Page 131 of Joker in the Pack

He surveyed the counters, which I hadn’t quite cleared up yet. “Did you invite the local football team for dinner and forget to mention it?”

“No, why?”

“You know there are only two of us? Evenmyappetite isn’t that big.”

Hmm, as well as dessert, I’d made a main course, fresh bread, a small starter, and a couple of batches of cupcakes, just to test out the oven, you understand. “I might have got a bit carried away.”

“We’ll be shopping again tomorrow, won’t we? Right after I go to the gym for five or six hours.” He tried to put on a stern face, but he was still laughing as he said it.

“Maybe?”

He smiled. “What’s for lunch?”

“Salmon mousse followed by beef Wellington.”

He helped me to carry it over to the table, and we both tucked in. Delicious, if I said so myself.

“This is that thing Maddie tried to make, right?”

“It is.”

“If she offers to cook again, I’ll get work to fake an emergency. Have you ever thought of becoming a professional chef?”

“I always had this dream of opening a cupcake shop. I love to bake more than anything.” Soul exposed, I kept my eyes fixed on the table. “Stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid, Liv. Everyone needs a dream.”

“What’s yours?”

“I’m living it. I wanted to make my own way in life, doing a job I love. And I wanted to meet a girl who made me happy. I’ve just achieved the last part.”

My fork clattered onto the plate, food forgotten. “What were you saying about that rug?”

Nye threw me over his shoulder and carried me into the lounge, pausing to grope my ass before he lowered me onto the soft sheepskin. Dirty, and I loved it.

“You want the fire on, babe? Or…”

I knew what he was thinking, but his fancy hearth was a world away from Lilac Cottage. I nodded, and flames danced as we undressed each other, more slowly than last night, although Nye still got frustrated and ripped my knickers off at the last second. After the rug, we tried out the kitchen island, and I didn’t even feel a burning need to sanitise it afterwards, much to my shame. Nye had mellowed me.

Lunch had gone cold by the time we finished, so Nye grabbed a few cupcakes and the can of cream to bring through to the bedroom with us. At this rate, I wouldn’t need to think about renewing my gym membership. Nye was giving me all the exercise I needed.

“Hurry up!” I checked my watch for the hundredth time in the last hour.

Nye reached for his jacket, a smart one this time. “Easy, babe. The bank’s not going anywhere.”

“But I wanted to be there when it opened.”

And we would have been too, except when I woke up, I couldn’t stop fidgeting and Nye had resorted to drastic measures to take my mind off things. Now, I couldn’t wipe my smile away. I’d have to get stressed more often.

Test-tube met us outside the bank, dressed in jeans rather than a lab coat, carrying a small box I assumed contained his forensics kit. Would we need it?

Yes. The answer was most definitely yes.

Once the bank manager left us alone in the viewing room, Nye flipped back the lid on the slim metal box, and we all peered in. I’d half expected to see the sparkling loot from one of Ronnie’s burglaries, but the space was almost empty. Just an envelope on the bottom and…

“Is that… Is it a knife?”

Test-tube leaned closer, peering at the sealed plastic bag. “Indeed it is, with dried blood on the blade by the looks of it.”

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