“What happens on Wednesdays?”
Oliver cleared his throat. “Pub crawl. We finish early, so we go for a few drinks.”
Lucas nodded. “Tomorrow’s Wednesday.”
“It is.”
“Will you be drinking?”
“I fucking hope so.”
Lucas’ eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror, and Oliver could tell he was looking at the two child seats in the back. “Do you have children?” Oliver asked, not entirely sure why he wanted to know.
“No.”
He nodded. “I-I just wondered if you were eager to get back to them. That’s all.”
After a moment of silence, Lucas replied, “Just a cat at home. Sasha.”
Oliver thought that was kind of cute.
“That’s nice,” he said, rolling his neck to work out a strip of tension. “There’s a black cat that sits outside my local Chinese. Pickle. He’s a grumpy fucker but I like him. My landlord doesn’t allow pets, so it’s just me and Roger at home.”
“Your mate?”
“What?” He spluttered. “Oh, no. Roger’s a stuffed koala.”
Lucas’ mouth spread into a wide grin, his sharp canines glinting in the morning light. “How very unexpected of you, Reed.”
Was he mocking him again?The way the tip of his tongue touched his teeth suggested he was.
The traffic lights flicked to red as they approached the next junction. “Every fucking time,” Oliver muttered.
Lucas chuckled, crossing an ankle over his knee as the car drifted to a standstill.Damn, the man had fine legs. Long and lean, even under the grey chinos. Lucas must have caught him looking, because he tilted his head with a playful smirk. Oliver cleared his throat and looked back at the road.
“Thanks for doing what I asked. I think the three-piece suit would have been a bit much for the meeting.”
“Didn’t you like the three piece?”
Oliver loved the three-piece. In fact, he hadn’t been able to get the damned thing out of his mind all morning. Then there were the shorts…and the tattoos…and the two little earrings at the top of his ear.Fucking hell.
“It was nice. But West Newton isn’t like the Met. We’re country folk. Most of the population are farmers, born and bred. My parents included.”
“But not you.”
“No. What about you?”
“Jewellers. Both my parents are high end jewellers,” Lucas replied, his eyes fixed on Oliver.
No wonder he was so flashy.
Oliver nodded. “But not you.”
Lucas turned his gaze back to the road. “I don’t have the fingers for it.”
“Pardon?”
“You need small fingers to use the equipment. Setting gems requires a certain level of finesse, which I do not possess.”
