentioned your past relationships. And once you said you'd had one night stands.”
Amazed
that he ever listened, and not only listened but remembered, I said, “What's the question?”
“I was just wondering … how you changed so much.”
“Why do you ask?” I said, buying myself some more time while debating whether or not to tell him the truth.
“I'm interested. You said you’ve met men like me before, and you fell for some of them.”
“Are you looking for tips?”
“I don't need tips. I just want to know.”
“Okay,” I said. “I grew up in a town where the entertainment level was zero. It really is the stereotypical English village. It's beautiful, but for a teenager, it's dull. As soon as I was old enough to be let into pubs, my friends and I started hanging out in them at the weekends. I was young, confident, horny and stupid. Not necessarily in that order.”
