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If her fury at what he was doing hadn’t won over her fear of being too touchy-feely with him. But apparently it did because she did it without a second thought.
She got hold of his sleeve and tugged in a way that shocked him enough to turn. He looked at her with what could only be described as pride at her nerve all over his face, just as whoever he was calling answered. “Daisy?” he said as Mabel carried on trying to reel him in enough to get the phone. “Yeah, it’s me. Sorry to be calling so late but— Yes, I know that’s what I pay you for. Yes, I know I never ask you for anything and you feel like you’re robbing me. No, I’m not going to pay you less money— Can you just. Daisy, I need your help.”
In more ways than one, she thought.
Then stood on tiptoe and almost got the blasted thing.
He had to whip away quick and tilt his head up and to one side.
But that wasn’t going to work for long, and he obviously knew it.
It was the reason he started talking fast, around what definitely sounded like an almost laugh. “Okay, so here’s the thing. I am trying to take my new girlfriend out, but we need an outfit, and some high-end makeup, and a vacuum cleaner. Don’t ask me why, I can’t explain any of it without making her get all agitated. Let’s just say her zipper flew off and she ran out of lipstick and her vac backed up when she tried to suck up three feet deep of Rice Krispies.”
And now he was definitely laughing, the little shit.
So she stood on his shoes, andyes.
She had hold of his phone hand.
Though god, he was strong. Not to mention good at carrying on a conversation with a plump little kitten hanging off him. “Yeah, that was her in those photos. And yeah, that sounds absolutely right. Fucking hell, you’re good. Think her shoes might be smaller though, she’s a five, not a six. I know, the telephones make her feet look bigger but they’re weirdly small. Think that’s why she’s always falling over. All that hair makes her top heavy,” he said.
Because apparently his last goad hadn’t been enough.
He had to really go for it, and for reasons that made her feeljust a bit gleeful.He’s enjoying you messing with him like this, her brain informed her. And she couldn’t even deny this was true. She’d never seen him laugh the way he was doing—breathlessly, in between words. “I’ve got to go, she’s trying to murder me,” he said.
Then he ended the call with one hand.
Andlifted her off her feet with the other.
“Right, madam,” he said as he practically turned her upside down.
Like she really was a kitten, being cheeky as fuck with him.
And okay, then she got it. Then she understood why he liked it.
And why it wasn’t bothering her, either.
Because they were being big kids.
Just a pair of big kids on the playground.
So of course it wasn’t triggering any anxiety, of course it wasn’t.
This was fun, it was just fun, of the sort that could never be weird. Not even when he set her down on her feet, and for just a second his hand lingered on her waist, and she was looking up into his face and he was looking down into hers and they were both breathing super hard.
Like they’d really exerted themselves.
Even though she couldn’t remember when that happened.
She didn’t want to remember, really.
So she stepped away before she could.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” she said airily.
And he took a second, but he answered airily, too.
“What? Turning you upside down, or the Daisy thing?”
