Run by Mandasue Heller

Author:Mandasue Heller [Heller, Mandasue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781447288350
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

18

Leanne and Chrissie were sharing a bottle of wine in the living room when Jake got home that evening.

‘Do you have to?’ Chrissie complained when he leaned over and planted a kiss on her friend’s lips.

‘Ignore her, she’s just jealous,’ Leanne said tipsily, resting her cheek on the back of his hand. ‘Mmmm, you smell nice.’

‘It’ll be the soap from the pub toilets,’ Jake told her.

‘You’ve been to the pub without me?’ She gave him a mock-sulky look.

‘It was business, so you’d have been bored stiff,’ he said, slipping his jacket off and lighting a cigarette. ‘Anyway, it looks like you’ve had enough already,’ he added as he looked around for an ashtray. This was one of the drawbacks of living with a nonsmoker – Leanne was constantly moving and washing his ashtrays, and never remembered to put them back where she’d taken them from.

‘I keep meaning to ask what it is that you actually do,’ Chrissie said curiously. ‘I know you’ve started dabbling in property, but what’s the security business about? Do you fit burglar alarms, or is it one of those outfits that hire out teams of bouncers, and what have you?’

‘A bit of everything,’ Jake said cagily, pulling his mobile out of his pocket when it began to ring.

‘Proper little man of mystery, isn’t he?’ Chrissie whispered when he excused himself and went into the kitchen to take his call in private. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was some kind of spy. The name’s Pearsh . . . Jake Pearsh.’

‘Stop it!’ Leanne laughed, reaching for the wine to refill their glasses.

‘Sorry about this, but I’ve got to go out again,’ Jake apologized when he came back into the room.

‘Do you have to?’ Leanne moaned. ‘I haven’t seen you all day.’

‘Can’t be helped, I’m afraid.’ Jake slipped his jacket on.

‘Oh, I meant to tell you, Chrissie’s staying tonight. That’s okay, isn’t it?’

‘Course it is.’

‘When will you be home?’ Leanne asked, getting up.

‘Not sure.’ He shrugged and headed for the door. ‘I’ve been trying to set something up with this guy for months but he’s really hard to pin down, so I can’t afford to miss this opportunity.’

‘Okay,’ Leanne said resignedly, following him out into the hall. ‘Me and Chrissie will just have to amuse ourselves. We’ll probably watch some films, have a few drinks . . . go out on the balcony and moon the pervy old man next door.’

‘You will not!’ Jake gave her a mock-stern look as he pulled her forcefully into his arms. ‘No one sees that body except me. Got it?’

‘Spoilsport,’ she chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

In the living room, Chrissie made a gagging sound when she heard them kissing again. Finishing her drink, she’d refilled both of their glasses by the time Leanne came in with a dreamy look on her face.

‘Can’t you keep your flaming hands off him?’

‘No.’ Leanne grinned and flopped down on to the couch. ‘He’s been working so hard lately, I’ve hardly seen him, so I’ve got to take whatever I can get.

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