Beneath This Man(176)

Mum releases me and straightens herself out. 'Do you mind if I use your bathroom, Jesse?' she asks.

'Sure. Do a right and an immediate right again. Knock yourself out.'

'Pardon?' Mum blurts.

I laugh.

'I'm sorry.' He smiles, flicking his eyes to me, then back to my Mum. 'Go for it. Like I said, right and right again. By the gym.'

'Oh, thank you.' Mum gives me an oh-the-gym look and grabs her purse from the worktop, leaving me, Jesse and my Dad to make small talk.

'So, what do you drive?' Dad starts, and I groan. Dad's passion for big, expensive cars is going to be fed good and proper now.

Jesse pulls me back onto the stool. 'A DBS.'

'Aston Martin?' Dad asks.

'That's it.'

'Nice.' Dad nods and does a rubbish job of showing disinterest. 'And the hotel is in the Surrey Hills?'

Jesse must feel me go rigid because he squeezes me slightly. 'It is. I'll show you one day, perhaps on your next visit.'

Never come to London again!

'Sure, Elizabeth loves anything luxury.' Dad rolls his eyes. My Mum is certainly high maintenance. 'It's a nice place you have here.' Dad looks around the kitchen and then back at Jesse.

'Thank you, but your daughter is responsible for that.' He starts curling a lock of my hair around his finger. 'I just bought the place.'

'So, this is the big project that stole all of your time?' Dad muses. 'You did a good job.'

'Thanks, Dad.' I'm more than relieved when I hear the front doorbell. Dad and small talk are not a match well made.

'Do you want to get that?' Jesse pats my bum and I stand.

'Who is it?'

'I don't know. Go and see.' He pushes me away, and I leave Dad and Jesse to continue small talk as I make my way to the front door. No one can come up without knowing the code, so it has to be Clive.

I swing it open and find Dan, Kate and Sam, all stood in the penthouse foyer and my first thought is; Dan and Kate within a mile of each other? Bad news. But then Dan steps forward with a big smile on his face and I all but throw myself on him, forgetting all back pain and awkward tension between him and my best friend.

'What are you doing here?' I squeeze him to me and he laughs.

'I'm doing as I'm told,' He fights me off and holds me back. 'You look good.' he says on a bright smile. 'Where's this new bloke who I need to give the 'if you hurt her' speech to?'

I wave of fear flies through me at the thought of Jesse accepting any such speech. 'In the kitchen, but you don't need to do that.'

Please don't do that!

He eyes me warily. 'It's my job.' he states firmly, and then looks past me into the penthouse. 'Fucking hell!' he whispers as he cops a load of the space. He drops me and saunters off.

Kate steps forward with a clear look of trepidation of her pale face. She wraps her arms around me. 'This has to be the most awkward situation I have ever put myself in,' she whispers in my ear. 'Fucking hideous.'

I laugh. 'Ease up on your grip,' I shrug her slightly. 'Does Sam know?' I whisper back.

'Sorry and no. I thought he might have made the connection after you landed Dan's visit on me at lunch that time, but he's f*cking oblivious.'

'Hey! Where's the love?' Sam removes Kate and throws his arms around me gently. 'You are one mad woman.' he says quietly.

'I know.' I agree. Fucking crazy mad.

'Don't do that again.' he scorns me. 'Where's my man?'

'Kitchen.'

He drops me and heads for the kitchen. I look at Kate, and she shakes her head. 'If I could've got out of this, I would have.' She lets out a stressed breath. 'Come on.' She takes my hand and we go back to the kitchen, finding Jesse making the introductions. Dan's cautious eyes flick between Jesse and Sam for a whole lot of different reasons.

Cathy appears from nowhere with Luigi and three waiters and Jesse leaves the kitchen island chatter to have a word. I watch as he lets Cathy kiss his cheek, shakes Luigi's hand and then points around the kitchen and through to the terrace. Cathy shoos him away and gives me a happy wave.

'What's happening?' I ask him when he joins me back by the island.

'We're having dinner.'

'Here?'

'Yes, I arranged for Luigi to come in and do the honours. We'll eat on the terrace. It's a nice evening.' He places me in front of him and brushes my hair away from my face.