Page 21 of For Love or Money
‘Yes, it was.’ He gave her a sad little smile.
‘You’re an only child?’
‘Yes, but Rafe and Scott are like brothers to me. We spent a lot of time together, growing up. After Mum died, I used to come and stay with Jane and Peter in the summer holidays.’
Lesley turned her attention back to the screen. ‘So, this is your girlfriend?’ she asked, pointing at the avatar of the smiling blonde who had posted the picture. ‘Cassie Lyons?’
‘My ex-girlfriend, yes.’
Lesley clicked on her profile and brought up Cassie’s page.
‘Hang on, I didn’t say you could do that.’
Lesley ignored him, her heart sinking as she scrolled through Cassie’s photos. Tall, blonde and athletic, Cassie was gorgeous and she knew it. Her timeline was full of posed selfies of her dressed up for nights out, pouting at herself in bathroom mirrors. Every photo had hundreds of likes and was liberally peppered with comments on how stunning she was.
Lesley scrolled through to last July until she found a picture of Cassie and Al on the beach at Cannes, both beaming at the camera. Cassie wore a skimpy green bikini, Al’s arm around her teeny-tiny waist. She was surprised how fit Al looked in his board shorts. He wasn’t exactly ripped, but he was more muscular than Lesley would have given him credit for.
‘Stop ogling me,’ Al said, peering over her shoulder. ‘I object to being objectified.’
‘So this is your ex,’ Lesley said accusingly, jabbing her finger at the image of Cassie. ‘Well, sorry, but this isn’t going to work.’
‘What isn’t going to work?’
‘You and me,’ she said, waving her hand between them.
‘Why not?’ he frowned, aghast. ‘You haven’t even given us a chance.’
‘Well, look at her! She could be a model.’
‘Well, she’s not. She’s a systems analyst, actually. Though, now that you mention it, she did do the odd bit of modelling while she was at school.’
‘I knew it!’
‘But so what if she was? What have you got against models?’
‘Nothing. But what are people going to think when they see you with me? They’ll never believe I’m your girlfriend.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, look at me!’
Al looked her up and down, frowning. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ he asked impatiently. ‘You look fine to me.’
‘Oh, thanks very much!’
‘More than fine.’
‘Okay, tell me one thing about me that you find attractive.’
‘Well, there’s—’
‘Come on.’ She snapped her fingers and tapped her foot. ‘Give me a compliment – the first thing that comes into your head. Don’t think about it.’
‘Um, well, er – there’s so many things ...’ Al stammered.
‘Come on. And if you tell me I have a good personality, I might throw something at you.’
‘Well, I’m not loving your personality right now, to be honest.’
