Page 43 of Electric Kiss

Selly laughed as he walked away. Nate had been friends with Selly and Rob since they were children, and they both shared a deep love of rowing and beer. Nate was the serious one, Rob the outlandish one, and Selly was somewhere in the middle to balance them out.

When Nate returned with two pints and a packet of crisps between his teeth, Selly squinted at him. His friend waited for him to sit on the opposite seat and then spoke.

“What’s been happening, Nate? I haven’t seen you in a while,” he asked, his voice full of concern.

Nate sighed. He hadn’t intended for it to come out, but the words tumbled from his lips before he could stop them.

“I’ve fallen in love with someone, Selly,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

Selly’s brow furrowed. “Who? I saw you a few weeks ago, and you were single then.”

Nate paused, his gaze flicking away from him. “Daisy Turner,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Selly’s eyes widened in surprise. Daisy Turner was not someone Nate would have expected to be interested in, let alone fall in love with. Selly knew that too.

Daisy was from a completely different background, andthey had never even spoken to each other since he’d taunted her at school fifteen years ago.

“Wow,” Selly said. He paused for a moment, studying his face. “Do you... Do you think she feels the same?”

Nate shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve not talked about it. But I can’t stop thinking about her...” His voice trailed off, and he stared down at the table, lost in his thoughts.

Selly reached across the table, opened the crisps and sat back with a grin.

“You never know,” he said. “Maybe it’s fate?”

Nate smiled slightly, but someone still tinged his expression with sadness.

“Maybe,” he said. “If someone had said while I was in school that I’d be hot for her when I was an adult, I would laugh in their faces. Rob was his usual self in front of her a few weeks ago, and she retreated like she’d gone back in time. She recognised him, but he had no clue who she was.”

“I’d heard about that. Rob feels awful. Has she changed that much?”

“Yeah, big time. She was always pretty, but now she’s beautiful, confident and get this? She drives a forklift truck like she was born to do it.”

Selly gave him a rueful smile. “I wondered how you were able to still keep up the deliveries with your wrist injury.”

“Yeah, she helped me out big time.”

“So, are you going to ask her out on a date?”

“That’s the weird thing. We’ve spent time with each other like we’re friends, but I know we both feel it’s deeper than that. Asking her now out on a date will seem odd. Plus, I don’t want to scare her off. I’d rather keep her as a friend.”

“Have you run into her aunt yet at the Hall?”

“No, Daisy and her brothers live in the cottages on theestate, and she doesn’t go anywhere near her. I’m not sure what the story is, but she hates her aunt.”

“She belongs to a very large club,” Selly said and took a gulp of his pint. “Oh fuck, looks like we have company. Do you want me to stay?” Selly said, eyeing the door that had opened.

Nate looked over his shoulder to see who had walked in. Archer, Jason and Luke strode in, looking pensive. They scanned the bar, and their eyes landed on Nate. His heart began to race, and he felt a wave of anger sweep over him. What were they doing there?

“Up to you, mate. This shouldn’t take long,” Nate replied, turning fully to face them.

“I’ll stay. Two against three will never work, especially with your wrist, but I’ll give it my best.”

Nate turned his head and gave his friend a smirk. “Thanks, mate.”

The brothers approached their table, and Archer spoke first.

“We’re here to have a word with you,” he said, his voice low and menacing.

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