Page 54 of The Spark

But I can’t tell him he does far more than just remind me of Jamie. That all the stories I read online about souls swapping over, and the countless similarities between Ash and Jamie – way too many for it to be coincidence – have continued to beetle at the back of my mind.

And now my mum – based on two seconds of conversation – has made the link too. And yes, she is bonkers and drunk and generally about as reliable as a helicopter in fog. But how can I ignore it being the first thing she said, unprompted; the first thing she thought when she saw him?

‘Do you recognise this dress?’ I ask him.

‘In what way?’

‘Can you remember... ever seeing it before tonight?’

It’s the same question I wanted to ask when I told him about the baby, and when we walked into this room just now. Does this memory seem in any way familiar to you?

He stares at me for a couple more moments before his expression becomes a smile. ‘I mean, I love it, if that’s what you’re asking.’ From where he’s sitting on the edge of the mattress, he reaches out, places his hands on my hips. ‘Why do you ask? Has someone famous worn it, or something?’

‘So you do think you might have seen it before?’

‘You carry it off way better than any celebrity I can think of.’ Misunderstanding complete, he moves one hand to the dress’s hem, then starts to push it upwards, bunching its fabric over my thighs. Slowly, he starts to roll down my tights, his gaze gripping mine the whole time.

But just as I’m about to shut my eyes and abandon earth, I feel him hesitate, let out a punch of breath. ‘Sorry, Neve. Is this a bit... weird, with your mum downstairs?’

‘No. No, not at all. She wouldn’t care. She’d do the same.’ Of this, I could not feel more confident.

‘You looked really good, you know, up on that stage tonight,’ he murmurs, returning his attention to my legs, my dress. ‘CEO would suit you.’

I smile, though I’m struggling to fully focus. ‘Kelley’s going nowhere.’

‘You could start a rival business.’

‘Never. She’d bury me.’

He pauses. ‘Just so you know, this isn’t my idea of dirty talk.’

I look down at him, lifting an eyebrow. ‘But ambition turns you on.’

He laughs. ‘Never really thought of it like that before but... yeah. I guess it does.’ He bends forward to kiss my stomach, begins to hitch up my dress again. He takes my tights down just enough. Struggling to stay rooted, I grip on to his shoulders. The room, suddenly, is soundless as a cave. I can hear only my ragged breathing, the failing brakes on my heartbeat.

‘Ash,’ I manage, as his fingers inch closer to my underwear, ‘can I ask you something?’

‘Yeah,’ he breathes, ‘yeah, anything.’

‘Do you feel like you’ve met her before?’

His hands still. He pulls back and looks up at me. ‘Who?’

‘My mum.’

‘What?’

‘Does she seem . . . familiar to you?’

He shakes his head. ‘Um, Neve, I know I brought it up – but any chance we could stop talking about your mum?’

At this, I finally shut up, to let him finish what he started.

The whole time, as I suspected he might, he insists I keep the dress on.

Chapter 25.

Then

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