What the Lightning Sees: Part One (7 page)

“Well that’s no bad thing as far as I’m concerned.”

“Millie isn’t as awful as you think. You just caught her on the spot.”

“Whatever. I can smell a gold-digger when I see one.” Beth was very protective of me.

“You think all women are after my money.”

“That’s because they are.”

“Maybe it’s my big dick,” I said, grinning at my sister.

“You’re gross. Get out.”

“I’m going. Don’t wait up.” I leaned over the sofa and kissed her on the head. She swatted me away.

Sure enough, Millie texted me to check if I had left before I’d had a chance to get out of the building. When I arrived at her place, she opened the front door as soon as I knocked, like she was standing behind it, waiting.

“Hey, you look beautiful,” I told her. She always looked good. We’d been dating about three months and I’d never seen her anything other than fully made up with a new outfit on.

She smiled at me. “Thanks. I do try for you. So where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise,” I replied as I opened the car door for her.

I might be still living in the flat I was in when I was a student but I’d upgraded my car. I had two in fact. An Aston Martin DB9 for nights like this and then a run-around Golf.

As I rounded the hood to take the driver’s side, I glanced back at her. She suited the car perfectly, like she was made for it. No one could deny she was beautiful, and she was good in bed. A surprisingly rare combination in a woman, I’d come to realise. She was the kind of girl that made other guys jealous—not that that was my intention, it was just a fact. But it came at a price. She liked the finer things in life, and there was no chance of us kicking back on the sofa on a Saturday night, or a long walk and lunch in a pub on Sunday. Millie was all about high-end glamour. She made me work for it, but I was okay with that. I liked to work for things that were worth it.

“Chiltern Firehouse sound okay?”

It was a good compromise. Relaxed enough that I could wear jeans but full of enough designer-clad celebrities to keep Millie happy.

The twitching at the corners of her mouth suggested that she was trying to hide a shit-eating grin.

“What would you like to drink?” I asked her as we arrived at the bar adjoining the restaurant.

“Something bubbly,” she replied.

Of course.
I ordered a beer and a glass of champagne. “So how have you kept yourself busy today?” I asked in an attempt to get her to stop so obviously scanning for celebrities.

“I went to the spa with Cissy, and then we went shopping.” She smiled at me. “Underwear shopping,” she whispered. “You deserve a reward for getting a table here.”

Normally a comment like that from her would create a dozen mental pictures of Millie in various states of undress and a distinct stirring in my trousers. For some reason, I didn’t feel anything.

“Come on, let’s get seated if you’re so keen,” I said and guided her through to the restaurant, my hand on the bottom of her back.

The waiter led us to our table and handed us our menus. I wasn’t sure what the fuss was about. It seemed like a hundred restaurants I’d been to before. I’d been given a token for some private members’ club for after dinner, but I’d decided not to tell Millie about that yet.

“Was it what you expected?” I asked her, glancing round again.

“Yes, I mean, if it’s good enough for Orlando Bloom and Victoria Beckham then it’s good enough for me.”

I smiled at her. I was glad she was pleased.

I turned my attention to the menu. I grinned when I noticed one of the starters was a soft poached egg. “What’s your favorite food?”

She stared at me and her eyebrows knitted together. “What?”

“Your favorite food, what is it?”

“I’ve never thought about it. Caviar? Why? Have you arranged for us to have some?”

My heart sank and I shook my head. I wondered if she liked caviar or if she liked it because that was what she was supposed to like. I wondered if I really liked Millie, or if was I was dating her because she was the kind of woman I was supposed to date.

“Apparently there’s a super-exclusive private members’ club at the back that some customers get invited to join,” she said.

“Really?” I feigned ignorance.

“Getting in there would mean I would give you free entry anywhere, if you get my meaning.”

Was she offering me anal sex if I got her into a nightclub?
My appetite died. I always understood our relationship was a transaction of sorts, but it had never been in such sharp focus for me.

“Another night,” I said.

I signed the bill and felt relieved. I hadn’t enjoyed the evening. Being with Millie had made me feel uncomfortable.

As we headed out, I caught her doing a final scan of the restaurant. “Disappointed you didn’t see any celebrities?”

“Maybe a little,” she said. “But it’s a good excuse to come back. Now let’s get back to mine so I can thank you properly.”

We made our way toward the car and she reached for my hand. I didn’t resist her.

“Jesus, are they wearing pyjamas?” she asked me, pointing at two girls coming in our direction, huddled up in coats that didn’t quite hide the pastel-colored leggings beneath. They were laughing like crazy people, then stopped suddenly beside my car as one of them finished what they were saying and then they both burst into another round of laughter. I couldn’t help but smile at them, they were having their own private party.

“They’re going to scratch your car,” Millie warned.

Something about one of them seemed familiar. I stepped forward, trying to see better. “Haven?” I asked. The girl on the right looked like her, but I’d never seen Haven with her hair down, so perhaps I’d got it wrong.

“Haven?” I asked again, surer this time.

I was close enough to have both their attention, and it was most certainly Haven. Haven with her hair down. Haven far from sober. She stood stock-still and put her hand over her mouth.

“I thought that was you,” I said when she didn’t say anything. Her friend was shaking her shoulder.

