Page 33 of You Only Live Once
He smiled then and I sent out a telepathic emergency signal to call the fire crews back.It’s fine. You’re just not used to it. You’ve been alone a long time and he’s a good-looking man. But it’s Jack. Just Jack.But the last bit didn’t seem to be helping. In fact, if I admitted it to myself, which obviously I wouldn’t, that bit just made it worse.
‘Thank you for doing this.’
‘It’s fine. As you say, good practice for the film thing.’
‘Exactly. If you can get through this, you can get through anything.’
‘You’re not helping.’
‘No. I’ve just heard that back in my head and it didn’t come out exactly as I’d hoped. I’m going to shut up now. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you being here.’ His gaze drifted over me, the emerald green, bias-cut dress skimming over the minimal curves I did have and enhancing them. It was such a long time since I’d dressed up, I’d had no idea if my evening outfits would still fit or look odd. But this was a classic style and never dated, and thankfully it still fit. Wearing heels again felt weird and took a bit of getting used to, although it did bring me that little bit closer to Jack’s face – something I was undecided as to whether was a good thing or not. ‘You really do look stunning.’
‘I’m already here. You don’t need to flatter me now.’
He gave a small shake of his head. ‘Not flattery. I’m not into that these days. Just speaking the truth. And the truth is, you look beautiful.’ With that, he placed one large hand on the small of my back, and we entered the room together.
There was a momentary hush as first one person noticed Jack’s presence, and then another. I was infinitely glad of the warm, solid feel of his hand. The attention was certainly disconcerting for me, so I could only imagine how strange it must be for him.
In a sudden swish of movement, a woman I recognised as Lady Coulsdon-Hart emerged through the throng and made her way over to us, elegantly and in no hurry.
‘Brace yourself,’ Jack muttered out of the corner of his mouth, and I tried not to giggle.
‘Jack, darling, I’m so glad you could make it.’
From what I understood, this gathering was specifically in Jack’s honour, so to suggest that he wouldn’t make it was an odd thing to say. I couldn’t work out whether she was actually glad or whether it was a dig at his long absence, disguised as a perfectly innocuous remark.
‘Mother.’ He smiled, kissing her cheek and accepting the somewhat brittle hug she offered him as her husband came to stand next to her.
‘Jack.’ He nodded.
‘Dad.’ Jack nodded back.
Good Lord. It was obvious to me now why Jack had spent so much time during his formative years at our house. You’re away for years and this is the warmth of the greeting you receive?
‘I wasn’t aware you were bringing anyone. Aren’t you going to introduce us?’ His mother gave me a smile with all the warmth of an ice lolly.
‘Of course. This is my friend, Lily. Lily, my mother.’
His mother held out her hand and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to shake it or kiss it and curtsy. I opted for shaking followed by a quick ‘pleased to meet you’ and then repeated the action with his father.
‘Lily?’ The earl looked at his wife, then back at Jack. ‘Isn’t Lily the name of the woman whose house you’re staying at?’
‘That’s right,’ Jack confirmed.
‘Oh, darling.’ His mother laughed, pulling him away a few steps but still clearly within earshot. ‘If you didn’t want to come alone tonight, I could have found you a far more suitable partner than your landlady.’
‘Mother!’ Jack did his best to extricate himself from the hand she had laid upon his arm without making a scene and stepped back beside me. His jaw was clenched, and his hands were now rammed into his pockets as anger and embarrassment mingled on his handsome features.
‘I’m not his landlady,’ I said in a voice far more confident than I felt. ‘Jack’s an old friend, and I have a spare room, so he’s staying with me until he gets back on his feet. Just one friend helping out another.’ I gave what I hoped was a disarming smile, but I doubted Lady Marsden was about to recall the artillery anytime soon.
His mother smiled at me. There was certainly no need to worry if they ran out of ice for this party. All they’d have to do was get Jack’s mum to look at the glass for the temperature of anything near it to plummet. I stood my ground with as much warmth as I could muster, unwilling to play the same game. I wasn’t about to stand there and let Jack, or myself, be treated like a nobody. It made sense now – if they’d been my parents, I probably would have moved to the other side of the world as well.
‘I’m going to get us some drinks,’ Jack said, once more placing a hand on the small of my back. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’ He gave his parents a tight smile before gently steering me away towards a bar area manned by two impeccably dressed members of staff.
‘What can I get you, sir?’
‘Whiskey. Irish. Double. No ice. Thanks,’ Jack ordered in a rapid-fire manner before turning to me.
‘Sorry, I should have asked you first. That was rude.’
