Page 36 of Reflex
“Ah,” he said, as if those details had completely escaped him.He flicked his black hair out of his eyes.“Well, I did kind of arrange a few things.Had a good long chinwag with your brother.He’s good to see to the moggy, mentioned it was technically his anyway, and he dug out a few bits he thought you might need and had them sent over, passport included.”
“You what?”
“Your brother, the one with the Captain Birdseye beard.He is your brother, right?Not your live-in lover?I haven’t trodden on any toes?”He slurped up another lace, and offered her one.Alle pushed his hand aside.
“Ewan’s my brother.He knew about this?”She’d kill him.“He’s dropped off my passport?”
“And some clothes.”
She shook her head.Un-fucking-believable.“When did you two plan this?And how in hell are you in contact,” –scratch that, it was more like collusion— “with my brother?”
Ronnie, bless him, steepled his fingers and pressed them to his smile.“Hm…”
His eyebrows, along with the rest of his elastic face, screwed up into fake thoughtfulness.The hell he couldn’t remember.He’d clearly plotted this meticulously.And at some point, she might even figure out why.
“I called him.Well, I had someone call him.But only because I knew Flynn was out.”
Ah, things were finally making fractionally more sense.Ronnie knew Flynn.How?That remained to be established, but it made more sense than him knowing Ewan.
“You didn’t know I knew him, did you?”
“And you never mentioned it.”
His smirk elongated from ear to ear.“We did a dance class at college together.Only two guys.Didn’t immediately realise you were his sister, but then I happened to run into him last weekend, and he happened to mention that your birthday’s coming up and that you haven’t forgiven him for sodding off on a sailboat straight after Ewan inconveniently lost two and a half toes right when you were due to mix Black Halo’s last album.”
“And they think tickets make up for that?”
Ronnie unfolded his long legs.“The tickets are my gift.They just covered the flights, or Ewan did, and a hotel that’s hopefully not hideous.However, we have backstage passes, so maybe the hotel thing doesn’t matter.”He sucked his cheeks in, while still grinning like a mad imp.“Not that I’m suggesting you’re the sort to randomly throw yourself at a guy, but having seen the way your eyes light up every time I mention Black Halo, you could be a total groupie if the opportunity arose.”
“You’re way too much,” she said, battering him around the head.This was all unreal.Lord God, her heart was racing.Monte Carlo… They were heading to Monte Carlo.She would see Spook.Today.This evening.Not on some mythical date in the future.She’d know if everything was all right.
She ought to call him.
No.She didn’t want to warn him and give him the opportunity to invent yet another reason why they still couldn’t meet and spend time together.Alle clasped both hands to her mouth and breathed in deeply through her nose.This was surreal.Too crazy.Too awesome to be believable.There had to be a catch, something to throw a spanner in the works.Luck like this didn’t come her way.
You got picked to work with Black Halo in the first place, didn’t you?
Besides that.
“Shall we get going?”Ronnie cannonballed off the gargoyle and somehow landed on his feet barely an inch away from her.He bent so his head was level with hers, and flashed her another of his boyishly charming smiles.
Downside – she was looking right at it.Based on the reaction she’d got from Spook to the mention of him last night, rocking up with Ronnie wasn’t going to go down particularly well.On the other hand, Ronnie was hard to dislike in person.That and, hell, she had a feeling he was up to something.
“Okay,” she agreed.
He burst into a spontaneous high-kicking dance routine that he kept up all the way to the carpark.
“You’re a total dork,” she said, laughing.
Ronnie spun to a halt, then slurped up another strawberry lace.“But a loveable one,” he said, while chewing.
That was annoyingly true.
“I’m glad I’ve managed to put a smile back on your face.”
Her too, though there was still a lead weight in her stomach, because God only knew what Spook would make of her just turning up.She had no idea if he’d be pleased to see her, or run a mile at the blessed thought.
