Page 89 of On Circus Lane

“Tell Santa to burn his own place down, and please try to extinguish them before you take a drink this time.”

“Oh, what’s a little burnt nose hair when you’re havingfun?”

The last word is shouted, and Jack and I instantly move out of vocal range. Undeterred, Freddy offers us a sweet smile and wanders off to talk to the boa-gifting girls. I shake my head and extract my water from the tray. It looks sad and dull next to the others, so I take pity on it and nick a sparkler, setting it in my glass.

Jack snorts. “I told you I’d drive tomorrow if you wanted to have a drink tonight.”

“Nah, I’m fine. I’d rather have a clear head.”

“Hmm.” He sips his beer, which I’m amused to see is in a pink bottle. “A clear head must be useful when you’re conducting the romance of the century.”

I’ve just taken a sip of my water and promptly choke. “What thefuck?” I breathe.

He starts to laugh. Finally, he sobers and turns a meditative gaze on me, making me want to squirm. If he puts his mind to it, Jack can get anything out of me, and it looks like this is one of those occasions.

“So, you and Bee?”

“Are we conjoined now?”

He wrinkles his nose. “For this holiday I’m going to say yes.”

“He’s very good company.”

He stares at me beadily, and I groan and slump down on the pink velvet booth. My gaze slides to Bee. He’s sitting with Ivy and Georgina and laughing at something one of them has said. The sight makes me smile. He doesn’t laugh enough.

I look back to find Jack watching me. As usual, there’s no judgement. Just my friend. “I’m still trying to work him out,” I confide.

“That’s not a job for a few days of a holiday. He’s a very complex person.”

“I know.” I shake my head. “I failed in my abstinence task too, Jack.”

His mouth twitches. “Yes, I rather gathered that from all the moaning and groaning coming from his room this afternoon. Either that or you were teaching him how to do Taekwondo.”

I blanch. “Don’t tell Bee you heard us, for Christ’s sake. He’s a bit shy. People’s attention makes him feel awkward.”

I’d snuck out of his room this evening to get ready and ensure that no one knew what we’d spent the afternoon doing. Not that this made any difference. I’m sure they all know anyway.

“You know I won’t say anything. So, he’s a love-and-leave-them sort of bloke. Ivy said he’s a one-and-done. By my reckoning, you’ve outlasted that moratorium.”

“I don’t know how,” I say a little glumly. “I’m not exactly on his level of brains.”

“And yet he’s fascinated by you.”

I look up. “Is he?”

His eyes narrow. “Don’t you know? Can’t you see? Look over at him now.”

I do as he says and blink as I find Bee watching me while the girls talk. A flush appears on his cheeks at being caught out, but then he drops me a saucy wink that makes me smile.

I turn back to Jack, and he grins. “He’s still interested in you, even though you apparently have sexual willpower that’s like a magpie with something shiny.”

I let myself revel in that bit, then shake my head. “I want to see him again. I’ve never met anyone like him and want to see where it goes. But do I tell him that or opt for stealth dating?”

“And that would be?”

“Where I think up more and more things to do that interest him enough to cover up the fact that we’re dating.”

“How long would that go on for?”

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