Page 41 of The Wedding Cake Wish
He nods, rubbing at a smudge on his thigh. ‘I want you,’ hemurmurs. Then he looks up and smiles his lazy, heart-stopping smile. ‘Where tonow, partner?’
CHAPTERNINETEEN
The chocolate muffins are tasting delicious and thecoffee is slipping down a treat at the Baker Street Café. I worked through mylunchbreak so that I could meet Hudson here mid-afternoon for a chat about thecase.
Rory still hasn’t turned up.
I watch Hudson as he stirs his coffee, a slight frown on hisface. He looks tired today, after our adventure at Brendan Myers’ mansionyesterday. There’s a slight puffiness around his eyes as if he hasn’t sleptproperly, and instantly a vision of Amelia sweeps into my mind.
Has he seen her since the awards ceremony the othernight?
I’m not going to ask!
‘So what do we do now?’ I prompt, to snap him out of hisdaydream. ‘To find Rory, I mean.’
He looks up and focuses. ‘Um...I suggestwe get the key to Rory’s flat from Rachel and get over there. Have a scoutaround. When do you finish today?’
‘Five-thirty.’ I nod. ‘That would be great. Perhaps we’llget a clue there about where he’s gone.’
‘I hope so.’ He grins. ‘I keep thinking about yourunexpected plunge into the delightful Mr Myers’ swimming pool. I don’t thinkI’ve ever seen anyone quite so wet.’
I groan. ‘Don’t remind me. I can’t believe I managed to fallin. And thosedogs!’
‘I thought I’d lost a leg,’ he agrees. ‘I’ve never sprintedso fast in my life.’
I smile, thinking back. ‘Even though it was a damp squib asfar as finding Rory goes, it was still...kind of fun, though?Don’t you think?’
‘Fun? Rubes, are you mad? Brendan Myers is the sortof man who’d stop at absolutely nothing to protect his empire.’ Then he shrugsand grins. ‘Itwaskind of fun, though. But only because I was doing itwith you.’
His eyes gleam with something like affection and I swallowhard, picking up the menu to hide my confusion.
‘Hey, did you know that Queen Victoria was a Sherlock fan?That’s what it says here. And it also says that Sherlock’s side-kick, JohnWatson, was originally going to be called Ormand Stacker? Imagine that.’
He’s looking at me as if I’m a deerstalker short of the fullSherlock outfit as I babble on. ‘Weird name. But it’s true. There’s loads ofinteresting facts about Sherlock Holmes in here.’ I wave the menu about, myface glowing.
He grins. ‘I know. I’ve read them many times. Watch whatyou’re doing with that menu. You nearly knocked a milkshake off that waitress’stray then.’
‘Oops.’ I glance round guiltily.
‘So how about I pick you up from work at five-thirty and wehead over to Rory’s?’ He looks at his watch and stands up. ‘Much as I’d love toorder another coffee and stay here chatting to you about fascinating Sherlockfacts, I need to get to this meeting.’
‘Did you...have you seen Amelia lately?’ Iask casually on the way out.
He glances at me in surprise. ‘We only saw her the othernight.’
‘I know. It’s just...she seemed reallykeen to get to know you. Obviously because she’s missing Myles...naturally.She’s nice, isn’t she? Gorgeous as well.’
I’m desperate to know what he thinks of Amelia. But hisexpression as he ducks into the driver’s seat gives nothing away.
‘Yeah, Amelia’s lovely. Right, see you later.’
*****
‘This is weird,’ I whisper later, as Hudson inserts thekey into Rory’s front door. ‘It feels like we’re trespassing.’
‘But we’re not. We’ve got Rachel’s permission.’
‘Not Rory’s, though. And maybe he doesn’t actuallywantto be found.’