We were a couple of feet apart. Millie had gone round to the passenger side of the car and I was on the sidewalk with Haven.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Her friend answered for her. “Yes, thanks, handsome, we’re just a little drunk, but it’s alright because soon we’ll be a lot drunk.” She thrust a bottle of wine in the air.

Haven laughed again.

“It’s licky,” Haven said to her friend, not taking her eyes from me and pointing in my direction.

“It’s what?” I asked. I didn’t understand what she’d said.

“What? Oh!” Her friend squealed. “Do you guys work together?” she asked.

“I’m Harry. Yes I’m at Rallegra with Haven.” I held out my hand and she shook it in an exaggerated greeting.

“This is Millie,” I said, pointing across the roof of the car, trying to be polite. Millie grimaced.

Haven threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t tell me that’s your car.”

“What?” I asked.

“You’re such a fucking cliché, Harry.”

I winced slightly. Most of the time I loved my car, but every now and then it felt like I shouldn’t own it. Cars like that weren’t meant to be owned by a cop’s kid from Chicago. Haven’s reaction was like salt in that particular wound.

“A hot cliché, though,” her friend said.

They both started laughing again. I could count on the fingers of one hand how many times I’d seen Haven smile, let alone laugh. Drunk Haven seemed much more fun than uptight, work Haven. The laugh brought her to life and she became all the more beautiful.

“Bye, Millie,” Haven shouted as she ran off down the road, he friend trailing behind as I watched.

“Baby, can you get me in this fucking car? I’m freezing,” Millie said.

I unlocked the car. “Do you know those girls?”

I nodded and smiled. “I know the one with the long blonde hair.”

“If that’s what working does to you, I’m pleased I don’t do it.”

I cringed at her reaction. Despite all the effort that Millie had gone to tonight with her appearance, Haven in her pyjamas, laughing with windswept hair trumped her hands down. The night was nearly over and so were we. I couldn’t understand how we’d been dating for three months. We had nothing at all in common. I wouldn’t tell her tonight, I’d wait until she was sober.

Seeing Millie and Haven together, right in front of me, my feelings or lack there of for Millie became all the more pronounced. I realised I liked verbally sparring with Haven more than I liked having sex with Millie.

Haven

I had the god of all hangovers. I could tell without even opening my eyes. I turned over and came face to face with a snoring Ash. I pushed my palm against her face. “Get away from me if you’re going to sleep.”

Ash opened her eyes and grinned at me.

“You fucker. Were you trying to wake me up by fake-snoring?” I asked

“You fall for it every time, Rapunzel,” she replied.

“You are evil. I can’t believe how much we drank last night.” I lay on my back, ready to dissect the night before, like we’d done a million times. And then it came back to me. “Oh. My. God.” I sat bolt upright and my brain knocked against my skull. I grasped my head in an effort to soothe the pain. “Shit, we bumped into Harry last night!” My stomach churned and I wasn’t sure if it was my half memory of seeing Harry or the twenty-nine bottles of wine that I had consumed last night.

“Yes we did.” Ash giggled. “You referred to him as licky as I remember.”

I slumped back down into the mattress. “Kill me now. I’m going to have to resign,” I said. How embarrassing.

“Well, as long as you’re not overreacting. That’s the main thing.”

I didn’t think I was overreacting at all. Harry might have seen bitchy Haven, but that was professional compared to drunk, out of control Haven. “We were wearing our pyjamas from what I remember. Of course I’ll have to resign.” Just as our working relationship had improved, now he was going to think I was such an idiot. I wanted him to see that I was good at my job, not some silly, drunk girl who wandered around London giggling in her pyjamas. I covered my eyes with the palms of my hands.

“It was the only way you’d come with me to replenish the wine supplies,” Ash said.

“What, if we went in our pyjamas?”

She nodded.

“Oh god. What must he think of me?”

“Why do you care? I’m sure his girlfriend fucked his brains out last night, so he won’t remember anything this morning. Don’t worry about it.”

My stomach flipped at the thought of him with Millie. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to think about her. I thought women like her only existed in magazines. “I can’t believe you’re a medical professional, coming up with theories like that. I’m not sure that’s how human biology works. She was a total glamazon, wasn’t she?”

Ash laughed. “Yes, but probably crap in bed. Those model types always are. It’s girls like you and me that have it going on in the bedroom.”

“Is this the moment in time to point out the fact that you and I shared a bed last night, and that I’m wearing pyjamas with flying pigs all over them?”

“Nope,” Ash replied.

“Yeah, didn’t think so.”

Luke stumbled into the room, carrying a tray of tea.

“You are my hero,” Ash said, beaming. “Promise me you won’t stop making me tea when we’re married. You’ve got to work to keep the magic alive.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “In this fictitious scenario where we’re married and I’m bringing you tea to cure your hangover, will you still share my sister’s bed?”

“Absolutely. I’ll still make you earn my physical affection. And I will demand that she sleeps over every Saturday night. Licky can come too, if he wants.”

“Ash, that’s gross. I don’t want to hear any more about you and my brother.”

I leaned over to the nightstand to retrieve my phone as Luke plonked himself at the end of the bed.

“Oh, my god,” I said, reading a text from Harry.

Harry: I was right about you with your hair down. It looks good.