Page 47 of Worth Every Penny

To my annoyance, hope is soaring like a drug in my system.Pathetic.

Marie shoots Elly adon’t-be-an-idiotlook.“Ooh yeah. He sounded all warm and cuddly.”

Marie’s sarcasm neutralises that pesky hope pretty quick. Although, there is one thing that’s still bothering me about last night. I glance between my friends and say, “Why do you think he hit Michael Drayton?”

“Duh,” Elly says, slapping her hand across her forehead. “Because Michael was trying to make out with you. Green-eyed-monster. JELL-OH-SEE.”

This is exactly the response I wanted, but I don’t dare cling to it because it can’t be true. I couldn’t really make a man like Nico jealous, could I? “What? No…”

“Yes. That whole unrequited crush thing you had going on as a teenager? Not so unrequited now, eh?” Elly grins and strums her hands on the table like a drum roll.

There’s a riot happening inside my chest. My lips itch to split into a smile, but it would reveal too much so I force them into a straight line and say, “Hmm. It’s weird, and more than a little controlling.”

Marie shrugs. “It’s a bit weird, but probably a good thing he stepped in. You were a mess. I guarantee you’d have regretted it.”

“And who cares if he’s controlling? Mmm, mmm,” Elly murmurs, licking her lips suggestively. “He’s still unbelievably hot. He can control me any day.”

At 4 pm, I’m outside the flat with my overnight bag. It’s warm, so I’m in a t-shirt, faded jeans that are ripped at the knee and a pair of battered old trainers. I’m trying to look like I don’t care, but I’m not sure even my casual attire is enough to hide the fact that I do. A lot.

Nico’s car rolls up. It’s a bottle-green Aston Martin. I don’t know much about cars, but this one is special. And it’s spotless. I’m betting Nico doesn’t clean it himself.

He pulls up beside me and lowers the window, resting his forearm on the ledge.

He looks so handsome, so suave, that the scene looks like a cut-out from a luxury car magazine.

What was I thinking, making a move on a man like this? It was only ever going to end in my complete and utter humiliation. I want to run, but I force myself to stay put. The car ride’s not long. A little over an hour. I can do this.

Lowering his sunglasses, Nico gives me the once over, his gaze lingering on my feet before roving upwards again. It’s so invasive, I might as well be standing naked on the pavement.

This man sent my panties to dry-cleaning.

Crap. There is no way I’m recovering from this anytime soon.

He holds a box of painkillers out to me, letting it dangle between his index and middle fingers.

“What’s this?” I ask, nodding at the packet.

“Thought you’d appreciate them more than flowers.” I cringe under the weight of sarcasm in his tone. I’m tempted to tell him to shove his condescending gift up his butt crack, but with a flick of his fingers the packet flies towards me and every remaining brain cell I have is occupied with trying to catch it. Somehow, my fingers clutch around the box in midair.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, opening a water bottle and handing it out the window to me.

I shake my head. “I’m pumped full of painkillers already, but thank you, for—”

“Good.” He recaps the bottle and gets out of the car, taking my bag from me and putting it in the boot.

“Thank you for this,” I say, indicating the box of pills, determined not to be silenced by his abruptness. “And forbreakfast. And my dry-cleaning. And the driver to take me home.”

This gratitude list is longer than I realised. I’m about to add ‘thank you for saving me from having stupid drunken sex with a man I don’t know,’ or something to that effect when Nico slams the boot closed.

“You really shouldn’t drink that much,” he tells me. “Anything could have happened.”

His tone irritates the hell out of me, but he might have a point. In fact, given how horribly hungover I am and how many pockets of memory blackout I have from last night, hedefinitelyhas a point, but I won’t let him scold me like a kid.

“I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

“I beg to differ.”

I exhale sharply. “I’m not getting in this car if you’re going to spend the entire journey treating me like an errant teenager.”

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