Page 68 of Fundamentals in Flirting

“Teddy, what the hell?” His outburst was a shock.

“Sorry, ignore me. I hate parties; that’s why I always try to escape to a quiet place.”

He was shattering every illusion I had about him.

“You hate parties? Who are you and what have you done with Teddy Fraser?”

The returning laugh was sad.

“Don’t tell anyone, but Teddy Fraser is a fraud. He likes pottering about in his old house. He likes log fires, watching 1980s romcoms, and collecting old books. And, bizarrely he’s recently developed an affinity for goats.”

“No way?” I laughed. “Not goats. Surely not!”

“See, a complete and utter fraud.”

I got off the swing and knelt down in front of him, placing my hands on his knees and looking up to his raw and broken expression. The vulnerability made my heart lurch.

“Ted, what is this? What’s going on?”

“God, you’re beautiful when you’re on your knees in front of me.” The smirk was real but carried a little less conviction than normal.

I snorted and smacked his thigh. This was a mistake because his eyes darkened, and in my braless state I couldn’t hide my body’s reaction to him.

“Teddy, tell me what’s going on. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Friends,” he repeated.

“Yes. So tell me.”

His hand covered mine where it lay on his leg, his thumb brushing my skin.

“Our whole lives we’ve been compared: who’s brighter, who’s funnier, who’s better looking. And Henry’s always won. Always. It’s like watching the best version of yourself being played out in front of you, and you never match up, not once.”

“That’s not true. Henry’s great but you’re different people.”

“Do you know what my parents used to say to me when I was a child, all the time?” I shook my head. “Why can’t you be more like your brother? Just do what your brother does. And they didn’t mean Tom or Dan.”

“Teddy, I?—”

“It’s ok, Hannah. I’ve always been the black sheep of the family. They never had such high expectations of me, so I never let them down. If you’re going to be labelled, best to live up to it, right? That’s why I decided that I’d be the bad twin, so I could excel at something. I could finally be better than Henry at something.”

My heart broke for him at that moment, the vulnerable little boy laying his soul bare. That feeling of inadequacy and self-doubt resonated so strongly with me that tears sprang up in the corners of my eyes.

“Oh Teddy, you’re notbad.”

“I can be.”

His eyes glinted in the moonlight, fixating on my mouth as I gulped at the dark promise in his words.

“But you can also be generous and kind.”

“Hmph.”

“How you are with Agnes, with me, those aren’t the actions of a bad person, Teddy.”

“I really want to be bad with you though, Hannah.”

“You’re only saying this to get a reaction from me, to try and make me mad at you. I won’t fall for it.”

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