Page 23 of You, As You Are

“Definitely.”

“Have you Googled him yet?”

“Is that a euphemism?”

“Not in this case.”

Maisie nibbled on the inside of her cheek. Should she look him up? Was that a complete violation of the acquaintance they’d made?

Nah. Standard practice once a guy had had his hands on your waist.

“I’m going to my computer, hang on.”

Loveable, affable Faye was a bad influence.

Maisie slipped into the kitchen and peeked into the living room. Vera wasn’t there on the sofa, or anywhere else in the room, in fact. A vague shuffling above her meant she had to be quick. The last thing she needed was gossiping Vera seeing her looking Iain up online.

She slid into her seat and tapped at her keyboard. “I’m back.”

“You never said where he works,” Faye mentioned.

Maisie kept her voice as low as she could. “At a kitchen and bathroom place, but he hates it.”

“If he lived in London I could see if Bash knew of anything available like that.” Faye’s boyfriend owned a luxury interior design firm with his friend, Bennet. “Are you Googling him yet?”

She was on the web browser, a blank screen and empty search bar staring back at her. “I don’t know his last name.”

“How many kitchen and bathroom places could there be nearby?”

Her nails tapped on the keyboard for a minute. “Three within a few miles.”

“So what are you waiting for?”

“This feels like we’re breaching into stalker territory,” Maisie said.

“This isn’t illegal. You’re not digging up any personal information.”

Who was this woman, and what had she done with Faye?

Maisie closed the tab with a resolute click. “You know what, no. I’m just going to ask him what his last name is the next time I see him.”

She could practically hear Faye’s eyebrows wiggling. “Next time, huh?”

Ah nuts.“They hike every week.”

Unfortunately Maisie had to miss out this next Saturday.So tragic,she knew. But Vera’s friend’s granddaughter’s flat was going up for lease that morning and she wanted to be the first one there for an official viewing.

“You could do what I did the first time I walked with Bash and his family?” Faye suggested.

The moving of feet upstairs sounded suspiciously like they’d made their way to the landing, which meant that in two seconds they’d continue down the stairs. Maisie absolutely couldn’t be heard talking about this. Vera would be like a dog with a bone if she caught wind that she had even the tiniest interest in Iain.

She thought weightless thoughts as she rose and tiptoed back outside.

“I am not falling off of a stile just so that he can catch me,” she said once she was safe from prying ears, recalling what had happened on Faye’s first family walk with Bash.

“It hadn’t been intentional, Maise, but itwasthrilling.”

“He’s already caught me once.”

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