This Man (This Man 1)

‘Hey, what’s going on?’

I emerge from Jesse’s chest and see Kate stood at the front of Margo, looking rather bewildered.

‘I think you need to move your van, Kate. ’ Jesse advises diplomatically. He’s not even broke a sweat.

‘Oh, okay. ’ She shrugs, completely oblivious.

Jesse pulls back, running his eyes down my body. ‘Where are your shoes?’ he asks on a frown, his eyes darkening with rage again, clearly thinking I lost them in the ruckus with baldy.

‘They’re in the back of Margo,’ I sniffle. ‘The van,’ I elaborate, when his brow knits in confusion.

He picks me up and carries me around to the pavement, sitting me on a wall outside Mrs Link’s house. ‘I’m not even going to ask how they got there. ’

‘I’ll get them,’ Kate shouts. She bloody should as well. She comes running over with my heels. ‘What happened?’

‘Where were you?’ I ask shortly.

She rolls her eyes. ‘I got dragged upstairs for a showing of the party dress. It was way too small and pretty painful to watch. It took them ten minutes to stuff her in the thing. ’ She glances over at Jesse, who’s grabbing my bag from the front seat of Margo. ‘What happened?’ she asks again on a whisper. ‘He looks fuming. ’

‘I got roughed up by Mr Jaguar,’ I brush the gravel from the bottom of my sore soles and put my heels on. ‘Jesse called as it kicked off. I don’t know where he came from. ’

‘Ava, I’m sorry. ’ She sits on the wall and puts an arm around me. ‘Thank God for the Lord, ah?’ I can detect the suggestion in her tone.

‘Kate, you need to shift that van before war breaks out. ’ He strolls over with my bag, and I get to my feet. Damn, they hurt. I rest my bum back down on the wall again. I wince. Oh, my arse hurts too. Jesse frowns when he catches me flinching. ‘I’m taking Ava with me. ’ He watches me shift my aching backside on the wall.

‘You are?’ I blurt.

He raises his eyebrows. ‘Yes, I am,’ he retorts in a tone that dares me to object.

‘It’s fine. I can go with Kate. ’ I suggest, anyway. I’ve probably disrupted whatever he was doing, with my Monday evening drama.

‘No, you’re coming with me. ’ He spells the words out, his lips pressing into a straight line. Yeah, I’m not arguing with him on this.

Kate does a tennis spectator impression, looking to and fro between us, eventually getting up.

‘I’ll see you at home. ’ She kisses my temple and plants a big kiss on Jesse’s cheek, making his eyes bulge and my jaw drop.

/> What’s that all about? As she strolls off towards Margo, with absolutely no urgency, she looks back, grins and winks. I flick a warning stare that she completely ignores.

I look up at the tall, handsome beast in front of me – looking edible in his grey suit and crisp white shirt – and find sludgy green eyes narrowed on me.

‘Why are you flinching?’ he asks.

I stand up, wincing again when my feet take my full weight. ‘My backside hurts,’ I rub my battered bum and reach to take my bag from him. ‘I was holding Kate’s cake up in the back of Margo. ’

‘You didn’t have a seatbelt on?’

‘No, you don’t get seatbelts in the back of vans, Jesse. ’

He shakes his head and picks me up, cradling me in his strong arms, before striding off down the street. I sigh heavily and let him do his thing, resting my head against his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his neck.

‘You didn’t call me. I told you to call. ’ he grumbles accusingly.

I sigh. ‘I’m sorry. ’

‘So am I. ’ he says quietly.

‘What are you sorry for?’