I see.’
‘So? Serena … what?’
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. ‘Sorry, Charlie, that’s on a need-to-know basis only.’
He leant forward and stared straight into her eyes. ‘What if I really need to know?’
‘I’d have to be really convinced.’ She laughed and waved her hand in the air. ‘Telling you my last name is too much of a commitment; I don’t like to be tied down. But don’t worry. If I think you can handle it, I’ll tell you.’
Jake smiled. A girl on his wavelength. No ties. No strings. Just seeing what the future brought, minute by minute. She was right: he would find out her name. He liked her style—she was keeping him on his toes. It was very refreshing.
Talking to her was easy. He hardly noticed the first course slip by. She was funny and articulate, and he found himself talking back in a way that would have surprised his business associates. Sure, he could turn on the charm when it suited him. It was hard-wired into his genetic make-up. He used it as a mirror, reflecting anything that tried to pierce his armour, so no one got below the surface. Yet as he talked to Serena he found himself giving away little snippets of information he didn’t normally make public. Nothing big, just stuff he didn’t normally share: what book he’d read most recently, what kind of music he liked. Silly things.
Halfway through their main course he stopped eating and watched her butcher her steak. When her mouth closed round the fork, her eyelids fluttered shut and she let out a little sigh of satisfaction. There was an air of primal sensuality about her. And for some reason he wasn’t feeling totally civilised himself at the moment, either. It was as if all the layers of varnish he’d carefully applied over the years were peeling away, leaving him feeling like the gawky teenager he’d once been. He should be scared of that feeling.
She looked up at him as she finished chewing her mouthful, her eyes questioning.
‘I didn’t realise six ounces of sirloin could be so riveting.’
Caught red-handed—or red-faced, to be exact.
He said the first thing that popped into his head. ‘I’m just surprised to see you demolishing it with such gusto. You look more of a beansprouts-and-tofu kind of girl to me.’ He didn’t know why. Perhaps it was the long hair, the intricate earrings that dangled from her ears, or the skirt that swooshed when she crossed her legs.
She dropped her knife and fork and scowled at him.
‘I’ve had enough beansprouts to last me a lifetime, believe me! My parents were dedicated vegans until—’ Her breath caught for a second. ‘Never mind. Let’s just say my love of animal flesh is probably teenage rebellion that’s way past its sell-by date.’ She grinned. ‘Since I was fourteen I’ve been a true carnivore. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I’ve never met a bit of cow I didn’t like.’
She speared the next piece of steak and blood oozed out of it.
Jake shuddered, unable to tear his gaze away.
‘Aren’t you going to finish your swordfish?’
He picked up his cutlery and shoved something from his plate into his mouth. He didn’t taste what it was. He just had to remind himself to keep cutting and chewing until his plate was empty.
Serena eyed the dessert menu when her plate had been taken away. ‘Aren’t you having any?’
‘Not for me. I don’t really eat dessert. I think I’ll just have a coffee.’
‘Mmm. Perhaps I should too, but that chocolate concoction looks—’
Her mobile phone trilled.
‘Excuse me. I forgot to turn it off. I won’t be a second.’
‘No problem.’
He leaned back in his seat and took the opportunity to study her while her attention was elsewhere.
‘Hello? Oh, it’s you. I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of … No, don’t do that! Just stay put, will you? Yes, but … Look! Just give the phone to Benny … Let me talk to Benny. I’m not getting any sense out of you …’
She mouthed ‘sorry’ at him and her cheeks flushed an appealing shade of pink. He shrugged. It was nice to see he wasn’t the only one who could lose his cool.
‘Just keep him there, will you, Benny? I’ll be there as soon as I can … Yes … don’t worry … Just don’t let him punch anybody else …’
Jake’s ears pricked up.
She snapped her phone closed and exhaled long and hard.
‘I’m sorry, I need to go. It’s an emergency.’
‘Anything I can do to help?’
‘No, I’ll be fine. I just need to get to Peckham as soon as possible.’
Peckham? Why on earth was a rich girl like her going there?
‘What for?’
‘I’ve got to find a pub called The Swan.
She stood up, skirted the table, and gave him an absent-minded kiss on the cheek. ‘Thanks for lunch. I really enjoyed it.’
And before Jake could argue she’d rushed out through the door and onto the pavement.
He dug in his pockets for his credit card and paid as quickly as he could. By the smile on the waiter’s face, he guessed he’d left a ridiculously large tip. But he couldn’t be bothered to do the maths, so he’d just rounded it up to the nearest hundred.
He shoved the door open and almost bumped into Serena, who was standing on the kerb, waving her hands around.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m trying to find a taxi! One minute the whole street is teeming with them; the next minute there’s not one to be had for love nor money.’
He pulled her arm down and turned her to face him. Only then did he see the tremble in her lip, her pale face.
‘Hey.’ He slid his hand down her arm until he found her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘It’ll be okay.’
She sniffed. ‘I need to get to that pub as soon as I can, or there’s going to be a huge amount of trouble!’ She pulled away from him and ran to the kerb again as a black cab hurtled past. She looked as if she were about to sprint up the road after it when Jake reached for her again.
‘I’ll take you. My car’s round the corner. I know a way round the back-doubles that’ll cut out a lot of the traffic.’
Her eyes gleamed and threatened to overflow. ‘Would you really? You don’t know how grateful I am. But you’ve got to promise me something.’
‘What’s that?’
She
