Page 17 of Lie For Me

Her shoulders sloped, her eyes were wide and pleading, and she looked as if she was trying to fit herself into the corner of the room. He wanted to pull her out and tell her she was fabulous, just as she was. Then she seemed to collect herself, as if surprised she had said those words aloud. She shook her head, swigged the last of her water and put the glass down smartly on the coffee table.

‘Just so long as you know I am mentally taking note of aaalll of this,’ she gestured in his direction, ‘and will file this away for future reference, whatever you do to me this weekend.’

She was back.

‘Do to you? Lucy,’ Jack said in his most soothing voice, closing the magazine, ‘what a thing to say.’

He sank back into the sofa and spread his arms wide.

‘I am here for you this weekend.’

A short time later, Lucy, still barefoot, shoved one last bag onto the rear passenger seat, along with the missing silver shoe which had turned up in the kitchen. She dusted off her hands, as if she’d completed a big and messy task.

‘Okay, I think that’s it.’

Jack eyeballed the bags, squeezed in around a box of clothes Lucy swore blind she’d drop to the charity shop on the way back, even though they’d been in the car for three months already, and a meditation cushion that had to stay in the car or she’d forget to return it to Cassie—again.

Jack perched his bag on top and quickly closed the door before anything else could escape from the car.

Lucy tiptoed over the cobbled front yard back to the house.

‘Just gotta grab my purse,’ she called.

‘Yeah, and some shoes!’ Jack called back.

Lucy re-emerged moments later, purse in hand, flip-flops on her feet, jangling her keys.

As she closed the door, she dropped the keys amongst a cluster of poppies in the border and bent down to retrieve them.

Jack whistled.

Lucy spun round and glowered at him.

‘What are you whistling for?’

Jack shrugged.

‘Just showing some appreciation for your bum.’

Lucy sighed and put her hands on her hips.

‘Are you in character now?’

‘No,’ Jack said. ‘I’m just saying, you’ve got a nice bum. It’s an objective fact.’ He grinned. ‘And it’ll make it easier for me to be in character. This boyfriend,’ he waggled a finger at his chest, ‘tends to get a bit handsy after a few drinks.’

Lucy squinted her eyes at him and locked the door.

‘Actually, I think you’ll find he’s deeply respectful and keeps his hands above the waist.’

‘Fine by me,’ Jack said, and winked at her chest.

Lucy grinned and sighed.

‘Stop being a perv. It’s not a good look on you.’

‘But how will I get good at it if I don’t practice?’ Jack whined as Lucy threw the car keys at him.

‘Oi, those nearly hit me in the face!’

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