Page 84 of The Dicktionary Club

‘Have you ever lived with anyone?’ I asked.

Philip sighed. ‘Oh yes!’

I started to laugh, unsurprised.

‘I was married,’ he said.

I felt my brows rise to my hairline. Jesus, my Google searches hadn’t told me that!

‘But we divorced after a few months. I like to think of it as an expensive mistake.’ He laughed, but we both knew it wasn’t funny. ‘And after that, I suppose I was never interested in settling down.’

My ears pricked up a little, knowing this could be the moment I needed for the website.

‘Do you date a lot now then?’ I tried to ask him as casually as possible, taking another drink.

‘I wouldn’t say date.’ He adjusted his bow tie.

Permanent fuck boy status, I thought.

‘More like, have fun.’ He shrugged.

My mind searched for a reply that wouldn’t make me sound like I was judging him. I wanted him to expand, but at the same time, I felt the need to stand up for the women he’d undoubtedly hurt along the way.

‘Do the women you have fun with realise they are just playthings?’

Philip seemed surprised. He turned to properly face me. ‘Well, I do try to make it clear. Let’s say, I wouldn’t invite them to a bar opening or anything with substance like that.’

If this was his attempt at flattery, a way to say I was different from the rest, then he was doing a terrible job of it.

‘So, you would just turn up at their workplace with flowers and Chinese takeaway?’

Philip laughed uncomfortably. ‘Most women would be happy with that gesture, you know.’

I rolled my eyes and turned to face out the window. Suddenly, I felt Philip’s warm hand touch my chin, turning my head back to his.

‘I don’t look at you like a plaything. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say here.’

I gazed at his perfect bone structure. For a moment I understood exactly how irresistible this man could be. He was breathtakingly gorgeous.

I pulled my face free from his grasp.

‘Men love a challenge, and personally, I think you are only so interested because of how uninterested I am,’ I replied.

Something curious flashed behind his eyes, but then he smirked. ‘And yet, here you are sitting inmycar,’ he whispered.

I could feel my heart pound like I was running alongside the car on the motorway at seventy miles an hour. What the fuck was happening? I felt as if I was almost panting for breath.

‘It was the least I could do for securing the art gallery.’

Philip hummed a little once more. ‘How is that going? Tell me all about the plans.’

For the next forty minutes, I divulged everything I could about hosting Alexander’s night at Kelvingrove and my ideas for promoting him as an artist in Glasgow. My heart rate eventually settled as we talked more casually about my work, his work, and his up-and-coming business trip to Berlin.

I grinned, noticing the view from the window had changed to a picturesque landscape of Edinburgh. It was only a short car journey away, but the entire backdrop was different. From the hilly cobbled streets to the jumble of medieval-looking buildings, Edinburgh seemed a million miles away from Glasgow, but every bit as beautiful. Eventually, the car pulled up onto a bustling, crowded street in the Old Town. Philip glanced out the window and let out a small puff of air, making the glass steam up a little.

‘Well, it certainly looks busy!’

For the first time since knowing him, he seemed nervous.

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