Page 34 of Kissing Games
‘So, tell me about Inverness,’ she said thickly, wanting to take her mind off him.
He cleared his throat. ‘A few nice old buildings and all the shops you need. It’s not London or LA, but we’ll definitely get you a new bag.’
‘Are there any thrift stores?’
‘Huh? Charity shops? Yeah, sure.’
Valentina didn’t want him asking why. She didn’t want to get into a long and personal explanation. It was her business. Nothing to do with him. All her past rushed up uncomfortably inside her. She didn’t want to think about it, or her life outside of this moment, so stared ahead at the road.
Focus on the now. Everything else can wait.
‘Do you want to listen to the radio?’ he asked.
‘I don’t mind.’
He flicked a switch and the car filled with classical music. ‘Want me to change the station?’
She shook her head. ‘I love it.’ The lyrical sounds of a piano danced around them and Valentina closed her eyes. It took her back to a tiny dressing room as a teenager. ‘Clair de Lune,’ she said. ‘Abuela used to play me classical music and make me learn the composers. There was never time to learn an instrument, so this was second best.’
‘You like Debussy?’
Valentina looked at him. ‘Do you?’
His eyes looked different. The flecks of gold seemed brighter. ‘It’s okay. I’m more of a Russian romanticist myself. Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev. That or early twentieth-century English composers; Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Holst.’
Valentina shifted in her seat to face him. ‘Are you making fun of me?’
He looked at her, then back at the road. ‘You’re the mind reader. What do you think?’
Valentina frowned. She’d never met anyone like him before. He could be so cocky, so sure of himself. But those moments were outnumbered by the times when he didn’t seem quite so self-possessed.
‘You play the piano?’ she asked.
He nodded.
‘Are you any good?’
He shrugged.
‘Why did you learn?’
‘I fancied the piano teacher.’
Valentina giggled. ‘Oh, Charlie. Did she fancy you back?’
He shrugged again but it was tight and forced.
Valentina felt the tension running through him. ‘Is there a piano in the castle? I’d love to hear you play.’
Charlie nodded. ‘But it’s out of tune. It hasn’t been played in a long time.’
His hands were tight on the steering wheel, so she gave him the space he seemed to want and looked out of the passenger window at the roadside heather and grasses flying by. There was silence for the rest of the journey until he pulled to a stop at the end of a large car park.
He turned to her with a smile. ‘We’re here. Ready to hit downtown Inverness?’
They walked slowlydown the high street drawing second glances and stares. But they weren’t for Valentina. Her hat was pulled low and her scarf pulled high. She knew from experience she wouldn’t be recognised.
The appreciation was all for Charlie and he appeared completely oblivious to all the attention he was getting. Every time she turned to look at him, he was looking at her. It was electrifying. Despite having a job that required her to be the centre of attention, she’d never before felt so seen. It was as if he saw her as a personanda woman. As if he could see through all the layers of her being, right down to her core. She paused outside the windows of every shop, using the time to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
