Page 50 of Worth Every Risk

“Cracking onto the nanny already?” Ben or Hugo, whichever one he is, appears behind Charlie and slams a hand on his shoulder. Charlie jerks forward under the impact. “I’m Ben. This is Hugo,” the boy tells me, indicating his brother who’s appeared at the table too. Hugo’s waistcoat has the Union Jack printed on it, whereas Ben’s is plain blue. I try to remember so I can tell them apart.

“I’m not cracking onto—” begins Charlie.

“Best you don’t. Can’t have a taste of her,” Hugo taunts, grinning at me. “Look at that hair. Red as a strawberry. That would bring you out in a rash.”

“Excuse me,” I snap, realising I sound a bit too prim. But damn it, this kid isrude.

Ben gives a hearty chortle. “Relax. It’s a joke. Got nothing against redheads. Charlie’s allergic to strawberries. Pretty serious allergy, isn’t it?” He whacks Charlie on the back again. It’s a gesture that could easily be dismissed as friendly, but it’s definitely a little too hard.

Charlie shrugs, although I suspect it’s mostly to get the boy’s arm off him rather than in answer to the question.

Hugo picks up a large bowl of strawberries and shoves one in his mouth, making a noise which sounds vaguely orgasmic. “Delicious,” he moans. “I could eat these all day.” He gives me a lewd look, which has me physically recoiling. He smirks at my reaction.

“If he’s really allergic to those, you should keep them away,” I say, wondering why Gemma would even have strawberries on offer if her son is allergic.

Hugo and Ben snort dismissively. “Yes. Of course. Let’s keep them away.” The two of them wander off, holding the bowl.

“Do you want to sit with us?” I say to Charlie, indicating where Lucie is sitting.

He looks across at his little sister. She waves at him, plunges off the chair and skips over, throwing her arms around him.

He picks her up, and she hooks her short legs around his waist. “Hey, Lulu.”

“Charlie.” She kisses him on the cheek, and Charlie finally smiles. Thank goodness; I was beginning to worry that he didn’t know how.

“I can’t stay," he says. "I’ve got to go change for the boat race. You’re going to come and cheer me on, right?”

Lucie nods. “Row fast. Really fast.”

“I will. Make sure you get down to the river early, or you won’t see anything.” Charlie puts his sister down and looks at me. “Bye, Aries. Good to meet you.”

He wanders back the way he came, alone. No one apart from me and Lucie appears to have noticed his departure.

I’m struck by the air of melancholy that clings to him as he walks through the parked cars.Does Mr Hawkston know his teenage son is desperately unhappy?

I turn to Lucie, who’s busy eating from the plate of salmon. “Does your brother really have a strawberry allergy?”

“Yes,” Lucie says, her mouth full. “When he was little like me, his throat got all big and they had to take him to hospital.”

“Did that happen after he ate a strawberry?”

“No. A jam sandwich.” Her eyes light up. “Hey, can I have a jam sandwich when we get home? I don’t like this food.” She dangles a piece of roasted artichoke between her fingertips.

“Sure. I can manage a jam sandwich. Probably have to be raspberry though. Just in case.”

I keep Lucie entertained for about an hour, when all of a sudden everyone starts moving, like a crowd of well-dressed lemmings.

“The boat race,” Lucie squeals. “Let’s go, or we won’t get near the front.”

I take her hand and follow Gemma, Mark and the others. I scan the crowd for Mr Hawkston, but I can’t see him anywhere. I wonder what he’s been doing. Probably being all suave and charming and handsome.Did Charlie go to his picnic too?

Gemma, ahead of me, slows down so she’s at my side. “I’ll take Lucie. It’s important that everyone sees us together. You keep out of the way.”

Before I can object, or even wonder why it’s important people see her with Lucie, Gemma drags her daughter away through the crowd. Amongst all the over-dressed bodies and the women wearing hats that obscure my view, I completely lose sight of them in seconds.

Shit.

I try to reassure myself that it’s all right, because Lucie’s with her mother. Gemma might be a little lacking in compassion for her kids, but that maternal instinct is strong, right? It’s gonna click right into place if there’s any possibility of harm coming to her children.

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