Page 46 of The Dance Deception
‘I’ll take that,’ he fires back at me. ‘From what I recall he did look pretty good in uniform.’
We carry on bantering until the bill arrives and when it’s time to leave, we jump into a taxi together outside the hotel in case any of the photographers are still around – not that we see any. But it only takes us as far as the nearest Tube station as I’m heading south and Aleksis is going north.
‘I thought that went really well,’ he says.
‘Me too.’
And in the pause that follows, it strikes me that it hasn’t felt at all like we were pretending to like each other. I wouldn’t even be sad if the evening wasn’t coming to an end yet. I can’t help wondering if he feels the same way.
But Aleksis steps back and says, ‘See you tomorrow then, bright and early?’
‘Absolutely.’ I make it sound breezy. ‘See you in the morning.’
I was obviously reading too much into it. And what on earth was I thinking anyway? I imagine he’s just as surprised as I am that we got on so well in spite of everything.
There’s another surprise waiting for me when I pull my phone out of my bag to let Lucy know I’m on my way home – a message from Warren is waiting on the screen.
‘Looks like someone got an upgrade,’ he’s written undera screenshot of the photo Sofiya took of me and Aleksis. He’s added a laughing face, but it still makes me squirm uncomfortably. We probably should have had some kind of conversation after our one-night stand, just to clarify that’s all it was.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t warn you,’ I type, wincing. ‘It wasn’t planned.’
Well it was, of course, but he doesn’t need to know that.
‘Relax, no hard feelings,’ he assures me. ‘The guy’s hot. I’d do exactly the same in your shoes. I like you though, Kate. I hope we can still be friends.’
I breathe a sigh of relief and tell him I’d like nothing more. We’re bound to see each other again while Lucy’s dating Aiden, and that will be a lot less awkward if we’re both on the same page.
‘The guy’s hot’, though? I flick to Instagram to look at the photo of me and Aleksis again. It is a flattering shot and it’s got a lot of likes. The other pictures Sofiya took also have plenty of red hearts. I suck my breath in when I notice the number of people following my account has risen to over two thousand. In a day. That surely bodes well for our plan.
Thankfully, the comments are mostly positive, saying how good we look together and how happy we look. One or two say how jealous they are of me getting with Aleksis. Ha, if only they knew.
Lucy is waiting up for me when I get home, wanting to dissect the evening with me before she goes to bed.
‘So you got on really well, made each other laugh and even Warren can see he’s hot,’ she summarises.
I roll my eyes. ‘He was funny and charming, but he was also acting,’ I remind her.
She grins mischievously. ‘Well, for the record I think he’d be crazy not to try and make it official.’
And while I assure her that would never happen, I can’t help thinking how much I enjoyed his company.
Chapter 25
By the time I get to the studio the next morning, Stella’s second article has appeared online. True to her word, she’s run a piece on my night out with Aleksis and it’s accompanied by the photo of his hand on my bum outside The May Fair, as well as several more that Dan must have taken inside the restaurant. He’s done a good job – they do look legitimate.
The story doesn’t say much, other than to point out that our relationship is going from strength to strength and that we can’t keep our hands off each other, followed by another plug for the show and the exclusive chat with Sofiya at the weekend. I wonder if Merle has seen it and if it will bother him in the slightest. Or if he’ll see straight through the charade.
A quick check on Emilia’s Instagram on the way here told me she now has thirty thousand followers and counting. There are pictures of her and Merle at rehearsals and going for coffee, with Emilia dressed up to the ninesand both of them looking like models. It’s hard not to compare them to me and Aleksis and feel like we’re coming up short. It still stings just a little to see Merle with Emilia, too.
But thankfully there’s not much time to dwell on it, because Sarah, Steve and Andy are already outside the studio with their camera bags when I arrive. It’s time for the first really big challenge to get underway. Looking loved-up in a photo or at a restaurant isn’t that hard, but convincing people who we’re interacting with will be a lot less straightforward.
‘Hi again,’ Sarah greets me as they pile through the door with their equipment. ‘Over there, same as before,’ she directs her colleagues. ‘Where’s Aleksis? Did you not arrive together?’
‘Er, he stopped off for coffee,’ I improvise, although I’m not sure how I’m going to explain it when he turns up without any. But luckily I don’t have to, because he arrives a few minutes later hidden behind a giant bouquet of flowers and the coffee is instantly forgotten.
‘What the—’
‘For you.’ He grins, and holds up the bucket in his other hand. ‘They let me take this to put them in.’
