friends?’ she asked from behind lowered lids.
Edd laughed loudly. ‘You don’t “do” second base, you “go to” second base.’
‘Sorry. Do you go to second base with all your friends?’ She twisted her legs together and leant on the counter top.
‘No! No, I don’t. Most of them are too stubbly and have beer bellies.’ He laughed as he collected two plain white china mugs from a cupboard and placed them in front of the coffee machine.
‘Just checking.’ She smiled.
‘God, we drank a lot yesterday, but I think it was probably justified. Things like that don’t happen every day, thank God. It was a shock, right?’
‘Poor Mr Redlitch.’ Meg felt a flush of guilt that she hadn’t thought about him until that point.
‘I know. Poor guy.’ He sighed. ‘I never ever drink during the week, it’s my rule.’ Edd grinned at her over his shoulder.
‘I hardly drink at all, weekday or not. I’m practically teetotal,’ Meg countered as she toyed with her hair. But I like drinking with you… And I did it because I wanted you to like me, wanted to be like every other girl who might have caught your eye. I wanted you to think I was cosmopolitan and outgoing and not scared. Lonely and scared.
‘Teetotal?’ Edd threw his head back and guffawed. ‘That’s funny. For a teetotaller you did pretty good. You must be like those vegetarians who give up meat at sixteen but continue to eat bacon, then eventually progress to chicken so that by the time they hit twenty they are ripping the leg off every cow that passes and slapping it in a bun. They think they’ve been embracing a vegetarian lifestyle when really they’ve simply been denying themselves what they crave.’ His eyes twinkled at her. ‘I think you are like that.’
She laughed. ‘I am so not like that!’
‘You were so like that last night. At one point I held up my hands – no more! And while I was in the bathroom you ordered Flaming Russians, two each!’
‘I don’t even know what a Flaming Russian is!’ Meg covered her eyes with her hands, cringing. ‘You must think I’m terrible.’
‘I do. I really do.’ He nodded vigorously. ‘I think you are one of the most terrible human beings I have ever met.’ He stared at her, his expression suggesting the exact opposite.
The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted from the machine and filled the apartment. Edd poured generous amounts into the waiting mugs and walked over to the firm, pale silver sofa in the middle of the room. Meg followed him.
‘Nice cushions!’ She pulled one of the mauve pillows from the sofa and admired the floral sequin design. ‘Very fancy-pants!’
‘I hate them. Unnecessary sofa ornaments. They spend more time on the floor when I’m home—’ Edd checked himself and shook his head as he plumped down on the sofa. They sat sideways, facing each other, without any of the awkwardness that might have followed, being that they were new friends who were only half dressed.
‘How long have you worked for Plum’s?’ he asked, cupping his coffee mug under his chin in a way that she found very attractive.
‘Four years.’ Meg sipped the restorative brew. ‘I lived with Milly and her cousin Pru first. I was going through a particularly rough patch and they really helped me out. And now I work for them.’
Meg wasn’t sure how much to share. It was hard to explain that as well as being her employers they were the closest thing to family that Meg had – well, reliable family. The only exception being her cousin Liam, who ran a car dealership in Lewisham that only just operated on the right side of the law. Milly had been there for Lucas’s birth and had earned a special place in her son’s heart as well as in her own. Having left school at sixteen without qualifications or a clue as to where her future lay, Meg never, ever took her very good fortune for granted.
She took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed how to tell Edd that her non-working
Edd laughed loudly. ‘You don’t “do” second base, you “go to” second base.’
‘Sorry. Do you go to second base with all your friends?’ She twisted her legs together and leant on the counter top.
‘No! No, I don’t. Most of them are too stubbly and have beer bellies.’ He laughed as he collected two plain white china mugs from a cupboard and placed them in front of the coffee machine.
‘Just checking.’ She smiled.
‘God, we drank a lot yesterday, but I think it was probably justified. Things like that don’t happen every day, thank God. It was a shock, right?’
‘Poor Mr Redlitch.’ Meg felt a flush of guilt that she hadn’t thought about him until that point.
‘I know. Poor guy.’ He sighed. ‘I never ever drink during the week, it’s my rule.’ Edd grinned at her over his shoulder.
‘I hardly drink at all, weekday or not. I’m practically teetotal,’ Meg countered as she toyed with her hair. But I like drinking with you… And I did it because I wanted you to like me, wanted to be like every other girl who might have caught your eye. I wanted you to think I was cosmopolitan and outgoing and not scared. Lonely and scared.
‘Teetotal?’ Edd threw his head back and guffawed. ‘That’s funny. For a teetotaller you did pretty good. You must be like those vegetarians who give up meat at sixteen but continue to eat bacon, then eventually progress to chicken so that by the time they hit twenty they are ripping the leg off every cow that passes and slapping it in a bun. They think they’ve been embracing a vegetarian lifestyle when really they’ve simply been denying themselves what they crave.’ His eyes twinkled at her. ‘I think you are like that.’
She laughed. ‘I am so not like that!’
‘You were so like that last night. At one point I held up my hands – no more! And while I was in the bathroom you ordered Flaming Russians, two each!’
‘I don’t even know what a Flaming Russian is!’ Meg covered her eyes with her hands, cringing. ‘You must think I’m terrible.’
‘I do. I really do.’ He nodded vigorously. ‘I think you are one of the most terrible human beings I have ever met.’ He stared at her, his expression suggesting the exact opposite.
The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted from the machine and filled the apartment. Edd poured generous amounts into the waiting mugs and walked over to the firm, pale silver sofa in the middle of the room. Meg followed him.
‘Nice cushions!’ She pulled one of the mauve pillows from the sofa and admired the floral sequin design. ‘Very fancy-pants!’
‘I hate them. Unnecessary sofa ornaments. They spend more time on the floor when I’m home—’ Edd checked himself and shook his head as he plumped down on the sofa. They sat sideways, facing each other, without any of the awkwardness that might have followed, being that they were new friends who were only half dressed.
‘How long have you worked for Plum’s?’ he asked, cupping his coffee mug under his chin in a way that she found very attractive.
‘Four years.’ Meg sipped the restorative brew. ‘I lived with Milly and her cousin Pru first. I was going through a particularly rough patch and they really helped me out. And now I work for them.’
Meg wasn’t sure how much to share. It was hard to explain that as well as being her employers they were the closest thing to family that Meg had – well, reliable family. The only exception being her cousin Liam, who ran a car dealership in Lewisham that only just operated on the right side of the law. Milly had been there for Lucas’s birth and had earned a special place in her son’s heart as well as in her own. Having left school at sixteen without qualifications or a clue as to where her future lay, Meg never, ever took her very good fortune for granted.
She took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed how to tell Edd that her non-working
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