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“Oh.” She crinkled her nose in a way that made him want to scoop her up and drag her back to bed. “But my life is completely boring. Surely there’s something better we could do. Like take a Clipper out to Greenwich and look at the way lightning dances over the city.”
His lips lifted at her romantic suggestion. “Another time.”
“But seriously, Layth, my life is not at all interesting. You’re the most exciting thing to ever happen to me.”
“Perhaps what you call boring is interesting to me.”
She looked outside and frowned. He had a point. If she lived as he did, perhaps she would also crave a taste of normality. “Do you … I mean, would you like to meet Melinda?”
His eyes glowed. “Yes.”
Cassie reached up and cupped his cheek. It was something she did often, and he found the gesture dangerously endearing. It was a sign of caring softness, and he was becoming addicted to it.
“I’ll get ready.”
He nodded. “Is there somewhere near you we can eat?”
“I’ll make us breakfast. At my place.” She was enthusiastic for this scheme now. The prospect of showing him her life was giving her a complete buzz.
She practically skipped back to their room. The wardrobe was overflowing with clothes, and she pulled out yet another new outfit, only slightly shocked at how easily she’d adapted to this too. He’d bought the clothes. What was the sense in wasting them?
Her shower was completed in record time; she dressed and pulled her hair into a pony tail, slapped a little bit of makeup on her face and then called Melinda.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said immediately, aware that Melinda often slept late on weekends to make up for her demanding work schedule.
“Mmm,” Melinda groaned, barely able to concentrate yet.
“It’s just, I’m coming home today. Soon. Now. I’ll be there in about a half hour.” She was nervous and it was making her babble.
“What? You are?” The sound of Melinda banging her head on the bookshelf above her bed came down the phone.
“Yes, and um, I’m bringing him. Layth.”
“You’re bringing Layth Sati here? To our flat?”
“Uh huh.” She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was shimmering from the inside out, like a glow worm in the ancient caves of the Top End of Australia. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes sparkled. She was happy. Truly, truly happy.
“Shit. The place is a dive. You haven’t been here so I’ve been completely slack and lazy.”
“Don’t worry about that. I don’t think he’s expecting anything near his usual standards …”
“Cassie, what does this mean? Why is he coming here?”
A frown momentarily darkened the visage of her happiness. “It doesn’t mean anything. Nothing’s changed. It’s a rainy day. We’re just looking for something to do. Trust me, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“So you’re still insisting this is just sex? This guy that you’ve practically moved in with?”
“Yep.”
The silence hummed between them. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
Cassie laughed as she pressed the end button and moved out into the lounge. Layth was where she’d left him. “Ready?”
He turned around, his eyes scanning her thoughtfully. She looked good in couture. Not that she ever didn’t look good. Naked, or in her running gear, or wrapped in a towel or head to toe Givenchy as she was today, she looked great. Good enough to eat.
But she suited couture. She suited the beautiful, expensive, demure clothes he’d selected. Clothes that hinted at her fantastic curves without exposing them. He walked to her purposefully, and linked his arms behind her waist. “You look beautiful.”
She smiled up at him. “Easy to do when you’re wearing a small fortune.”
