It’s In His Kiss

‘Did you ask Luke The Question?’

‘I did.’ She snatched up a bag and shook it open.

‘And…?’

‘He has a couple of conditions.’

‘Oh my God, he’s actually going to do it?’

‘If I agree to his terms.’

‘Huh?’

Sephy stopped assembling samples and said into her phone, ‘He wants me to model with him.’

‘Delicious.’

‘Nora,’ Sephy warned.

‘I can’t help it.’

‘Yes, because you’ve never got yourself into a fix at all have you?’ Sephy muttered, thinking about the time Nora had super-glued her shoe to her hand in front of Ethan.

‘But mine worked out so well for me in the end. Maybe yours will as well.’

‘You didn’t have a daughter or your daughter’s dad come back onto the scene.’

‘What?’ Nora gasped. ‘You’re seeing Ryan?’

‘No. Of course not.’

‘Good. Because there’s complicating your life and then there’s complicating your life.’

Sephy agreed. That was why she had lied and told Ryan she was seeing Luke.

‘I’ll get in touch with Frazer today and set up the shoot,’ Nora said.

‘I haven’t exactly said yes, yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘Probably because of the other condition.’

‘Intriguing. Ooh,’ Nora said sounding excited, ‘does he want to do a private set of photos?’

‘Oh, would you please stop. There’s nothing tawdry going on here.’

Nora laughed. ‘Did you just use the word tawdry?’

‘Okay, I really need you to focus.’

‘But did you, though?’

‘You know, I think I’m too busy to come to London after all.’

‘Okay, okay, I’m sorry. So what’s his other condition?’

Sephy dragged in a breath. ‘He wants me to pretend to be his fiancée for a few weeks.’

There was a long pause and then, ‘Sephy that’s not even remotely a good idea.’

‘I know,’ Sephy said, immediately heading her sister off at the pass.

‘I mean, you just got through telling me you understood about not complicating your life.’

‘I know.’

‘It’s only that these things have a way of getting out of control.’

‘I know,’ Sephy repeated for the umpteenth time. What if she had to touch him in front of his parents? Kiss him, even? What if she forgot how playing with fire got your fingers burned?

‘Why does he want you to pose as his fiancée anyway?’

Sephy peeled off a Seraphic label and sealed the ends of the tissue-paper parcel of lingerie together.

‘Seph?’

‘Something to do with his parents visiting.’

‘What? He’s told his parents he’s engaged, when he isn’t?’

‘Apparently, yes.’

More silence, followed by, ‘You can’t worry about losing his friendship if you say no, and, Sephy, you should say no to this.’

‘If I say no, he won’t hold it against me. You know he’s not like that,’ she responded. She popped the lingerie into a bag and reached for another sheet of tissue paper. ‘He’s helped me out so many times.’

‘Don’t make it sound tit for tat. Friends don’t keep score.’

‘If I say no I don’t get my photo shoot.’

Sephy ran her gaze over her little production line of goodie bags. The boutique factory she had signed an agreement with had done an outstanding job of the samples. She didn’t want to even think about the debt she would incur if she didn’t get to place that first large order.

‘Is this about saving money?’ Nora surmised. ‘Damn it, you know I’ll cover it.’

Sephy winced. ‘It really isn’t only about the money.’

‘Then you lied to me when you told me you were over what Dad wrote to you in his last letter,’ Nora accused.