Page 71 of My Sweet Vampire

“I paid two grand apiece.”

“What!”

He winces. “Do you think that’s too much?”

“I don’t know much about art, but … wow. That’s more than I earn in a whole month. You must have really liked them to buy on impulse like that.”

“I do. I genuinely think James has got talent.”

“When will you pick up the paintings?”

“The gallery said they will organise a delivery in the next couple of days. It’s all worked out rather well, I think. I needed some new paintings for the living room, and those ones will do nicely.” Nick takes his eyes off the road just a second to meet my gaze. “James is really smitten with you, isn’t he?”

“You noticed?”

“I notice everything.”

My cheeks redden. “Sorry, I hope it doesn’t bother you.”

“Why would it bother me? Another man acknowledges how gorgeous my girlfriend is, I can’t think of a bigger compliment.”

“You had your own fair share of admirers,” I counter. “All the women there were practically drooling over you. I thought I had a big fight on my hands.”

“Were you ready to fight for me?”

“You bet your life I was.”

“Proper fisticuffs?”

“Yes. Pull hair. Scratch eyes out. The whole works.”

“That makes me feel all warm inside.” We both chuckle. I can’t keep my eyes off his lips; I’m so hungry for them I’m finding it hard to think straight.

“Did you bring your overnight bag?” he asks.

“Yes,” I grin. “I even remembered to bring my tooth brush. Oh, and get this, I bought two pairs of tights this time, so I’ll have a replacement if you decide to destroy them again.”

“How very sensible of you.”

Snickering, I peer out the window and watch as we speed past office blocks, warehouses, restaurants, rows and rows of houses. I have no idea where we are but figure we’ve still got a long way to go before we reach Pimlico. I don’t know if I can hold out that long; I want him so bad it hurts.

We stall at a set of lights.

Nick glances at me. “By the way, have you checked the back seat?”

“No. Should I?”

“Yes, I think you’ll like what you see.”

Cautiously, I reach down the back and retrieve a bulkySelfridgesbag. “What’s this?” I ask suspiciously.

“Open it and you’ll find out.”

Excitedly, I look inside and find a medium-sized box embossed with the Apple logo. I flip it over and see an image of the latest iPhone.

“Oh, my gosh! Is this for me?”

“Uh-huh. I thought you could do with a replacement.”

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