knock your socks off?’ Meg offered.
Edd turned to face her, remembering her words at the top of the Empire State Building. ‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘She never did.’
Meg looked at the fine straight line of his nose and mouth and placed her palm over the back of his hand, which still rested on her thigh. She wondered what he saw as he stared at her, feeling the wave of warmth rise within her from their point of contact. She wanted him to see her as a sexy, available partner and not how she often felt on the inside, a knackered working single mum who was trying very hard to have it all.
She pulled the sequined cushion from the side of the sofa and held it into her chest.
‘I’m not very confident, Edd. I’m a bit bruised,’ she whispered.
‘I think we all are in one way or another.’ He looked at the floor. Easier to have this conversation with his eyes averted.
‘Do you think I’m sexy?’ she whispered. ‘I just wondered.’ Instantly she regretted the question; her nerves caused her to ramble. ‘You don’t have to answer. I only ask because sometimes I’m so focused on being a mum and getting things done for Plum’s that I don’t know what I’ve become. I don’t know if anyone will ever find me attractive. I have the chest of a fourteen-year-old boy. I wish I had boobs…’ Meg felt her cheeks flush at the admission.
Edd spluttered on his coffee, laughing and choking simultaneously. ‘That’s funny! And for your information, I was once a fourteen-year-old boy and my chest wasn’t anything like that. If it had been, I’d never have left the house.’ Edd looked at her shyly. The bolshie, flirty man from the Greenwich Avenue Deli had disappeared behind his coffee cup. ‘And in answer to your question – of course.’
‘Of course what?’
‘You are very sexy. I love the way you look, and your little cockney voice. Any man that cheated on you would want his head examined.’
They both laughed. She stared at him as her eyes misted slightly. ‘I’ve never thought being a cockney was a sexy thing.’
‘Well it is, trust me.’ Edd placed his coffee cup on the floor and removed hers from her grasp. He threw the cushions to the ground and took her hand in his, pulling her into an upright position.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, with one eye on the clock.
‘We are going back to bed and we are going to make things a whole lot weirder.’
He kissed her hard on the mouth. Meg knotted her hands behind his neck as they moved towards the bedroom, trying desperately to ignore the nerves that fizzed in her stomach. She hoped she was going to be all Edd wanted and more.
7
Meg looped by the Inn on 11th on her way to work. Having showered, retouched her make-up and changed into her black wool minidress, over-the-knee black boots and thick woolly tights, she felt ready to face the day. She had a spring in her step and a grin on her face.
She’d ignored Elene’s subtle line of questioning – ‘Is that you coming in or going out, Meg?’ – her eyes bright with interest. And she’d resisted the temptation to respond with, ‘Oh, coming in, actually. I got so sloshed last night that I slept in a strange man’s bed and then slept with him this morning. We had a lovely time, went to fifth base, which was great and apparently further than Jennifer Molowski let anyone go, even on Prom night.’ Instead, she managed to deflect the question with a burst of unnatural laughter and by babbling about the cold weather and plans for Christmas before smiling sweetly and returning her key to the disinterested Salvatore. He hung it on the rack where it had spent the night.
Meg was pleased to see that Plum Patisserie on Bleecker Street was a hive of activity. Nancy, Mr Redlitch’s daughter, had left a message asking Meg to come up and see her. As she trod the stairs to the apartments above, she felt even more like an intruder than she had the day before. She slowly approached Mr Redlitch’s front
Edd turned to face her, remembering her words at the top of the Empire State Building. ‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘She never did.’
Meg looked at the fine straight line of his nose and mouth and placed her palm over the back of his hand, which still rested on her thigh. She wondered what he saw as he stared at her, feeling the wave of warmth rise within her from their point of contact. She wanted him to see her as a sexy, available partner and not how she often felt on the inside, a knackered working single mum who was trying very hard to have it all.
She pulled the sequined cushion from the side of the sofa and held it into her chest.
‘I’m not very confident, Edd. I’m a bit bruised,’ she whispered.
‘I think we all are in one way or another.’ He looked at the floor. Easier to have this conversation with his eyes averted.
‘Do you think I’m sexy?’ she whispered. ‘I just wondered.’ Instantly she regretted the question; her nerves caused her to ramble. ‘You don’t have to answer. I only ask because sometimes I’m so focused on being a mum and getting things done for Plum’s that I don’t know what I’ve become. I don’t know if anyone will ever find me attractive. I have the chest of a fourteen-year-old boy. I wish I had boobs…’ Meg felt her cheeks flush at the admission.
Edd spluttered on his coffee, laughing and choking simultaneously. ‘That’s funny! And for your information, I was once a fourteen-year-old boy and my chest wasn’t anything like that. If it had been, I’d never have left the house.’ Edd looked at her shyly. The bolshie, flirty man from the Greenwich Avenue Deli had disappeared behind his coffee cup. ‘And in answer to your question – of course.’
‘Of course what?’
‘You are very sexy. I love the way you look, and your little cockney voice. Any man that cheated on you would want his head examined.’
They both laughed. She stared at him as her eyes misted slightly. ‘I’ve never thought being a cockney was a sexy thing.’
‘Well it is, trust me.’ Edd placed his coffee cup on the floor and removed hers from her grasp. He threw the cushions to the ground and took her hand in his, pulling her into an upright position.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, with one eye on the clock.
‘We are going back to bed and we are going to make things a whole lot weirder.’
He kissed her hard on the mouth. Meg knotted her hands behind his neck as they moved towards the bedroom, trying desperately to ignore the nerves that fizzed in her stomach. She hoped she was going to be all Edd wanted and more.
7
Meg looped by the Inn on 11th on her way to work. Having showered, retouched her make-up and changed into her black wool minidress, over-the-knee black boots and thick woolly tights, she felt ready to face the day. She had a spring in her step and a grin on her face.
She’d ignored Elene’s subtle line of questioning – ‘Is that you coming in or going out, Meg?’ – her eyes bright with interest. And she’d resisted the temptation to respond with, ‘Oh, coming in, actually. I got so sloshed last night that I slept in a strange man’s bed and then slept with him this morning. We had a lovely time, went to fifth base, which was great and apparently further than Jennifer Molowski let anyone go, even on Prom night.’ Instead, she managed to deflect the question with a burst of unnatural laughter and by babbling about the cold weather and plans for Christmas before smiling sweetly and returning her key to the disinterested Salvatore. He hung it on the rack where it had spent the night.
Meg was pleased to see that Plum Patisserie on Bleecker Street was a hive of activity. Nancy, Mr Redlitch’s daughter, had left a message asking Meg to come up and see her. As she trod the stairs to the apartments above, she felt even more like an intruder than she had the day before. She slowly approached Mr Redlitch’s front
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