Page 71 of Nobody in Particular

“Ooh,” he says suddenly. “We should do something for Valentine’s Day. Something really public. We can do that, right? We’ll have time to plan.”

I hesitate. “Oh, I… it’s a good idea, but I want to spend Valentine’s Day with Danni.”

“Bring her!” he says instantly, and I laugh. “I’d like to get to know her,” he presses. “If she’s going to be around now, we might as well try to find something we like about each other.”

“Watch out, that was almost amicable.”

Alfie lifts a shoulder and smiles into it. “I don’t knowwhatyou mean, Rosie, I’m the most welcoming person you can think of.”

“Maybe if I only had one brain cell left,” I say, and he feigns insult. “Besides, I’m sure that’s exactly what I shouldn’t be doing. A staged press event with Danni and me on Valentine’s Day.”

“I’d be there.”

“Yes, but still.”

He thinks for a few moments. I can tell Alfie is set on this idea, which means it will be hard to tear him away from it. And the problem with Alfie getting set on an idea is that, more often than not, he finds a way to get me to agree to it, sooner or later.

“We’ll bring along a friend of mine,” he says. “Fake dating for everyone.”

I laugh and roll my eyes.

“Come on,” he says. “It’s a good idea.”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

“Rosie.”

“Maybe.”

Alfie wins.

Danni is thrilled at the idea of spending Valentine’s Day together in public. Less thrilled at the prospect of Alfie joining, and even less than that at the promise of his friend. But she does agree it’s a smart tactical move—and when she finds out she gets to be excused from classes that day to participate in important palace business, she softens even more.

I collect her from her bedroom carrying a large package wrapped in gold paper. She answers the door in her army-green parka. The one she was wearing at the rugby match where we got to know each other, and the night we kissed in the woods. There’s so many wonderful memories attached to that jacket, seeing it makes me glow.

She noticed my gift instantly, and she looks nervous. “Okay, so, we didn’t really establish this,” she says, “because it’s an uncomfortable topic, but I don’t have a whole lot of money. Like, at all. So when it comes to gifts—”

“I don’t expect a thing,” I say.

“Well, you shouldn’t expectnothing,because I do have something for you. But it’s not going to be something flashy. You didn’t get me something flashy, did you?”

I look down at the box in my hands, and then back up, guiltily. “Defineflashy.”

“Awesome,” Danni says, rolling her eyes, but she’s smiling, at least.

“It’s not a car or anything,” I say, following her inside her room.

“Well,thank god!” she cries. “Thank god you didn’t get me acarfor Valentine’s Day.”

“You know,” I say, “if I had gotten you a car, you’d be making me feel rather bad about it right now.”

“Not as bad as I’d feel, I promise you. One day soon we are gonna have a chat about what it means to give gifts when you’re in two different tax brack—wait, do you even pay taxes?”

I open my mouth to reply, but she barrels on. “Never mind, it’ll just work me up. Today, I am going to love whatever you got me, because I’m sure it’s really nice, and you put thought into it. And I am going to spend zero time feeling weird about the fact that I couldn’t buy you a gift.”

“Excellent plan,” I say, handing over her present. “Although now I feel as though I’m setting some wild expectations here. I didn’t get you anything even in the realm of a car.”

Or, for that matter, a Vacheron Constantin watch.

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