Page 8 of Asking For a Friend

“You have no idea. Scottish castles, Cotswold country manors. You name it, we can find it. At a price, of course. We don’t come cheap.”

“I’d want a registry office with close friends. Intimate, y’know. It’s to celebrate love, commitment, not to one-up your friends.”

He’s on the exact same page as me. Warm and fuzzy flutters dance in my gut. I’m liking him more and more, but I have to be careful and not go crazy and fall for him. Because I can see that happening. And I’m not getting the same vibe from him—not yet anyway. I’m not giving up, though.

“How about you? Is your latest story going well? I’m so in awe of you. I could never write a book. I don’t have the imagination.” He takes a huge bite of his sub and dramatises his chewing. “Sorry. Take your time. I don’t want to be the cause of your indigestion this afternoon.”

He swallows. “It’s going great. It’s the last of the series, so obviously, it has a lot counting on it. Readers want the dramatic end of a mystery, and I’ll get it in the neck if I let them down.”

“They’re that invested?” This amazes me. I’ve never read a book that made me clamour for the next one.

“Oh yes, it’s incredibly flattering but also terrifying. The pressure is always on to get it right.” He laughs. Is he joking or not? “Hence my table looking like a bomb site. I’ve got notes and plotlines everywhere. And I like pen and paper.”

“Maybe I should read the first book. It’s on Amazon, you said?”

Lando blushes his delicious pink again. It should clash with his auburn hair, but it doesn’t. It just makes him cuter. “You don’t have to do that.”

He changes the subject. “What does your friend think of you having lunch in a park with a scruffy, slightly neurotic writer?”

Is that what he thinks of himself? I don’t see that. All I see is an incredibly talented, sexy, intriguing man. “I haven’t told him. He’s like a dog with a bone, and if he knew I was meeting an unbelievably gorgeous, hot guy who fascinates me and I can’t get out of my head, he’ll be all over you.”

He blinks a couple of times as my words sink in. I expect him to brush off my comment, but he doesn’t. He gives me a shy smile, reaches over the table, and touches my hand. “I think the same about you. Look at you. You’re the whole package—smart, intelligent, put together, so sexy you’re off the charts, and god, you have dimples that make me swoon. You make me nervous.”

I gape at him. “Are you uncomfortable with me?”

“No, god, no. But I’ve been out of the dating game for a long time, and I don’t know what to make of what we’re doing.”

“It’s just lunch in the park, Lando. It doesn’t have to be any more than that, not if you don’t want it to be.” I turn my hand over so we’re palm to palm. He intertwines his fingers with mine. It’s such a sweet, tentative gesture I can’t hold back my smile.

“Gah, those dimples.” He sighs.

“How many has it been now?” Scottie picks up his pint and takes a long drink.

We’re sitting in the beer garden at the Dog and Duck, the river behind us. The summer has finally turned up. Even I’ve got a little bit of colour on my skin. Another of my ex-flatmates, Connor, looks as intrigued as Scottie, but I brush them off with a wave of my hand. If I tell them we’ve had lunch half a dozen times in two weeks, they’d be relentless and bombarding me with questions. They don’t remember seeing him at Scottie’s birthday party, but then again, he walked out as soon as he saw me.

“A few. He works close to the coffee shop. It’s more like he joins me at the table. We’re not going on dates.” Can the trips to the park be considered dates? It’s all rather casual. I think that’s because I said he makes me nervous. He’s not asking me for more. Our original Saturday date had to be postponed because he had to go away for an emergency at one of his events. We’ve made plans for the next one.

“Hasn’t he asked you out for a date, y’know, like a night out? I hear restaurants are a good place to go.”

“Fuck off!” I nudge him. Scottie’s such a sarcastic twat, but he’s also one of my best friends.

“Would you go? You’ve been off dating for so long now, but you do seem to like him.”

I don’t even need to think about it. I would love to go out with Hesketh properly. “Yeah, I would.” Still keeping Saturday to myself.

“Then maybe it should be coming from you. You know what you’re like. You can be so aloof. He’s probably worried you’ll say no.”

“I’m not aloof. I’m cautious. I want to know he’s not an arsehole.” When Connor rolls his eyes, I flick a beer mat at him, then laugh as he catches it mid-flight. “You know what I mean.”

“We do. You mean you don’t want to get too close in case you fall for him and it’s unrequited. We know you, Lando. But you aren’t the same needy guy you were all those years ago. You’re financially secure. You have a career you love. You don’t need anyone anymore. So maybe it’s time to be Lando 2.0 and have fun with a sexy-as-fuck hunk.”

“Maybe.”

My phone vibrates on the wooden table. I pick it up and smile. Hesketh has sent a photo of the venue of the wedding he’s attending this weekend. He’s told me about several totally over-the-top weddings, and judging by the ice sculptures and the abundance of flowers everywhere, this one is high on the list.

I tap out a quick response.

Have fun with bridezilla.

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