Page 31 of Out of the Shadows
“And car fumes, congested streets and being hemmed in is, I suppose?”
“They’re natural for me.”
He shrugs and shifts his attention to the others in the room. There’s something about his mannerism that’s slightly dismissive and it puts my teeth on edge.
“There is life beyond the bars and clubs of Soho, you know.” Gay bars and clubs I might just as well have added. Like The Breaker’s Yard, the bar we’d seen each other in when I was with Geraldine.
“Allegedly.”
His lips curl up into what looks like a secretive little smile as his eyes slide over to meet mine, just for a second, before they flicker back to look out over the common room.
My skin prickles, and I clench my jaw so tight I feel a crack and a spasm of pain. I force myself to relax and try to ignore the dark light in his eyes that seems to speak of secrets and knowledge.
“I can’t claim to know anything about the countryside or the things that live in it, but we did have dogs when I was growing up. Plenty of them.” He smiles, and there’s a surprising softness about it. “They were mainly pedigrees, and my mother would take them to shows, but my favourite was always Pixie. She was a mutt from a rescue centre, and as soft as a marshmallow.” His smile’s open and unguarded, and I’m again reminded of the younger Cosmo, of the Cosmo who once smiled at me with all that openness.
“I’ve got a cat. His name’s Wallace.” Something else I’ve no reason to tell him.
His brows arch in surprise. “You don’t look like a cat person. Or a sheep wrangler, for that matter.”
“What you see on the surface isn’t the only thing you get.”
He doesn’t say anything as he takes another sip of coffee and pins me down with his mossy green gaze. I resist the urge to squirm and shift in my seat. I’m not used to feeling assessed and read, but that’s exactly how I feel under Cosmo’s indecipherable gaze. I’ve said too much, revealed too much… but we were only talking about animals…
Linda claps her hands, calling for our attention, and I’ve never been more glad of an interruption.
I turn my attention to my colleague and try to do the impossible — ignore Cosmo.
