Goody Two Shoes (Invertary 2)

“Four.”

“I’ll take the rest.” He turned to Josh. “I assume you’re taking care of Caroline.”

Oh yeah, he was going to take care of Caroline, all right.

Lake grinned again. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s round them up.”

They walked towards the hysterical women. Josh cupped the back of Caroline’s head, and she stopped laughing long enough to look up at him. “How much have you had to drink?”

She frowned as though concentrating really hard. “I don’t know.”

“Have you had anything to eat?”

“Cake.” She smiled proudly.

Josh sighed. “I’m taking Caroline and my mother into the kitchen; the rest of you are being escorted home.”

“Can I go in the police car?” someone shouted.

“No, I want to go in the police car with officer hotpot,” Kirsty’s mum said.

“It’s not hotpot, it’s hotshot. Hotpot is a casserole,” Kirsty told her.

Josh watched as an argument broke out amongst the women.

“It’s not fair,” his mother mumbled. “I don’t get to go in the police car.”

Josh rolled his eyes, grabbed his mum and Caroline by the elbows and marched them towards the house. He wasn’t sure the other two could cope with the rest of the women, but they were on their own. He had enough to deal with.

Caroline’s head was swimming. Everything seemed interesting and fresh. The stars were so sparkly. The grass crisp beneath her feet. The air brisk against her skin. What little skin was on show. She was overdressed. What she really wanted was to feel the cool night air all over her body. She reached up and popped open a couple of buttons on her blouse. That was better. Vaguely, she wondered if there was a pool at the castle. She didn’t think there was. They needed a pool. When she was queen of the castle, she’d put in a pool. She started to giggle again.

Josh looked down at her. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t seem angry, either. His eyes dropped briefly to her blouse, and he shook his head with a resigned smile. Caroline suddenly felt even warmer. She reached up and popped another button open. Josh’s eyes went dark.

When they reached the kitchen door, Josh ushered his mother inside.

Caroline stopped dead outside the door. “I don’t want to go in there. I want to stay out here with all this lovely fresh air.”

Josh frowned at her. “You need to eat.”

“I’ll eat here. Get me some food.” Caroline plopped onto one of the reclining wooden chairs on the patio, grateful that no one had taken the thick blue cushions in for the night.

“Yes, ma’am, right away, ma’am,” Josh muttered as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Caroline tugged her blouse off. She still felt too stuffy. So she removed her skirt too. That was better. With a sigh, she lost herself in the vista overhead, unaware of just how long she’d spent staring at the sky until Josh appeared beside her again. He crouched down and held out a plate with crackers, cheese and grapes.

“I see you lost your clothes.”

“I was too hot.”

His lips twitched. “Nice underpants.”

Caroline lifted her head to look down her body. Minnie Mouse stared up at her. “They were on sale. There’s nothing wrong with Minnie Mouse.”

“Nothing at all,” he said solemnly.

It was so unfair that his lips were fuller than hers. She wanted to reach out and trace his upper lip, feel the curve of the bow dip against her finger. Feel his breath on her skin. Her gaze skimmed along the strong line of his jaw, over cheekbones most models would kill for and up to those electric eyes. They crinkled at the edges, letting her know that she was amusing him again. She sighed heavily. Just when had she become so darned funny?

“Do you wear coloured contacts?”