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‘Which one will I be?’ Audrey asked, and Josh let out a loud, unfiltered laugh, which sent a satisfied glow right down to the soles of Audrey’s feet.
Audrey led them to a fashionable store on Bow Street. Josh followed her around the shop as she started scouring the shelves full of jeans in every shade of blue, black and grey.
‘What size are you?’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe a thirty-six long?’
She pulled five or six different designs from the units, and a shop assistant guided them to a large changing room with a red velvet chaise longue positioned outside it.
‘Promise to be brutally honest,’ Josh called from behind the curtain. ‘Don’t spare my feelings.’
‘Have I ever been known to do that?’ Audrey jumped up to try and fix her fringe in a shop mirror while he was changing. She quickly added some nude gloss to her lips and rubbed some smudged mascara from beneath her eyes.
When Josh pulled back the curtain, he was wearing a pair of fitted dark blue jeans. They looked amazing on him, but his oversized shirt hung loose over the waistband.
‘You need to tuck your shirt in, I can’t see the fit properly. Maybe try them on with a T-shirt.’
The eager shop assistant handed Josh a T-shirt from the shop floor, and Audrey watched as he unbuttoned his shirt in front of her, momentarily revealing his bare chest before pulling the T-shirt over his head. Okay, wow. Look away, Audrey. She found herself searching the ceiling, suddenly conscious she didn’t want to be caught staring at his washboard stomach. Why was it called a washboard stomach anyway? Was it because it looked hard and firm, and you could scrub clothes clean on it? She would definitely take off her clothes and scrub—
‘Audrey?’
Audrey blinked, pulling her gaze back to his face.
‘Yeah, good. They look really good.’ She swallowed. ‘Wait, turn around. Yes, um, no, I think you could go an inch tighter; they’re slightly baggy on the butt.’
He gave a single clap, appearing pleased with her rigorous feedback, then drew the curtain across to change into the next pair. She was sorry not to see him take off his shirt this time.
Twenty minutes later, they walked out of the shop with three new pairs of jeans and the T-shirt. They found a coffee shop around the corner called Bean Here Before.
‘Have you been here before?’ he asked.
‘Nope. False advertising,’ she said.
He ordered himself a black coffee and asked Audrey what she wanted.
‘Let’s try a Very Berry Latte,’ she said, looking up at the menu.
‘You like those? It sounds revolting.’
‘I don’t know, I’ve never had one before.’ She shrugged, then observed his confused expression. ‘Let me guess, you’re the guy who orders the same thing every time.’
Josh laughed. ‘Yes, I always order black coffee. I know I like it.’
‘So you’re just going to drink black coffee for the rest of your life? Think of all the other hot beverages you could be missing out on.’
They took their coffees over to a secluded window seat. Audrey looked down at her coffee, piled high with cream and pink sprinkles.
‘You want to try it?’
Josh looked amused. ‘Are you working for the Very Berry Latte marketing board or something?’
‘No, I can just see you’re curious now.’
He rolled his eyes and reached for her cup. He took a sip then pretended to gag. ‘It’s no black coffee, but it’s actually not bad.’
‘Well, now you know what it tastes like,’ Audrey said, reaching for it. ‘So, Josh, tell me what someone who works in reinsurance does. Do you insure things that have already been insured? Would it be like me working in re-photography, where I take photos of existing photographs? Or a chef who re-cooks food, like a microwave chef?’
‘Not quite,’ he said, suppressing a smile. ‘We insure the insurers, help spread the risk of huge projects. I specialise in sustainable energy, wind farms, tidal power, billion-dollar investments. We help make these projects possible, that’s the simplest way I can describe it.’
