‘And we aren’t natural around each other.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Yet.’
‘Maybe it will just take time. A few more dates like this. Sitting in a car together...’
‘And not squashing ourselves up against the doors,’ he said and now they smiled at each other.
‘Exactly. Maybe a week or so—we could walk round parks, hang out...get a bit more used to each other. I mean, we barely know each other, and our history makes it even more complicated. It’s hard to base a relationship on—’ She broke off as instinct prickled the back of her neck.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. Just keep talking. But I think we’ve been spotted.’ Out of the corner of her peripheral vision, she saw someone point at their pod, camera in hand. ‘We have been spotted.’ Her mind went into overdrive; on automatic she appraised the scene. Champagne, private pod, the whole thing shrieked of date night. This was the perfect set-up for a launch of their relationship; discovered by accident, it would reek of authenticity.
Instinct took over and, leaning over, she kissed him. Her intent had been a simple, quick, featherlight brush of the lips but she hadn’t bargained for her body’s reaction. Or his. Because it wasn’t enough—the sheer giddy sensation whirled her head. After a first startled second where he froze, he turned his body, raised his hands and cupped her face; the firm, cool grasp made her catch her breath.
Then he deepened the kiss, slowly, languorously, as if they had all the time in the world, and Ava forgot where she was, forgot everything except this heady moment in time where nothing mattered except the sweet sensations that glided through her whole body. Then all too soon it was over, the wheel literally stopped turning and Ava realised they were near the top.
As she pulled away she caught sight of his expression, knew it mirrored her own. Shell shock, surprise. All wrong, screamed the one bit of her brain that was still in gear. Pull this together. Seamlessly she pulled a smile to her lips and whispered, ‘Don’t look surprised.’ Knew that a photo like that splashed on social media would give away too much.
To her relief Liam got it instantly, leant forward to hide his expression, looked as though he were whispering sweet nothings
in her ear, and then he moved away to pick up the champagne bottle to top up their glasses, a smile of sorts on his lips.
Ava focused on breathing, sipped the champagne, wished it were the bubbles that were swirling her head rather than the aftermath of the kiss. ‘Sorry. I reacted on instinct—I saw an opportunity to make this look real and I took it without thinking.’
‘There’s no need to apologise—you took me by surprise, that’s all.’ With an obvious effort he cleared his throat, brought his voice to a normal tone. ‘What do you think will happen now?’
Ava shrugged. ‘It’s hard to know. It could be absolutely nothing, it could be the photo goes viral on social media. My feeling is it will land somewhere in between. There will be a buzz of interest because of who I am and it may or may not pick up.’
Liam rubbed the back of his neck, gave her a rueful smile. ‘Sorry. You were right earlier. This was a bad idea. If interest is piqued we aren’t ready yet.’
‘No.’ But it was impossible to feel irritation with a man who was willing to admit fault.
‘Hmm...’ She could almost see his brain go into overdrive. ‘I’ve got an idea. Let’s go back to my place—I need to make some calls.’
* * *
Forty-five minutes later the car came to a smooth stop and the driver opened the door. Ava smiled her thanks as she climbed out and looked around her at the large Edwardian London house.
She followed him through the front door and down a spacious hallway. ‘‘The lounge is through here. Drink?’ he asked.
‘A cup of tea would be perfect.’
‘Coming up. Milk, one sugar, right?’
‘Right.’
He left the room and she took the opportunity to look around. The room was functional and comfortable with clean lines and colours. Yet it could be a show room—there were no photographs or anything out of place or cluttered. Sitting down on a luxuriously comfortable arm chair she wondered where Liam was. Perhaps the kitchen was miles away or the kettle had broken or he’d run out of tea bags.
On that thought the door opened and he reappeared. ‘Tea and biscuits.’
‘Perfect.’ He sat opposite her and she raised her eyebrows. ‘You look pleased with yourself.’
‘I am. I’ve figured out a solution to our need-to-get-to-know-each-other-fast problem.’
‘Go ahead.’ Ava eyed him and a sudden premonition tickled the back of her neck, told her that his next words were going to be humdingers.
‘A mini break in Italy.’
‘Mini break? Italy?’ Parrot, anyone?