Page 21 of Enemies to Lovers

‘Your face,’ Alex says, shaking his head. ‘Don’t panic. You’re not going to have to ask for his number, because Adonis actually gave me this to pass along.’

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card with a message on the back. I take it.Text me, it says, and his phone number is on the front.

I look up just as Adonis is heading over.

‘I thought your family could perhaps come to a barbecue, tomorrow night?’ he says, nodding towards his phone number in my hand. He’s not shyat all. In fact his attitude is very much of the ‘whywouldn’tyou want my number’ variety. But he’s such a happy man that it’s a bit like the sun has decided to shine on me, and he’s damned right: whywouldn’tI want his number? ‘Bring everybody,’ he adds. ‘It will be a big party.’

I nod. Bringing everyone is way less nerve-racking than going on a one-on-one date or whatever. Don’t people call it a ‘group hang’? Hmmm. I wonder if it’s still called that if your mum and dad are there. God. Bringing my mum and dad on a date? It’s like I’m thirteen. Laurie is going torinse mefor this.

‘Sounds good,’ I say. ‘I’ll text you and you can send me the details?’

Adonis’s smile is wide, but somehow gets even wider.

‘Yes,’ he says. ‘I think if you come, you will have a very good time. We can dance together.’

I find myself chewing down on my bottom lip with a smile, nodding. He throws up his hands like a Spanishseñoritadoing flamenco. There’s not a self-conscious bone in his body, I think. I laugh. I don’t know what else to say. This isveryunexpected andvery, verycool.

‘I would like to point out that I all but predicted this,’ Kate stage-whispers, watching me keep doing my weird grinning thing at Adonis’s back as he invites Dad for his massage. He’s got a fantastic arse on him. I am feeling unexpectedly amenable to the notion of a holiday fling.

‘You?’ I ask, but I shouldn’t be surprised that Kate is trying to take the credit – that’s Kate, and I love her for how she is.

‘I said, on our first day, in that bikini you’re bound to get attention,’ she says, gesturing to my swimwear. ‘I don’t know why you have such a struggle accepting that you’re fire personified, sister. Truly. If I wasn’t married to your brother you’d even turn my head.’

‘Shut uppp,’ I insist, finally looking away from Adonis as he disappears with a cute wave. As I wave back, I see Jamie skulking at the side of the veranda, his brow furrowed disapprovingly in my direction. Well, let him disapprove. My love life – or my sex life, to be more accurate, since I understand those are the rules of a holiday fling – is of no concern to my actual brothers, so it certainly doesn’t concern Jamie, either. I scowl at him in return, because screw him.

‘Jamie! We doing this thing or what?’ Laurie hollers at him as he appears from inside the house. ‘I’m feeling bloated as hell – I need this workout if we’re going to keep eating like we’ve been released from prison.’

‘Famous last words,’ Jamie says to him and they head off together, Jamie looking angrily back over his shoulder.

I find my phone in my beach bag to punch in Adonis’s number so that I don’t lose it. I send him a text that says,Hey – this is my number! Love Flo x.Then I fire off a missive to Hope:Guess who just got a hot Greek’s number! You’d be so proud!!

This is a good thing. It will be fun, a BBQ and a party, and it will take my mind off other things, like the overwhelming responsibility of being a human in this world; and also Jamie and his stupid face. I know I thought he and I could undertake some exposure therapy and become friends, but the way he just looked at me made my blood run cold. How am I supposed to get to know somebody who doesn’t want to spend time with me anyway? Hewantsto stay out of my way – that’s what he said. A fool’s errand, giving him any further thought. I shall focus on this plot twist, this Greek god.

My phone beeps with a message. It’s Adonis. It’s a kiss-face emoji. It makes me smile – again. I ‘like’ it and throw my phone back in my bag, relaxing into a sunbed with Mum’s airport thriller and a flourish.

I am teased mercilessly about Adonis for the rest of the day, with Alex and Laurie and even Mum, at one point, doing impressions of me biting my lip and smiling and waving.

‘Oooooh!’ says Laurie in a high-pitched voice that Iguess is supposed to sound like me. ‘A boy! My name’s Flo and I fancy a boy!’

Mum especially seems pleased. She’s not protective of my heart, not like a lot of mums. She’s always encouraged me tohave your fun whilst you can, darling. I learned so much from my mistakes that I might even make some more!She’s one of a kind. Most mums have to rein in their kids. I wonder what’s it like to feel you need to physically kick your youngest out of the nest and into the world.

Adonis comes over to say goodbye to the whole family after he does Laurie’s massage, leaving early because Jamie says he doesn’t want one – something about a dodgy shoulder muscle that he needs to see a doctor about. He’s disappeared off inside somewhere instead.

‘Bye, lover boy!’ Laurie shouts after Adonis as he drives off, though luckily he doesn’t seem to hear it over the sound of the driveway gravel crunching under the wheels. ‘I’ll miss you,’ he adds breathlessly, full-on taking the piss.

‘Why is he your lover boy?’ Dad asks, already tucking into a sundowner even though the sun is nowhere near going down.

‘Didn’t you hear?’ Laurie asks her. ‘Flo got his number. She’s gonna getrailed.’

‘Laurie!’ cries Kate, disgusted. What is it with my brothers? They either can’t understand that I am awoman who actually has sexual urges, or else they do and they go way over the top commenting on it.

‘What’s “railed”?’ asks Dad, innocently.

‘Dad, don’t,’ I say, standing up to dive into the pool. ‘Let’s change the subject.’

I cut through the water and make it all the way to the other side without coming up for air. That shouldn’t impress me as much as it does, but Alex has noticed what I’ve done and so stands up himself, declaring bullishly, ‘Anyone could do that.’

And that’s how we both change the subject and pass the next hour: a bunch of fully grown adults having a competition to see who can hold their breath the longest. The mood is relaxed and convivial, and it’s not long before everyone joins Dad in having a drink, with bags of nuts and crisps getting cracked open, too.

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