It Started With A Tweet(89)

But before I get too freaked out, he’s handing me over to a man on the other side of the circle.

Ding dong. He looks just like Colin Firth.

‘Hello,’ I say, shaking my hair back. ‘I’m Daisy, and I have no idea what I’m doing.’

‘That’s OK, I’m used to dragging my wife around; she’s clueless too.’

I sigh in disappointment and as I’m handed back to Rodney I pass by a pretty blonde woman who’s presumably Colin’s wife, more’s the pity.

It’s a good job I’ve not had time to drink too much, as the way I’m being flung backwards and forwards is shaking me right up, and by the end of the dance I’m pretty dizzy.

‘Ready for the next one?’ Rodney asks eagerly.

‘Um, I think I’ll sit this one out. How about you ask my sister? I’m sure she’s dying to have a dance.’

‘OK,’ says Rodney, grunting as he goes off in search of Rosie, and I wander over to the entrance to get a bit of fresh air. Jenny was right, it is boiling in here, that and I’m pretty unfit.

I go to walk outside and I walk straight into someone.

‘Sorry,’ I say, as an automatic reaction. I look up and find myself face to face with Jack.

He looks at me with the same sort of disdain, as if he’d found something unpleasant on his shoe.

‘Um, hi,’ I say, awkwardly. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since our run in at the farmhouse.

‘Hi,’ he says, through gritted teeth, more out of politeness than anything,

We stand there for a second in silence, until I can no longer bear it. ‘I was just getting some air,’ I say, and I go to move past him and we swap places so that he can go off into the hall to find his girlfriend.

To think that I’d almost contemplated staying up here for him. I shake my head. Thank goodness E.D.S.M. wrote and threw me a lifeline back to my old world.





Chapter Twenty-Nine

Time since last Internet usage: 7 hours, 31 minutes, 9 seconds

I shiver a little at the cool breeze coming under the door, and I try to keep myself warm by nodding like a Churchill dog at whatever Liz is talking about. To be honest, I’ve lost track. I’ve been edging my feet closer to the main hall for the last ten minutes, hoping she’ll take the hint, but she seems too delighted at having an audience.

‘And then, she appeared from Russ’s house. At 7 a.m. Still in last night’s clothes. Now, I’m not one to gossip, but his wife only left a few weeks before.’

If either I knew who she was talking about, or I cared remotely, I might have speculated that perhaps the dirty stop out, as Liz had called her, was the reason the wife left in the first place. But I’m trying to escape from the conversation, not drag myself further into it.

I’ve got my hand on the door handle, and I’m about to summon the courage to tell her I’m going back in, when the main door opens and a couple walk in. I seize my opportunity and sneak back into the hall. The welcome warmth hits me immediately.

It seems the party is well and truly in full swing now. The dance floor is packed with promenading couples and I spot Rosie holding hands with a young man skipping under the hands of everyone else. She’s got a huge smile on her face and seems to be enjoying herself. I’m so pleased that I came with her; this is just what she needed to take her mind off everything going on with her and Rupert. Speaking of whom, it seems that the poster didn’t work after all. Perhaps, when I’m back in London, I’ll have to give him a ring.

‘There you are. I thought you’d exited,’ says Alexis as he walks up behind me.

I stifle a giggle at his odd translation, but feel a little flattered that at least he noticed my absence. Which is impressive, given the female admirers he has here tonight. In fact, there are two circling like sharks, waiting for their opportunity to grab him for a dance.

‘The next dance is mine,’ he says almost purring.

I’m not sure if it’s his super sexy French accent, the punch I drank earlier, or the fact that Jenny is giggling with Jack, but whatever it is, I want Alexis, and I want him now.

I lean into him and I find my lips making contact with his, and before I can talk myself out of it, we’re kissing. As in proper tongues-and-all kissing. It takes a second before my brain catches up with my lust and we stop before laughing, a little embarrassed at the sudden PDA.

‘Sorry,’ I say, patting my lip as if to prove to myself that actually happened.

‘For what?’ he says. He reaches his hand down and grabs mine to take me outside. We find ourselves in the empty vestibule entrance.

We stand there looking at each other, waiting to see who’ll make the first move.

‘I can’t believe you are going tomorrow,’ he says stepping forward and stroking my face. ‘We are only just getting to know each other.’

‘I know,’ I say, thinking I should have directed less of my attention to Jack and more to Alexis.

‘Don’t mind me,’ says Liz, winking as she comes out of the toilet and sits back down at her desk. She sits there, not even pretending to disguise the fact that she’s watching us.

Alexis grabs my hand to lead me outside when Jenny bursts into the vestibule, arms folded, lips pouting and nostrils flaring.

I look at Alexis’s face and he looks a little flustered.