Page 46 of Love Is: Two Bodies One Soul

‘Yes, I do … George wants plenty of pics of me with my kit off.’

Was he being serious? She didn’t ask.

‘What do you normally do, Lex?’

Thinking, uh-oh, he’s back on the friendship campaign, Lexie replied crisply, ‘Photography. That’s why I’m here.’

A slight confusion clouded Owen’s face. ‘Yes, sorry. I know that. I meant what type.’

Ah, the charm offensive is definitely ongoing, she thought and answered: ‘Weddings, families, babies. Sometimes pets.’

‘Pets?’ His dark eyebrows shot up.

‘You have a problem with that?’ she asked, drawing back further, offended at his reaction.

‘No, of course not. It’s all people.’ He shrugged. ‘Except for the pets, of course.’ He tried another smile on her, but she stared coldly at it, refusing to be lured in by his charm. A puzzled frown replaced the smile. ‘I’m sorry, Lex, I didn’t mean to be flippant. I’m sure your regular work is brilliant. You’ve already proved you know what you’re doing with a camera. I’m impressed. Really. We’ll make a great team.’

‘Thank you. So glad to have your approval.’ Does he have to be so condescending on top of everything else?

‘No, I mean it,’ he added, his brow crumpling again in confusion. It was clear he knew he’d irritated her, but it seemed he didn’t know what to do about it. Not such an expert with women, she thought, and eager to stop his empty praise, Lexie said, ‘What are we doing this afternoon?’

‘A vox pop at Victoria Station.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Interviews with random people. We’ll stop members of the public, give them a free copy of the magazine and ask if they’ll tell us about their views on Brexit.’

‘That should be fun.’ Lexie tried not to roll her eyes.

Owen continued, ‘Some people will walk by, avoiding any kind of interaction. Some might be rude and tell us to piss off, but we should get enough real comments for me to put together an article.’

‘And some will buy a copy of the magazine to see what you’ve written about them?’

‘They might.’ One dark eyebrow lifted as he added: ‘It should increase the circulation by three or four if we’re lucky.’ His eyes focused on her face again, and his lips quirked into a tentative, almost shy smile.

Trying to ignore how unsettled the smile had made her feel, Lexie asked, ‘Are we doing that all afternoon?’

‘No. Later we’re going to Westminster to interview a couple of politicians.’

Wondering if she’d imagined the raptor-like gleam in his eyes when he’d mentioned the politicians, she said, ‘They’re not trusting you to do that?’ Thanks to Victor’s man crush on Owen and everything he did, she knew all about Owen’s last appearance on the BBC, and the words were out of her mouth before any self-censorship could stop them.

Owen’s expression flickered. Was he offended? If he was, then good. Now he’d know how she felt on Monday.

‘Ah, the word is out,’ Owen said. ‘Someone’s told you about my fall from grace.’ He waited for her to say something.

She stared him down. She would not tell Owen his number one fan had dobbed him in yesterday.

With a resigned sigh, Owen dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment before he got up and pushed his chair back to its original place. He turned to her. ‘I promise you, Lex, I’m sworn to be on my best behaviour. George would put a contract out on me if I disgraced him or the magazine. So don’t worry. You won’t have to give first aid to an MP or nurse a damaged, over-bloated ego. Not today, at least. Be ready at ten to go to Harley Street, then to Victoria Station for a bit of talking with Joe Public.’

‘Oh, I’m allowed to talk today, am I?’ She could have bitten her tongue off, she’d wounded him already. Why had she tried to go in for the kill? But it was too late. She’d said it, and he’d heard. The broad shoulders lifted in tension, and he turned slowly.

The emotion in his dark eyes was unreadable, but she was certain she’d hit home again when he said, ‘Not forgiven, then?’ He waited for a beat, maybe expecting her to say something, and when she stayed silent, he shrugged again and walked away.

‘That went well,’ Lexie muttered to herself and turned back to her computer. It was obvious she and Owen would never be anything like friends. He hated her and the feeling was mutual.

She reopened her inbox and clicked on George’s message:

Lexie,

---